Epilogue
CINDY
T he boat lurches to the left, and I grab the railing with both hands, laughing so hard I can barely breathe.
“Luke!” I shout over the motor and the wind. “You’re gonna kill us!”
“I got it!” he yells back, overcorrecting that we swing right.
Arrow’s beer sloshes over the side of his cup. “You clearly don’t got it!”
Holt is gripping the bench. “And we’ve almost hit three other boats.”
“They were in my way,” Luke argues, spinning the wheel again.
We zigzag across the water like drunk dolphins, leaving a wake that probably violates several maritime laws. Other boats are giving us a wide berth, and I swear I see someone on a yacht shaking their head at us.
“We are one hundred percent getting banned from this marina,” I manage between laughs.
“Worth it!” Arrow raises his beer in a toast, then nearly drops it when Luke takes another sharp turn.
I’m sitting on the waters of Waikiki in O’ahu, Hawaii, life jacket strapped on tight, sundress billowing around my thighs.
The sun is blazing overhead, hot and bright, and the ocean stretches out in every direction.
Deep blue fading to turquoise near the shore, so clear I can see straight to the bottom in the shallow parts.
We left the hotel three hours ago. Luke insisted he knew what he was doing. Seeing as it’s the first day of our honeymoon, the rental guy had looked increasingly concerned, yet all of us were piling into this tiny boat with a cooler full of drinks and zero actual plans.
It’s been the best three hours of my life.
“Okay, new rule,” Holt says, standing carefully. “I’m driving.”
“I’m fine!”
I’m still laughing, wiping tears from my eyes.
Holt physically moves Luke away from the wheel. There’s some shoving, but eventually Luke gives up and flops down beside me on the bench.
“Mutiny,” he mutters.
I lean into him, and his arm comes around me automatically. “I’d like to survive my honeymoon, thanks.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I left it back on the dock where we almost hit that piling.”
Arrow is laughing now too, standing at the front of the boat with his arms spread wide. The turquoise Hawaiian shirt he’s wearing is flapping in the breeze, and his blond hair is wild. “This is amazing! And exactly what honeymoons should be!”
“Chaotic and near fatal?” Holt asks dryly, but he’s smiling as he steers us into smoother waters.
“Exactly!”
The boat settles now that Holt is at the helm. We’re still moving fast, but it’s intentional. The motor hums steadily, and the water stretches out endlessly around us.
I tilt my head back, closing my eyes, letting the sun warm my face. The breeze smells like salt and sunshine. The sound of the waves, Luke’s breathing beside me, Arrow’s whooping from the front. It all blends together into something perfect.
“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” I say.
Luke draws me closer. “Where else would we be?”
“I don’t know. Home? At the mansion?”
I stare up at the blue sky. Not a single cloud. Just endless sunshine and warmth.
“Four weeks ago, I was standing in our backyard, in a borrowed dress, getting married,” I say. “And now I’m in Hawaii. On a boat. With you three. It doesn’t feel real.”
“It’s real.” Luke presses a kiss to my temple. “You’re stuck with us now.”
“Good.”
Arrow turns from the front, grinning. The water color shifts to that brilliant turquoise that’s incredible. I spot fish darting below us, colorful flashes of yellow and blue.
“There!” Arrow shouts suddenly, pointing.
I follow his gaze and nearly scream.
Dolphins.
A whole pod of them, surfacing beside our boat. Sleek gray bodies arcing through the water, so close I could reach out and touch them if I leaned over the railing. They’re swimming alongside us, keeping pace, and I can hear them making sounds. Clicks and whistles that carry over the motor noise.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, frozen. “They’re right there.”
Luke grins beside me. “Told you boats were a good idea.”
The dolphins stay with us for what feels like forever but is probably only a few minutes. They dive and surface, playing in our wake, and I’m completely transfixed. One of them does a full breach, launching itself out of the water, and I scream with joy.
“Did you see that?” I’m gripping Luke’s arm so hard I’m probably leaving marks. “Did you see?”
“We all saw, gorgeous.”
“I’m never leaving. I’m staying here with the dolphins forever.”
“What about us?” Arrow calls.
“You can visit. On weekends.”
The dolphins eventually dive deep and disappear, but I’m still buzzing with adrenaline and joy. My face hurts from smiling.
Holt slows the boat, letting us drift.
“This is insane,” I say for maybe the twentieth time today.
“You keep saying that,” Holt observes.
“Because it keeps being true!”
Arrow moves to the back of the boat, opening the cooler and pulling out… wait.
“Is that a portable grill?” I ask.
“Yep.” He’s already setting it up on the flattest part of the boat, like this is completely normal.
“When did you pack a portable grill?”
“I rented it when we got the boat.”
Luke is pulling things out of the cooler now. A big fish wrapped in paper with its tail sticking out, vegetables, aluminum foil. “Freshly caught.”
Holt anchors us, doing something complicated with ropes and chains. The boat settles, rocking gently with the waves.
“We’re cooking on the boat,” I say slowly. “In the middle of the ocean.” This whole day is absurd. We’ve been in Hawaii for less than twenty-four hours, and this is my life now.
Holt finishes with the anchor and moves to help Arrow with the grill. Luke is seasoning the fish.
I sit on my towel on the bench and just watch them.
Luke’s Hawaiian shirt is bright red with huge yellow flowers, unbuttoned halfway down his chest because he claims it’s too hot to button it properly.
His sunglasses keep slipping down his nose.
He’s barefoot, swim trunks riding low on his hips, and he’s gesturing wildly while arguing with Arrow about seasoning.
Arrow’s turquoise shirt is still buttoned all the way up despite the heat.
His blond hair is getting curly from the salt air and humidity.
He has his serious cooking face on, the one he gets when he’s focused on making something perfect.
Spatula in one hand, the other hand shooing Luke away from the grill.
Holt’s purple shirt with the neon parrots should look ridiculous, but somehow he makes it work. His aviators are still on, hair pushed back, and he’s watching Arrow and Luke with that small smile he gets when he’s amused but trying not to show it.
The grill gets lit without incident, which feels like a miracle. Soon the smell of cooking fish mixes with the salt air, and my stomach growls loudly enough that Luke hears it from across the boat.
“Hungry?” he calls.
“Starving.”
Holt comes to sit beside me, his thigh pressing against mine.
I lean into him. “I keep waiting to wake up. For this to be a dream.”
“It’s not a dream.”
“I know. But months ago, I was terrified. Running. And now I’m here. In Hawaii. With you three. Married. Happy.” My voice catches slightly. “I never thought I’d get this.”
His arm comes around me, pulling me closer. “You deserve this. All of it.”
“We all do,” Luke adds, apparently listening. “We all fought like hell to get here.”
Arrow flips the fish with more force than necessary. The fish is done eventually, plated on paper plates that Arrow somehow also packed. We eat sitting on the benches, feet dangling over the side, the boat rocking gently beneath us.
It’s the best meal I’ve ever had. The fish is perfectly cooked, flaky and seasoned just right. The vegetables are charred and delicious. Even the cheap beer from the cooler tastes like luxury out here with the sun warming my skin and the ocean stretching endlessly around us.
“Hey, Cindy,” Luke says after we’ve all eaten our fill. “How about a dip before we head back?”
He’s already standing, pulling off his Hawaiian shirt and tossing it on the bench. His swim trunks are black with tiny white skulls on them.
“The water is probably cold,” I say.
“Only one way to find out.”
Holt is already kicking off his shorts, revealing pineapple-covered swim trunks, and I’m giggling. Arrow sets down his plate and looks at me with a challenge in his eyes.
“You coming or not?”
I stand, suddenly decisive. The sundress comes off easily. Underneath, I’m wearing the magenta bikini I bought specifically for this trip, with little white ties on the sides and more coverage than Harper wanted me to get but less than I’m used to.
All three of them are staring.
“What?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious.
“Nothing,” Luke manages. “Just… damn.”
“Eyes up here, boys.”
“Nope,” Arrow says cheerfully. “Not happening.”
Holt recovers first, shaking his head. “You’re trying to kill us.”
“I’m wearing a normal bathing suit!”
“There’s nothing normal about that,” Holt says.
Before I can respond, Arrow runs and cannonballs off the side of the boat. The splash is enormous, soaking the deck, and he surfaces, laughing and sputtering.
“It’s perfect!” he shouts. “Get in here!”
Luke goes next, diving smoothly off the side. Holt follows with barely a splash.
They’re all treading water, looking up at me expectantly.
I take a breath and jump.
The water is cool but not cold, perfect against my sun-warmed skin. I surface, gasping and laughing, and immediately they’re all around me.
Luke’s hands find my waist, pulling me close. “There she is.”
Holt is behind me, steadying me in the current. Arrow is floating nearby, grinning like an idiot.
“This is insane,” I say again.
“You love it,” Luke counters.
“I really do.”
We float there, the four of us, held by the ocean and each other. The boat bobs nearby, abandoned. The beach is close enough to see clearly, palm trees swaying in the breeze. The sun is starting to lower, still hours from sunset but casting golden light over everything.
I’m weightless here. Surrounded by water and warmth and the three men who somehow became my entire world.
“I love you,” I say suddenly. To all of them. “I love you all so much.”
“Love you too,” they say, voices overlapping.
Luke kisses me, salt water on his lips and sunshine in his smile. Holt’s hand finds mine underwater, squeezing gently. Arrow splashes us all, breaking the moment with laughter.
This is my future now.
Not running. Not hiding. Not terrified of what comes next.
Just here. Floating in the Pacific Ocean on my honeymoon with three Alphas who would follow me anywhere.
Who did follow me. Through everything. Through fear and danger and chaos and somehow came out the other side with me.
Into this.
Into floating and laughing and being completely, utterly, impossibly happy.
And I wouldn’t trade a single second of it.
Because it led me here.
To them.
To this moment.
To everything I never knew I needed.
And I’m never letting it go.