Epilogue - Levi
LEVI
F uck, Levi . . .”
I grin against her, sliding my tongue through her slickness as she comes undone for me for the third time today. Even after a year and a half, and spending nearly every night inside her, I still can’t get enough.
Ava shudders underneath me, and I press kisses up her stomach, then to her tender breasts, before I reach her lips. She’s flushed, so pretty, and panting in the wake of her orgasm when I press my lips to hers.
“You’re going to kill me,” she breathes against my lips.
“I’m innocent.” Lie. “I’m just trying to keep my girl happy.”
Her cheeks flame, and she smiles up at me from the bed when I force myself to break the kiss. She looks so beautiful with the new glow in her skin.
“We’re late,” she grumbles when I help her stand, though the grin on her face tells me she’s not all that upset about it.
I scrub a hand over the back of my mouth and help her right her dress. It’s just big enough that it hides the small bump there, and I can’t help but press my palm to it through the material.
I smirk, dipping my head so my lips graze her ear. “Sweetheart, I’d make us late every damn day if it meant seeing you like that.”
She places her hand over mine, interlocking our fingers on her stomach. Her smile softens, and for a moment, the chaos of everything outside these four walls doesn’t exist. It’s just her, me, and the tiny life growing between us.
“Careful, baby. You keep eye-fucking me like that and we’ll never make it to this thing.”
She swats at my chest, laughing, but the sound breaks into a nervous little sigh when she catches the weight in my stare. I don’t look away. I can’t. The sight of her—glowing, carrying the proof of us—is more than I ever thought I’d deserve.
“You’re staring again,” she whispers, cheeks flushed.
“Can’t help it,” I admit, squeezing her hand on her stomach. “Every time I look at you, it feels like the first time. And now…” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat. “Now I know you’re carrying my kid, and fuck, Ava—it’s like my whole goddamn world’s right here.”
Her eyes glisten, and she presses her forehead to mine. “Are we going to tell your family?”
“Soon.”
“They’re going to figure it out eventually. Paulina’s been hovering lately. She probably already knows.”
I meet her gaze, dead serious. “I want to enjoy you. Us. Before everything changes. Once people know, it won’t just be ours anymore—it’ll be everyone’s business.”
Her lips part like she wants to argue, but then she exhales slowly, nodding. “Okay. Our secret. For now.”
Her brows furrow in that familiar way they do when there’s more on her mind than she’s willing to let on. If there’s anything I’ve come to know in the last six months we’ve been married, it’s that my wife likes to worry about things that don’t need to be worried about.
I lean back, taking her face in my hands. “What is it, Ava?”
Her throat bobs as she swallows, but her doubt lingers, written all over her face. “Are you sure?”
“About what?”
She glances around nervously, biting her lip.
“All of it.”
My chest tightens because I know exactly what she means. She isn’t just talking about the baby. She’s talking about me. About us.
“Sweetheart, you’re the only thing in this life I am sure about.”
She smiles then, and it’s like looking into the center of the sun. Fucking breathtaking.
I glance at the clock on the bedside stand behind us. We were supposed to be at the family reunion twenty minutes ago, but she was just too fucking tempting in her little yellow sundress. I had to have her—again—before we left.
“Come on, Mrs. Cross. I know you’re hungry.”
She smiles, letting me take her hand and pull her towards the door.
“There had better be chocolate cake, or I’m starting a riot.”
I pull her out to the car, helping her get situated before I cross to my side. The little cottage where she grew up is coming along nicely. We spent the last year renovating it. Adding another bedroom and an office. We installed new flower beds and even repaired the old, busted garage out back.
It’s become more than just a house. It’s a home—our home, and it’s more than either of us ever imagined we’d ever have.
Fuck, looking over at Ava— my wife —I still have a hard time believing it’s all real.
The leather creaks under me as I slide behind the wheel, but I don’t start the engine right away.
Instead, I glance at her—bare legs tucked under her, one hand resting over her stomach like it’s second nature now.
The late afternoon sun filters through the windshield, catching the tiny gold flecks in her eyes, and damn if it doesn’t knock the breath right out of me.
She turns, catching me staring again, and that slow, knowing smile spreads across her face. The one that says she sees right through me. The one that undoes me every single time.
“What?” she teases softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
I lean back, taking it all in—the woman who survived hell, the woman who chose me anyway, the woman who somehow became my wife. “Nothing,” I murmur, even though it’s everything. “Just can’t get over the fact that you’re mine.”
Her eyes soften, but there’s a spark there too, like she knows exactly the power she has over me. “Forever,” she whispers, lacing her fingers through mine on the console.
Forever. A word I never believed in until her.
I finally twist the key in the ignition, but my chest feels too full, like it might split wide open.
The little cottage behind us isn’t just walls and paint and flowerbeds—it’s proof.
Proof that no matter what we went through, no matter who tried to tear us apart, we built something no one can take away.
It doesn’t matter what comes next. We’ll figure it out.
The drive to Cross Estate is short, and by the time we pull down the long drive, the party is starting. The family reunion was Mila’s way of bringing together all the people that she cares about, and I guess, I’m happy to be a part of it.
We’ve become a family. One big, messy family, but family all the same.
Her siblings from all over the country flew in, and now they’re staying at the newly renovated lodge. Her mother, Monica, is fussing about, trying to ensure everything is perfect, while Mila rolls her eyes at her.
It’s normal. I fucking love it.
“There’s Donovan,” Ava points out her brother, where he’s talking to Jake, the husband of Mila’s sister’s best friend.
Cherise is on his arm, looking at him longingly.
I’ve got to say, that’s a couple I never saw coming, but I’m happy about it.
Mainly because, as much as both of them have pissed me off in the past, I know they’re good people, deep down, who deserve some joy in this life.
“Oh my God, you’ve finally made it,” Mila groans when I open Ava’s car door and take her hand. “I thought I was going to have to deal with my mother on my own.”
Ava laughs and lets me lead her to the party while Mila talks our ears off.
“She just won’t stop. Do you know she brought my daughter six bags of new clothes? Six . No eleven-year-old needs that many pairs of shoes.”
“By the way,” Ava says, grinning. “I’ve got Lily some new shoes I saw at the shop the other day.”
Mila looks like she might lose it.
“I swear,” she chuckles. “You’re all going to spoil her.”
“Let them,” I smirk. “Kid’s had a hard life. It’s time she felt some love.”
Mila stares at me like I’ve grown an extra head.
“Who are you and what have you done with my brother-in-law?”
“Okay, brat.”
“About time you showed up,” Donovan greets, sliding out of nowhere. He hugs his sister, but gives me a handshake. “I’ve been waiting on you two.”
“We got tied up,” Ava rushes, totally not ratting us out.
Donovan smirks as Cherise joins us. He knows what tied up means.
“Got some news.”
She holds up her hand, and Ava gasps, taking it to look at her ring. I’m glad the two of them have made amends. I think a large part of that is because of Donovan, but the fucker’s head is big enough, so I’d never tell him that.
Over the last year, Ava and Donovan have been steadily working towards building a relationship. I suppose when you learn you have a sibling in your twenty’s it’s hard to adjust, but I’m proud that she’s trying.
As for Marks? The Burelli’s have since been disbanded. We see him every now and then, but he mostly keeps to himself. I think almost losing both his kids was the wake-up call he needed to figure some shit out. I know it bothers Ava that he’s not around much, but it’s for the best.
He did hold up his end of the bargain, though. I was offered my job back at the DEA, but I declined. I’d rather work here with Ava and my brother. Sure, it’s not exciting like it was when I was an agent, but I’d become a fucking accountant if I could just come home to my wife every night.
We’ve taken the lodge and turned it into something we can be proud of. It’s no longer the upscale, wealthy retreat it was and is now a place where everyone can bring their families. Our guest list has increased, and I actually enjoy showing up every day, as opposed to avoiding it like the plague.
Ava became the event planner, and she’s been doing a damn good job of it. I’m so fucking proud of everything she’s accomplished, and everything we’re doing as a team. This place has become something I’m actually proud to call mine. A legacy I can leave behind for my kids one day.
We all take our seats at one of the many tables set up, just as Lily and Christian emerge from the forest. I know for a fact, she was hiding out in her treehouse.
Christian built it for her so she’d have a place to go when the world was just a little too much.
The kid’s a miracle, and the fact that she’s so happy and carefree after everything she’s lived through astounds me.
I have to admit, when he first told me they were thinking about adopting her, I was on the fence, but watching the three of them blend into the perfect family? Well, it gives me hope for the life growing under my hand.
My fingers flex over Ava’s stomach when Christian takes the seat across from us, nodding once. It’s subtle. No one else would notice it but me, but the meaning behind it is clear.
We’ve come a long way.
From a family in pieces to one that can withstand anything. And looking around at everyone gathered for our late September family reunion—the first of many, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ava glances at me, eyes shining, and I can feel her gratitude even without words.
Her hand finds mine under the table, fingers threading together like they’ve always belonged there.
The squeeze is gentle, almost unspoken, but it says everything: we’ve survived, we’ve chosen each other, and we’re not letting go.
Cherise nudges the side of her glass, breaking the hush. “So… who’s going to start the food fight this year?” Her grin is infectious, and suddenly laughter ripples across the table, washing away the heaviness of unspoken memories.
Even Donovan cracks a smirk, shaking his head as if he’s resisting joining in, but I know better—he’s only holding back for dramatic effect.
I glance around again, taking it all in: the easy chatter, the shared glances, the laughter that reaches into the corners of the yard and bounces off the trees. This is more than a family reunion. It’s proof. Proof that the pieces can fit together, even after the messiest of storms.
And for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe that this is how forever feels.
I haven’t spoken to Proctor in nearly six months. Once I’d figured it all out, there just wasn’t a need for me to keep going. I’ve put the past behind me, and I’m building a future with my wife. I have everything I could ever want, and even more than I ever thought possible for a man like me.
If I could see him, though, I’d let him know I’ve found five thousand things to be grateful for. Not just five. And all of them rest in the girl beside me, bearing my last name and carrying my baby.
I squeeze Ava’s hand under the table, a silent vow passing between us. No matter what storms come next, this—this moment, this family, this fragile, beautiful peace—we’ll protect it.
“I love you,” she whispers underneath the chatter, and my chest swells with pride.
“I love you, too, Mrs. Cross. ”
She grins, and for the first time, I stop thinking about what could go wrong. Instead, I just breathe it in, letting it settle over me like sunlight through the trees. Watching the stars shine in my wife’s eyes, and hear our family’s chatter.
And in that quiet certainty, I realize: this is home. This is forever.