Epilogue
ADAM
SIX MONTHS LATER
Austin rests her cheek against my back as we ride toward our new home. My duty at the strip club in Corpus Christi is done. Austin’s debts are paid, and she hasn’t had to spend another fucking minute stripping… well, for anyone but me. Because she does and will always strip for me.
Instead of taking her straight to the clubhouse, I guide my bike downtown. My mom is going to be working today, and if she isn’t, she’ll still be at the bakery. Aside from the clubhouse, it’s home away from home.
All the old ladies end up there throughout the day, off and on, but my mom and Aunt Shawn are always there. Pulling the bike into the nearest parking spot, I climb off before helping Austin.
Standing on the sidewalk, she looks around. She hasn’t met my family yet, but she has talked with my mother on the phone. My parents know all about her and know that she’s my old lady, but they haven’t seen her face-to-face yet.
My dad wants to meet her, but I know that my mom is absolutely dying to lay eyes on her in person. So, because I’ve always been a mama’s boy, I’m here to see her first.
“You ready?” I ask, holding out my hand for Austin.
She looks down at my palm, then slowly lifts her gaze to meet mine. “Absolutely not,” she says softly.
Laughing softly, I squeeze her hand before I tug her behind me and walk toward the bakery…
the three-building bakery. My mom and aunt have turned this place into a tourist trap.
They are fucking killing it. Three spaces, almost the whole fucking block, is their shop.
They ship all over the world, and they love every second of it.
Tugging open the main door, I release Austin’s hand and watch as she walks past me and into the shop.
She stops after only two steps inside, her body held tightly, her attention focused straight in front of her, and that’s when I see my mom standing behind the counter, her gaze focused on Austin as well.
Taking a step to the side, I move forward and stop. “Mom?” I call out. I watch as her head jerks before she shifts her gaze to meet mine. Her breath hitches. I can practically hear it from across the bakery, and then she’s rushing toward me.
Opening my arms, I wrap them around her the moment her body crashes into mine. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I let out a chuckle. She lifts, her eyes finding mine, and then I watch as tears fill them immediately.
“Mom,” I murmur.
She takes a step backward. Her eyes never leaving mine before she speaks. “I cannot believe you stayed away for over half a year and didn’t even come home to visit,” she snaps.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “You know I couldn’t,” I murmur.
She lifts her shoulders, then lets out a heavy sigh as they fall. “I know. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t miss you and didn’t want you here. I did. Every single day.”
Lifting my arm, I wrap it around my mom’s shoulders and give her a little squeeze as I turn her body toward Austin. She’s watching us, but I can’t quite read the expression on her face.
“Mom, this is Austin.”
They stare at one another for a moment, then my mom closes the distance between them and wraps her arms around Austin. My mom is the first to speak, her voice a murmur, but I hear it anyway.
“It’s so good to meet you, Austin. I am so happy.”
And she is. My mom would never say anything fake. If she wasn’t happy, she would just smile tightly, and I would know that was that. I watch as she takes a step backward, her hands on Austin’s shoulders, and then she searches her gaze before she smiles and continues.
“I’m Ryan, welcome to our family.”
Fuck. Me.
AUSTIN
Family.
I haven’t ever had much of a family, so even though I’m sure she’s just trying to be nice, it still feels really good. Before I can say thank you or anything else, she calls over someone, and I flick my gaze to see a woman walking from the kitchen.
She’s stunning, around Adam’s mom’s age, and as soon as she sees Adam, she shifts her gaze to me, picks up her speed, and hurries over.
She wraps her arms around me, hugging me much like Ryan did, and then she takes a step back as well. Her eyes searching mine, her smile so damn pretty and kind. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, then turns her head slightly to look over to Ryan.
“You’re going to be a grandma soon, and those babies are going to be stunning.”
Adam clears his throat, taking a step backward. I suck in a breath because I am not ready to have a baby at all, maybe not for a decade.
“They will be when they’re ready,” Ryan whispers, and my breath escapes my whole body in a whoosh.
Ryan lets out a small smile. She reaches for my hand, squeezing mine in hers. I can tell she has a million questions for me, but she doesn’t ask them. She wants to, but she doesn’t. Instead, she just smiles at me, her eyes searching mine, and then she turns to Adam.
“And they won’t be ready until after the wedding, correct?”
I let out a laugh, but it’s Adam who slides his arm around my waist and tugs me against his side. He touches his lips to my temple, and then he hums. “And there will be a wedding.”
There will.
I don’t know when, maybe in six months. But there will be because I love this man. I love every freaking part of him. Not because he paid my debts, not because he is amazing in bed. I just freaking love everything about this man. He is, without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to me.
We leave the bakery, but not until after Shawn and Ryan both shove food at us, forcing us to eat pastries and tell them all about our plans for the future.
Especially when and where the wedding will be.
I don’t have an answer for either, and I can tell by the scheming in their eyes that they have ideas.
I welcome any and all ideas and help because if it was up to me, we would be going to the justice of the peace.
“We’ll work it all out when it’s time,” Ryan says with a smile.
A few moments later, we’re saying our goodbyes and head back to Adam’s bike. He doesn’t climb on right away, though. Instead, he turns to me. His eyes find mine, and he smirks. Then his expression goes all serious. He lifts his hand and cups my cheek.
“I love you, Austin. Thank you for coming home with me.”
My heart slams against my chest, over and over, then I lean forward and touch my mouth to his. “I love every part of you, Adam Hughes. Thank you for giving me a home to come to.”
Adam’s tongue slips inside my mouth. He tastes me, consumes me, and I know that my whole world is now complete. Every dream that I ever could have dreamed has happened with this man, and even dreams that I didn’t know I had.
I cannot wait to wake up tomorrow morning and see what the world has to offer me—what this man has to offer me.