Epilogue
Liam
One Year Later
“Liam, hold still,” Taylor admonishes as I try to pull my face out of his grasp.
“Tay, is this really necessary?” I ask as he sweeps the brush over my skin one more time. “I mean, not everyone is meant to be as beautiful as you on their wedding day.”
“Pshhh,” he says, throwing a look at his boyfriend, Knox. “I’m starting to think I’m never going to even have a wedding day.”
“Princess,” Knox says calmly. “We’ve been over this. You told me not to propose to you until after this wedding because you didn’t want to steal their thunder.”
Pursing his lips, Taylor corrects Knox. “No, I said don’t do it until after their wedding because I didn’t want to share the spotlight.”
Knox grunts. “I know. I was trying to make you sound polite,” he teases.
Taylor spritzes something in my face, and it gets in my mouth, causing me to try to get the liquid off my tongue.
“Oh, relax, it’s just a setter,” Taylor says, like I’m supposed to know what the hell that means.
“Tay, you know he’s not walking down the aisle with all that shit on his face, right?
” Damon says, walking into the room, hopefully to rescue me.
Damon doesn’t even crack a smile as he hands a glass of Scotch to Knox, and they clink their glasses together.
Damon had been right when he said he thought I’d like Knox.
The guy’s chill like me, but mature and responsible like Damon, and he really makes Taylor smile, which is nice to see.
“Damon! You’re not supposed to see the bride before the ceremony!” Taylor screeches.
“Tay, I was balls deep inside him less than two hours ago. We aren’t sticking to that ridiculous tradition.”
Taylor’s eyes light up, and he takes a sharp inhale.
“Taylor, don’t—” Knox warns, already knowing what’s coming, but in true Taylor fashion, Tay plows ahead anyway.
“Ohmygod! Knox was balls deep inside me two hours ago! We were doing it at the same time! Aww, we really are twins.”
I snort with laughter and look over at Knox, who’s scrubbing a hand down his face.
“You know,” Damon starts, taking on a serious tone as he looks at Taylor, “I used to not want people to compare us all the time. There were days I resented being a twin because it was like I had no autonomy.”
“Yeah, I know,” Taylor says, the hurt in his voice easy to hear.
“But I was stupid, Bird,” Damon says, using Taylor’s nickname. “And I’m really sorry. I’m honored to be your twin brother, and there’s no one else I’d rather share a face…or a sex schedule with.” Damon can’t help but smile as he adds that last part.
Tay turns around to face Damon, who’s seated next to Knox, and throws his arms around his brother.
“Love you, D.”
“You too, Bird. And you know what?” Damon asks, throwing a look I don’t love over Taylor’s shoulder. “Li does look damn good, Tay. Add some of your rhinestones and see if you can really make him shine for me.”
“I hate you,” I mutter as Taylor turns back to me, already pulling a sparkly gem from a sheet full of them.
“Too bad for you, since you’re about to be stuck with me forever,” Damon says, blowing me a kiss.
It’s just the four of us in here right now, and it’s nice to have a break from all the guests.
It hasn’t really gotten a whole lot less awkward interacting when my dad and D’s parents are all together, though both sides have tried to place nicely for our sake.
Knowing my dad repeatedly fucked Taylor and still has feelings for him is a pretty big elephant in the room.
“Was that supposed to be a threat?” I ask my fiancé. “Because it wasn’t. I’m about to take your last name, and I’m never giving it back, so the joke’s on you.”
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. I knew we couldn’t live in this peaceful bliss forever. Damon has four siblings after all, plus a brother-in-law, a niece, and his parents. There’s also my dad, and to our delight, Storm and Owen are here, as well as their friend Sawyer.
The wedding is small and intimate, just like we wanted, but of course, everyone wants a private word with one of us at some point.
I assume someone is coming to take Damon away again when the door cracks open an inch, and I hear my father’s voice.
“Um, Li, are you in there?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, Dad.”
He doesn’t peer into the room. Perhaps he knows Taylor and Knox are in here, or maybe he just thinks Damon and I are naked.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asks through the door.
“Sure.” I stand from the chair my ass has been in for the last forty minutes while Tay did my makeup, and I make my way to the door.
When I step into the hallway, my dad startles before breaking out into a smile.
“Taylor?” he asks.
“Taylor,” I confirm.
“Is he in there?” My dad glances at the door.
Damon and I have tried to do a decent job of keeping them apart.
A year is both a long time and the blink of an eye when you’re talking about matters of the heart.
My dad created some pretty significant trauma in Taylor, and he’s also still dealing with the grief of losing him.
“I just want you to know how happy I am for you. I’m so glad to have you back, and I wish you and Damon a lifetime of happiness, son.”
Getting choked up, I crack a joke to diffuse the tension, because that’s what I do.
“Dad, don’t make me cry, my mascara will run.”
He laughs and sniffles at the same time. “Talk about words I never thought I’d hear come out of your mouth.”
“There have been a lot of those recently.” I grin, stepping back from the embrace he pulled me into. “Thanks for coming, Dad. I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“Anything for you, Li. I know your mom would be so proud of you, too.” At the mention of my mom, I take a deep breath, and my dad takes the hint. “Okay, enough emotions. I’ll see you out there.”
Out there.
At my wedding.
To Damon.
I made it through the vows…barely, but Damon lost it the second I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers together.
He clung to me in front of our families so tightly, unable to control his breathing, it took Taylor coming to where we were standing and whispering, “Pull it together, and marry this man, or we’re never going to get the part where we can drink. ”
It was enough to make Damon take his face out of my neck and stutter through his vows.
Now, thankfully, we’ve made it to Meltdown. Our party is so small, there wasn’t a need to rent the whole place, and I like the vibe of the other skiers being here.
My new ring feels heavy and unyielding on my finger. I’m embracing its weight like a comfort blanket, and I love the way the bar lights make the silver shine.
Damon is currently being embraced by his siblings, and I’m sipping on a beer, just taking it all in.
I’ve been waiting to freak out, feel like I’m too young for this, have some sense of dread over forever, but I feel nothing except peace.
This is exactly where I’m supposed to be and who I’m supposed to be with.
After fifteen minutes of small talk with my dad and D’s parents, I want to pull my husband away from his siblings, but I have a better idea instead.
Nodding my head at Kat, the bartender, I give her the signal. These days, restaurants all play their music through a streaming service, so requesting a song isn’t a big deal.
Kat turns it up a little so it can be heard over the low hum of chatter, and as soon as the opening notes of Night Moves by H Burns filter through the speakers, Damon’s eyes find mine.
DAMON
I’ve never cried so much in life, but fuck, this is overwhelming in the best way. I remember the night I thought Liam and I would never make another memory to this song ever again, and here we are, listening to it at our wedding reception.
Liam is sitting at the table, watching me. He’s got one arm draped over the back of his chair, and the other is saluting me with his beer.
My siblings have been yammering on for what feels like forever, and finally, I can escape.
“I’ve gotta go. This is our song,” I tell them, making my way back to Liam.
When I get to our table, he angles his head up to look at me and licks his lips. “Care to dance?”
“Please.”
Liam stands and pulls me to a corner. Meltdown isn’t a club or dance hall, so the space is limited, and it’s probably weird that we’re dancing, but fuck it, this is our wedding reception, and this is our song, and I’m going to dance with my husband.
I’ve got one arm around his back, and the other is clutched in his over his heart.
“I can’t wait to do forever with you,” I tell him. “I love you, and I’m so fucking proud of you,” I gush.
Liam has put in long hours learning about business, making a plan, finding the perfect place, and marketing for the grand opening of his bed-and-breakfast this spring.
It’s been so much fucking fun watching him find his footing in life, his passion, and really diving in.
We’ve moved into the guest house on the property because we learned it’s much easier to manage when you live on-site, and although it’s not a place I would have pictured myself living, I love it.
I love that it’s ours. I love that we’re doing it together, and I love that it makes him so damn happy.
“I never would have gotten here if it weren’t for you, D,” he says, melting the rest of my heart.
“You would have. It just may have taken a little longer,” I tell him, confident in his ability to find his way.
“No, baby, you don’t get it. You’re my compass, my anchor and my wings, my light in the dark.
I felt like I’d lived sixty years inside of twenty-four, and I couldn’t get my feet under me.
Until our trip last year, nothing made sense.
I didn’t know which way was up. When you kissed me, my whole world shifted, and suddenly, I could see clearly.
Suddenly, everything made sense. I love you so fucking much.
” He pulls me closer to him and kisses me, groaning when my lips devour his.
The moment is perfect.