Epilogue
“I have to leave soon,” Ryker kisses me as we lay on the hotel room bed. Ava is coming to stay with me, but she won’t arrive until midnight.
He chuckles. “But we decided, remember? This time, it’s by the book.”
He means it. We went shopping together and bought the most stunning empire waist gown, that somehow manages to completely hide my baby bump.
Because yeah…after I got over being angry, which took a few months. And I started with a therapist, who has diagnosed me with ADHD, social anxiety, and high-functioning autism, I’ve really been working on how to be happy with myself.
And I realized, it would have taken me a lot longer to get here if Ryker hadn’t both pushed me and then loved me.
And he does love me. We’ve started running the three casinos together, though I made the decision to bring them under the Smith banner. I like keeping the books. It gives me purpose, and control.
But I don’t want to run the staff or make major business decisions. And joining with his brothers has meant we have a lot more funds for renovations.
And I got the big family that I love being part of. My sisters-in-law are the best friends I’ve never had, and my brothers-in-law…
They are this presence in my life that I feel deeply in my soul. They don’t have to say much, I just know. They’ve got my back.
And as for my husband, “I’m already pregnant with your baby. Is a night apart really necessary?”
He pulls my hips tight to his, my little baby bump pressing to his stomach. I’m about four months along and just starting to show. “No bad luck, baby.”
“You might have to stop calling me baby when the real baby comes,” I say between kisses.
“Never.” And then our little kisses turn into a full-on make-out session.
We opted for a destination wedding this time, in Hawaii. I can hear the ocean lapping at the shore as Ryker rolls me onto my back, coming on top of me.
He’s careful to balance his weight on his knees and forearms as my legs wrap around his.
I dig my fingers into his hair, the ache between my thighs pulsing with a familiar need. I can’t seem to help myself when he starts touching me.
“You’ll always be my baby,” he says against my lips. “And I’m always going to take care of you.”
I pull back to look into his eyes. “Stay. I don’t want to be without you.”
I see the waver in his eyes. The temptation.
All during the period of time that we put our relationship on hold, he was there whenever I needed him. He didn’t push, he didn’t ask me for anything.
And I really appreciate how he’s doing everything he can to make this wedding the opposite of the first.
The dress, the setting, the flowers—they are all designed to make me feel special. To show his love.
But I feel that already. My doubts about myself and my husband have burned away, leaving just us.
A knock sounds on the door. Ava. My maid of honor.
And my niece, Anna, she’s my flower girl, but her dress doesn’t match Ava’s, it matches mine.
“Tell her to go back to Dimitri,” I say as Ryker pushes up from the bed.
“If it’s what you want,” he says with a wicked grin. “Who am I to say no?”
I smile back. In my husband’s arms is where I belong. Tonight, and every night. For the rest of our lives. Happily, ever after.
Keep reading for a sneak peek of King of Damnation!