Epilogue
Addie
“You’re going to get us caught.” I push against JJ’s chest and spin in his arms to face the sink. I’ve been trying to collect all the glasses people keep putting down around the house, but every time I take another step, I find one more.
“Right.” Finn lets out a sarcastic laugh as he steps in through the back door in an Olaf costume.
He was all excited when Hope’s girls asked him to join in on their family costume until he realized they didn’t want him to be Kristoff to Hope’s Anna, but rather the dopey snowman.
He still dressed up, of course. He’ll do anything to make her girls smile.
“Because no one knows you’re together or that he’s always got his tongue down your throat. ”
I roll my eyes at my older brother and focus on the sink. “Are the kids ready to do the pinata? It’s freezing outside.”
It’s Avery’s fifth birthday, and because we missed Halloween, JJ suggested her party be Halloween themed.
My father, of course, took it up a notch, and because virtually everyone who lives on this street is part of our family, we all went trick or treating, giving JJ the chance to recreate the missed Halloween with his daughter. My dad really is the best.
They all are. Every one of my aunts and uncles here tonight is dressed up and playing along.
When we got back, the kids begged Finn to take them out back to play with the raccoons, and Finn can never say no to any of them.
The past month has been the perfect combination of chaos and complete joy.
Our team is on fire, JJ is enjoying the hell out of his last season, and I’m reveling in every moment I have with both him and Avery.
“Yeah, that’s why I was coming inside. Win wants to know if you want them to do it outside or if you’re setting it up in here.”
I survey JJ, deferring to him. He’s the parent, after all.
I still feel slightly lost when it comes to the parenting stuff, but between Hope and Winnie, I’ve got two wonderful role models who can show me the ropes.
And when they aren’t around, my own mother is only a phone call away.
Not to mention about half a dozen aunts in the neighborhood.
JJ shrugs. “If they aren’t too cold out there, let’s set it up outside.”
I set the clean glass on the drying rack and pat my hands with a towel. “Okay. I’ll run up to the kids’ room and grab the pinata, then.”
JJ grabs my hips. “I’ll help.”
Finn snorts. “Right. Help. Don’t take too ducking long. Dad’s outside, you know.”
“Race you.” I push past JJ and rush toward the stairs. The two of us are as competitive as ever.
JJ snags me around the waist. “Cheater,” he breathes out against my ear.
I’m giggling when he sets me on my feet. “On your mark,” he warns. “Get set—”
I scream “Go!” and rush up the steps, laughing as he whines from behind me about cheating again.
I’m laughing and out of breath when I reach the top of the steps, but before I can celebrate my win, JJ’s got me pinned against the wall, kissing me again.
I melt into him, my hands slipping beneath the hem of his Dream Team T-shirt.
That was Avery’s requested costume. The three of us are dressed as superheroes for her dream team.
JJ clutches both my wrists in one hand and pushes them above my head, kissing my neck. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“Who said I couldn’t finish? Bet I can make you come in thirty seconds, Hanson.”
Chuckling, he presses one more kiss against my lips. “I’m sure you can, but guess what?” He drops my hands and rushes toward the kid’s bedroom at the end of the hall, leaving me in the dust. “I’m gonna win.”
A shocked squeak escapes me. “And you call me the cheater,” I yell as I run after him.
When his hand hits the knob and he pushes it open, thereby beating me, I groan. But the sound dies on my lips quickly.
Because inside the bedroom, Brayden has Vivi pressed up against the wall, in a very similar position to the one JJ just had me in.
“Coach is right downstairs,” JJ growls.
The two of them jump apart, though Vivi looks a hell of a lot more guilty than Bray. His tongue goes to his cheek and he glares at JJ. But before he can open his mouth to speak, a loud bang on the door cuts him off. “You two better be dressed,” Finn yells from the other side.
Vivi spins toward me, her eyes pleading.
I give her a quick nod, telling her I’ll cover for them. “Come on.” I point at the pinata and candy. “Let’s go get this set up.”
His focus is still fixed on Brayden. They’re having some type of conversation with their eyes.
I grab JJ’s shirt. “Let’s go.” Then to my brother I yell, “Don’t get your panties in a snowball. We’re coming.”
“That better not be a sexual joke,” he hollers.
Finally JJ snaps out of it and grabs the candy and pinata. “Better go downstairs before you see your sister’s panties.”
“Gross.” His feet pound loudly against the hardwood floors of the hall, the sound growing fainter as he descends the stairs.
“You’ve got five minutes,” JJ warns them. Then he shakes his head at Bray. “After all the shit you gave me.” But he coughs out a laugh when he says it and Bray’s eyes twinkle.
“I’m sorry!” Vivi calls out as we head for the door.
I glance back and see Bray leaning down and giving Vivi a soft smile. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for Vi.” Then he presses the gentlest of kisses against her lips.
I spin quickly and flatten my lips to stop the squeal.
Vi? Damn, he’s got a whole nickname for her and everything. How the hell did we miss this for so long? I shake my head. It’s none of my business. So with a smile, I say, “I’ll see you downstairs.”
The moment we close the playroom door, I spin to JJ. “How long do you really think that’s been going on?”
He rolls his neck and glances at the door. “I saw something a few months ago, but I—” He shakes his head. “Fuck, he made me think I was nuts for comparing him sneaking out of Vivi’s room to me sneaking out of yours.”
Snorting, I smack him in the chest. “You caught him sneaking out of her room and you didn’t tell me?”
He presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek. “I really didn’t think it was anything.”
I blow out a breath. “Well, you were wrong. Hopefully we make it through the season without coach killing him.”
JJ chuckles. “Not our monkey, not our circus.”
I grin. “I don’t know, Hanson, I’m pretty sure we’re all in the circus together.”
His expression softens and the frustration he was feeling over the lie Bray clearly told him eases. He wraps an arm around me and guides me toward the stairs, all the pinata stuff in his other one. “You’re right, babe. And I wouldn’t want to be doing it with anyone else.”
Fifteen minutes later Vivi walks outside wrapped in a jacket by herself. I don’t notice whether Bray comes out too. I’m too focused on the big smile Avery is wearing as she swings the plastic bat, missing the pinata completely.
To no one’s surprise, Dec hits the pinata with precision, breaking it wide open and sending candy flying to the ground. Avery snatches my hand and pulls me toward the mess of candy, begging me to help her collect the most. She clearly inherited her dad’s competitive streak.
It takes over an hour for bathtime that night. There’s dirt and grime beneath the kids’ nails and Avery ended up barefoot, chasing the raccoons at some point, so the bottoms of her feet are black.
Still, I’m smiling when JJ and I settle beside her on her bottom bunk to do our typical good-night routine.
“Can we call Mimi?” Avery asks.
JJ sighs, but he’s smiling. “She just left, Avey girl.”
Our girl pouts. “What about Aunt Chloe? She wasn’t here. Can we call her?”
JJ strokes her silky hair. “Baby, she’s sleeping. It’s after two in the morning in Paris.”
She slumps back against her pillow. “Fine.”
“Want us to tell you a story?” I coax.
Her blue eyes light up. “Oh! Can you tell me the story about how you fell in love again?”
Her father’s matching blues meet mine and his lips hook up in a smile. “Well, the first time I realized I liked Adeline more than as a friend, we were out on the ice.”
Avery reaches for my hand as the two of us focus on her daddy’s every word.
“She was the best skater, and I just knew one day she’d be the best goalie in the NHL. I even told her she’d be a legend that day.”
Smiling, I murmur, “I remember the moment like it was yesterday.” Then again, I remember them all.