Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
Lian
“Foster!” I call. “Are you ready to go?”
“Ready,” he calls back.
“You got the presents?”
“Yep.”
“Oh! Did you grab my ass?”
There’s a pause. “I think it’s called an abdomen.”
I pluck his car keys off the hook since I know his hands will be full. “Semantics. It covers my ass, ergo… Oh, hey.”
Foster gives me a grin from behind his mound of presents, the bottom half of my bee costume dangling from one hand. “You really didn’t have to dress up.”
I wave him off. “A girl only turns eight once. What was I gonna do? Not dress up like your niece’s favorite animal for her birthday party?”
“Well, yeah. That was an option.”
“Do we have to go over this again?”
Foster’s voice joins mine to say, “Stripes are your thing.”
I grin his way, opening the front door and ushering him outside. I help him load the presents in the back of the car before tossing him the keys.
“You know, this is a lot easier now that we don’t have two places,” I point out.
Foster’s smile is soft as he buckles in, me doing the same beside him. “One of many perks of living together.”
“Many perks,” I agree wholeheartedly, ticking additional ones off on my fingers. “No more need for late-night video chats when I’m horny or want to see your face.”
He chokes some.
“No more back-and-forth driving, which is really just good for the planet.”
“Sure.”
“And no more saying Foster’s house. It’s just our house. Way simpler on the mouth.”
“I do try to be easy on your mouth,” Foster says.
I look over at him as he takes a turn. “That is categorically false. You very much like fucking my face.”
Foster chokes again. “You’re, uh, getting it all out now, right? Before the children’s birthday party?”
“Yep,” I say, popping the P. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Foster dimples as I wiggle happily in my seat.
It doesn’t take long to arrive at Troy’s house. We park along the street, joining the other vehicles vying for available spaces. I tug the bottom of my costume on over my black pants before stepping out.
“My ass is officially on,” I declare.
Foster looks over at me as we pull presents out from the trunk, one eyebrow hitching up in a way that has my pulse skipping. “Baby, your ass is always on.”
I clutch my chest, utterly besotted. “Keep talking like that and you’ll meet this bee’s stinger.”
Foster bites the inside of his cheek. “Is this a thing now? Are we—”
“You bet your fabulous round behind we’re roleplaying when we get home. You’ve got some honey, and I—Hiii, Troy. So good to see you. We were just talking, um, about…”
I falter, swatting Foster’s arm.
He sighs heavily. “Lian wants to stick his stinger in me.”
I gape at him. “That wasn’t helpful in the least!”
“There was literally no saving that,” he says before swooping in to kiss my still-ajar mouth. He walks off, leaving me with a slightly flushed Troy.
“Nice day for a party,” I tell him, scurrying after Foster toward the house.
Black-and-yellow decorations dot the space, spilling out into the backyard. Children run around, Ava’s friends from school, I’m guessing, and maybe a neighbor or two. The adults stand in clusters, talking and keeping an eye on the kids.
When Ava spots me, she squeals and runs over. I manage to catch her in my arms, the both of us spinning as I nearly take out a table of food with my bigger-than-usual ass.
“You made it!” she exclaims, her hands immediately going to the bobbing antennae on my head. “We match!”
I boop her own bee antennae before setting her down. “What are the odds of that? Do you like bees or something?”
Her expression is exasperated, even as she smiles. “Duh. You know that. Where’s Uncle Foster?”
“Right here,” the man says, his arms curling around my midsection. My stomach flips as he plants a quick kiss on my cheek before stepping away to greet his niece.
“It’s fine,” I say to myself, fanning my overheated face. “No one will notice a thing.”
I turn around to grab a cup of lemonade and promptly knock over the entire table of presents.
They topple to the grass with dull thuds, my legs getting tangled around one another as I try to stop myself from falling after them.
Before I can crumple the pile and ruin Ava’s birthday, arms tug me upright.
My breath whooshes out from me, my heart beating like a drum. It’s no surprise to find myself looking into familiar blue eyes. “You caught me.”
“Always,” Foster says, leaning close to add, “That ass of yours is dangerous.”
“Not the time for sexy talk,” I hiss, more than sure there are at least a few eyes on us right now considering the spectacle I made. “We’re at a children’s birthday party, for gosh sake. And it’s an abdomen. Not an ass.”
His chuckle is quiet. “Christ, Li. I love you, you know that?”
My breath catches, my heart thumping again. “I do, but you’re welcome to tell me anytime.”
His smile dimples his cheek as he holds my gaze. “I love you. I think, quite possibly, I was gone from the first moment you fell into my arms.”
“It was a graceful leap,” I protest, even though, yes, I most definitely tripped and barreled headfirst into Foster outside the cruise ship when we first met. Back when I was looking for a plus-one yet found…so much more.
How was that only a year ago when it feels like I’ve known this man for a lifetime, at the very least?
“I love you, too,” I tell him seriously. “So flippin’ much. I’m really glad you caught me.”
“Yeah?” he asks, eyes warm and ocean-blue.
“Yeah,” I say, throat tight. “Promise me something?”
“What’s that?”
“Catch me again? Every time I fall for you?”
Foster’s breath leaves him slowly, a soft, happy sigh preceded by his lips pressing gently to mine. “It’s a promise.”
The End