Epilogue
Ginny
Another six months later—fall
“Do you think everyone is going to be mad?” I ask Joker as we walk into a bar called City Brews in Rock Hill.
“Fuck ’em if they are, Mrs. Bennett.” He smiles.
He hasn’t called me by my first name in two weeks. Nope. It’s been Mrs. Bennett, Wife, or Beautiful. Those are my names now. He stops me inside the door and pulls me in for a decidedly not-public-friendly kiss.
“Harrison,” I hiss when I pull back, “we’re in public. Behave.”
“I don’t want to public, I want to go back to the beach. And our private pool. And no clothes.”
“Too bad, bucko. Besides, you’re the one who called this get-together and demanded everyone gather here.”
“Fuck. I did do that, didn’t I?”
“Sure did, husband of mine.”
“You better stop that. You know it turns me on when you say that.”
Grinning, I take his hand and turn us, trying to find the group.
“Over here!” Victoria stands up, waving us over.
Tonight, we’re meeting the ANON guys. They don’t know we got married. But our Boulder Canyon friends do. And my family. We face-timed them from the beach so they could watch the vows. I wore a white sundress with—as requested—nothing underneath. We spent the rest of the two weeks enjoying the sun and food on an all-inclusive beach with a private bungalow and pool. It was heaven.
Before I’ve even sat down, Victoria is eyeballing my hand. I don’t have a gaudy ring or a flashy diamond. Just a simple wide band. She looks at me, smiling. She’ll keep the secret until Joker’s ready to share the news.
Victoria is sitting next to Daniel. Grady, Aiden, Nate, and Sammy are all there. Sammy is also a new transplant to Briar Mountain. His meeting with Detective Goode went perfectly and they offered him a position on the force here. One he accepted right away. I know his uncle was upset with him leaving, but we all knew Boulder Canyon was suffocating the poor guy. There’s also a woman I haven’t met. She’s pretty, but fierce looking. I’m pretty sure she could kill me more than one way.
“Who is that?” I whisper to Joker, nodding to the woman.
“Ginny, this is Mary. She’s with the DEA and knows your brother. She was there that night at his house.”
Mary smiles at me, and then I remember her. “You helped me calm the kids down outside.”
“Guilty. It’s nice to see you again, under better circumstances.”
“You, too.” I smile back at her.
“How was vacation?” Aiden asks.
“Is that a ring?” Grady asks at the same time.
Joker smiles, one of his devilish, toothy grins, and nods.
“Holy shit, you tied the knot? Guess that means vacation was vacationing. ” Nate laughs.
“We did,” I confirm. “And it was,” I wink at Joker.
Nate is the first on his feet to congratulate Joker in a man-hug before pulling me into one that isn’t quite as back breaking. Everyone else stands for hugs and congratulations.
“How’s working at the school?” Victoria asks once we’ve settled back down.
“It’s good. I love that I’m there and available, but not tied down.”
“You’ve been able to go over and perform with the Diamond Cove orchestra, haven’t you?” Aiden asks.
“I have. It was amazing. That was the first orchestra I ever played with outside of school performances. It was surreal being back. Tiny’s brothers threw a huge thing for it, all of them showed up. They made sure all the Boulder Canyon people were able to come that could.” I turn to Victoria. “Two of your sisters were there, Abigail and Kat.”
“She invited me, too, but I couldn’t get away that day.” She shares a look with Daniel. “We had some issues at the center.”
“Sorry to hear that. You’ll get to come next time, right?” I smile at her, letting her know I’m not upset.
“I would love that. Thanks.”
As it always does when these guys get together, the talk turns to work stuff. I make eye contact with the bartender, who smiles and heads our way. She’s a beautiful woman, with dark brown hair, crystal blue eyes and tan skin that comes from genes other than a tanning bed. She’s stunning, and not one of the single guys at the table even notices. Huh.
“Couldn’t help but overhear. Congratulations, lovebirds. I’m Mia, this is my place. Welcome.” She smiles at us and we say our hellos. “What can I get you to drink?” she asks.
We place our drink order and Aiden asks for more food for the table to share. When she leaves, Sammy speaks for the first time.
“I don’t want to be a downer, but I need to tell you all something.”
“What’s that?” Daniel asks, immediately assessing the room for threats.
“Your mystery woman…Kara or Karina or Katya?”
“What about her? What did you find?” Aiden demands.
“We found her father. And I don’t think you’re going to like it.” He shares a look with Mary, who nods her head. Giving him permission?
“Who is it?” Joker asks.
He pauses, looking at each of us before taking a deep breath. “Ivan Pavlov. Katya Sokolova is his illegitimate daughter. And chatter on the street is she’s looking to take her place as heir and ruler of the Pavlov Family. She wants to revive the Bratva.”
The men sit, stunned. Victoria looks like she wants to throw up. Mary looks even more fierce. But what I didn’t expect is the clatter of glass and ice on the floor as the bartender drops the tray of our drinks.
“You have to tell Demitri .”
Thank you for reading Love Takes Home!
The End