Epilogue Julia
JULIA
Kit walked through the doors of the OMA like a golden ray of sunshine.
Hair straight and layered, cheeks flushed, eyes so full of light they literally sparkled when she smiled. The scent of something sweet clung to her beyond her normal signature—sugar and vanilla and a little citrusy undertone I’d come to associate with her bakery.
Waving goodbye to Marco, who gave me a chin lift in greeting before taking a seat in the lobby to wait for her, she headed my way, practically radiating physical warmth.
God, I loved her. But I also kinda wanted to flick her on the forehead, just on principle.
I wasn’t trying to be a bitch; I swear—
But I’d give my left tit for even a sliver of that happiness.
Was I jealous?
Hell yes.
I wanted to be just as happy.
But more than that?
I wanted to be just as free .
“Holy shit,” I said, grinning as I met her halfway. “Look at you. You’re practically glowing. Are you pregnant or just well-fucked?”
Kit blushed wildly, laughing and pulling me into a hug. “Hi, Jules. I missed you too.”
“I’m serious,” I muttered into her hair. “No offense, but you used to look like the poster child for emotional damage, and now you’re out here giving main character energy, smelling extra, like cake and sugar and chocolate. You did bring me sweets, right?”
Used to my usual flavor of sass by now, she rolled with the feistiness, pulled back, and held out the box in her hand like she had been waiting on me to ask for the goods. But I ignored it entirely and zeroed in on the ring.
“Oh my God. ” That signature pink worked into Kit’s face again as she shifted the box and held out her hand so I could get a better look. “That’s not a ring. That’s a rock .”
“I know,” she said, all soft and smug and in love.
Ok fine, Kit wasn’t smug about anything, but she was deliriously happy.
The kind of happy that was hard not to want for yourself.
“All four of them got you rings?”
She nodded. “They all wanted to propose. It was the sweetest thing.”
“Wow. I’m impressed. Also, slightly annoyed. My brothers are setting the bar unreasonably high.”
She snorted. “You’re just mad you can’t tease them for being emotionally constipated anymore.”
“Exactly.” I grinned, loving how well Kit knew me already. “Ruins all my best material.”
We dropped into a pair of chairs by the window, the ones with the good lighting and halfway decent upholstery. I took the box of baked goods with a gold logo imprinted on the top. Opening it, I swallowed down a moan at how good the mixture of danishes, croissants, cupcakes, and cookies smelled. The scent of lemon frosting hit me hard, and I beelined for the cupcake, taking a humongous bite.
“This is from your place, right?” I asked around a mouthful.
“Fresh this morning.”
I held up my hand. “If I propose, don’t read too much into it. It’s the cupcake talking.”
Kit rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. She did that often now. Smile. The tension in her shoulders was gone, a kind of relaxed contentment that only came when life stopped punching you in the throat for five minutes. She looked so damn at peace it almost made my chest ache.
Almost.
“Where’s Adeline?” she questioned.
I stiffened, just a little. Barely enough to notice. But Kit noticed. She always did.
I sighed. “She’s not here. She’s been… busy.”
“There’s definitely more to that story.” Her gaze was curious but also understanding. She wouldn’t pry, even if she wanted to.
That was the best thing about my new sister-in-law. She understood boundaries. Just like everything else about her, she was gentle. She set people at ease. Made people want to open up to her. It was a gift. One I didn’t possess.
Apparently, I hesitated too long. Kit reached for me, squeezing my hand in solidarity. “Jules?”
I stared into the box of treats like it held the answers to all my problems. They did say you should eat desserts when you’re stressed, right? I mean, “stressed” was just “desserts” spelled backward, after all.
“It’s… complicated.”
Tilting her head, she studied me like I was some kind of code she wanted to crack. “You okay?”
“Define okay.” I took another bite of cupcake, then licked the frosting off my lips. “I matched.”
Her eyes widened. “You what ?”
“A new binder of scents arrived a few days ago, and I found my scent matches. Our courting was approved yesterday.”
My sister-in-law practically vibrated with excitement. “Julia, that’s amazing—”
“Mm.” I swallowed. “Isn’t it?”
“You don’t look thrilled.”
I winced. “Is it that obvious?”
“Seriously, what’s wrong?” she asked, voice low now, serious. “You’re worrying me.”
Closing my eyes, I sat in the silence. Just for a minute. Just to give myself time to explain, but the best I could come up with was, “It’s not them. They’re... fine. I think.”
“You think ?”
“I haven’t actually met them yet. I just…” I exhaled, shaking my head.
Kit frowned. “I know matching from the scent binders isn’t ideal, but that’s how it usually works, right? As soon as you meet them, you’ll just know .”
“I’m counting on that,” I said quietly. “Because right now? It doesn’t feel like fate.” It felt like I’d just lost my best friend…
Kitania leaned in, eyes gleaming with that steady kind of empathy she did better than anyone else I’d ever met. “You don’t have to tell me what’s bothering you, and I won’t pry, but just know that I’m always here for you if you need me. That’s what sisters are for, right?”
A small smile tugged at my lips, and I pulled her into a rare hug. “You’re gonna make me soft, Kit. Knock that shit off.”
She snickered, and I held on a beat longer than I meant to.
“It’ll be worth it, Jules. Being scent-matched—it changes you in all the best ways.”
Before she could say more, my matching coordinator called my name from down the hall, summoning me for who-knows-what.
“I guess that’s my cue.” I stood, dusted off the crumbs, and tried to pretend like my stomach wasn’t in knots.
Kit rose with me. “Promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“You’ll call me if you ever need me? Day or night.”
“Oh sister of mine, I have so much to teach you,” I teased. “You should’ve aimed higher. That wasn’t a promise, that was a foregone conclusion.”
She pulled me into one last hug, warm and tight, and I let myself linger in it. Gave her a real squeeze back, even though my throat felt too tight, and I was suddenly very aware that I had no idea when I’d see her again. Not with the way everything was shifting around me.
My heart clenched—but like always, I swallowed the vulnerability before it could crawl its way up my throat, then turned it into something easier to carry. Sass was my armor. Sharp edges, my comfort zone.
Stepping back, I forced a smirk. “My brothers are probably going through withdrawals without you. Besides, apparently I have some packing to do. Go make your happy ending count.”
She laughed warmly, and I pretended like that sound didn’t make something inside me ache.
Because the truth?
I didn’t know what came next.
My scent matches were waiting. Adeline wasn’t returning my calls. And every instinct I had was screaming that getting on the plane I was supposed to board tomorrow would change absolutely everything.
Hugging the box of baked goods, I turned away before Kit could read any more in my eyes.
Because she was right. There was more to the story.
A lot more.
Kit had her fairytale, but I was in the middle of the world’s worst cliffhanger.
And if I was going to survive what came next—I’d need more than a bond.
I’d need to rewrite the damn rules.