26. Epilogue
Two Years Later…
Cade
“You’re kidding? Arthur Donaugh wants to display my collection in his gallery?”
I lay back in our bed, watching Sloane talk on the phone with her agent, Lori. The exhibition in NYC featuring her Rose Valley collection was a smash hit. All her visitors have ensured that Sloane continues to flourish and showcase her versatility, cementing her status as a rising force in the art world.
I couldn’t be more proud of her. I’ve seen a growing change in her over these last two years. Before, she was uncertain about her work and her emotions, but now she paints with all her feelings, to the point it’s become something of a niche for her.
And Theo, he got what was coming to him. Turns out the high school art teacher life wasn’t for him, so he traded it in for being an art teacher at the New York State Penitentiary. Can’t say I feel bad for the guy after all he put Sloane through, but I hardly think he will handle prison well.
“Yes, absolutely. I’ll connect with you Monday morning. Bye,” Sloane says, hanging up the phone excitedly. She turns to face me, and I smile warmly at her. “Arthur Donaugh wants to display my newest collection at his gallery,” she states, and even though I don’t know who that is, her enthusiasm tells me he’s someone important.
“That’s amazing, babe. Where’s his gallery?” I ask.
“London,” she replies, and I nod, biting my bottom lip. “I’m going international, Cade. This is a dream come true,” she says softly, still in disbelief.
I grin at her, leaning up and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “You deserve all your success,” I whisper truthfully. She’s worked her ass off for this moment, and I couldn’t be more excited for her. I can’t wait until Liam hears about it. I know he’ll be excited, too.
“I guess this means we have to plan a family trip to London,” I add.
She shakes her head and gives a little laugh. “I forget sometimes I can do that now,” she replies.
I start placing tender kisses up her neck. She hums at my attention, leaning back to lay beside me.
“You better get used to it, Mrs. Hart,” I reply quietly, running my hand under her shirt and across her bare stomach. She sighs contently when I press my lips just under her ear. “We should celebrate, you know,” I whisper slyly in her ear.
Not needing any more persuasion, she turns and captures my lips with her own. I groan into her mouth, feeling the want and need that is pooling inside her, matching my own. She plunges her tongue into my mouth and nips my bottom lip like she wants to devour me. And I’m more than willing to let her do it.
I let out a gasp as she takes my hand and slides it under the waistband of her underwear. I slide one finger into her slick opening and start to pump, feeling her tighten and pulse around me. Her breath hitches, speeding up as I add another finger, stretching her further. Before I know it, she starts shamelessly riding my hand, desperate for relief.
I chuckle but don’t stop my ministrations. “Someone is in a hurry,” I tease as my fingers dance and pump inside her. She sighs happily into my mouth, then lets out a deep whimper as I speed up my movements.
“You know how it goes by now,” she says, her voice trembling with pleasure. She groans into my shoulder, and I feel my own craving for her making my boxers uncomfortably tight.
She protests a little when I remove my hand from her, but she helps me tug my boxers off. I lay her down on the bed once we’re both totally bare, our skin hot and flushed with need. She’s ready for me, as she always is, and she lets out a quiet cry as I waste no time thrusting into her.
Our bodies effortlessly meld together as one, as if we’re made for each other. We settle into a slow, sensual rhythm, chasing each other’s pleasure as our hips slam together with increasing force. I breathlessly pull her closer as she wraps her arms around my back and her legs around my waist, interlocking her feet. I kiss and lick along all the skin I can find, tasting the salty sweat that has begun to form. She tugs on my hair, making me stifle a groan. She knows how much that makes me lose all my bearings.
Before long, she’s moaning steadily into my ear, her breath tickling my neck. It sends me into a tailspin. I’m aching to push her over the edge, to feel her clench around me in a shattering climax.
“Please, Cade,” she begs, and I turn us over so I’m lying on my back, letting her use me however she wants to get her pleasure.
She takes over the movements, riding me hard and bracing herself with her hands on my chest. I meet her energy with my own, holding her waist steady and thrusting upward to the hilt. Her movements start to become erratic, and she throws her head back, filled with a now-overpowering need for release. I drink her in above me, sliding my hands over her breasts, gently pinching her nipples, trying to enhance her pleasure any way I can as our skin slaps together.
Sloane claps her hand over her mouth as one firm, rolling thrust from me finally pushes her over the edge. She bits her lip hard and moans as quietly as she can into her hand, her body shaking with release.
I come undone as I watch, the blissful expression washing over her face destroying whatever control I have left. I explode into her, grunting hard as I finish, pressing my head back into the pillow.
We stay together like that for a few minutes, panting and laughing with exhaustion. Finally, she slips off me and lies beside me with her head tucked under my chin. We catch our breath for several minutes, and she presses tender kisses along my bare chest. I hum contentedly, savoring the tender, vulnerable moment we’re sharing with no reservations. What a long way we’ve come as a couple.
“Two years together, and the sex still doesn’t suck,” Sloane quips.
I laugh, running my hand along her back. “Aren’t we the luckiest?”
Giggling, she presses a quick kiss to my lips, then pulls back to take a few tissues from the nightstand. She wipes herself between her legs before tending to me, and I swallow as she gently cleans me off. I love these loving moments we share, the care she shows me.
She pulls away once more to grab her phone off the table. “It’s half past eight,” she notes as she looks at the screen. “We’re on the clock now, so better make ourselves decent.”
She quickly slides on her shirt, underwear, and shorts, and I pull my boxers back on. As if on cue, our bedroom door pops open, and a tiny head of blond hair comes running inside.
“Kaleigh! I told you not to open the door!”
Liam, now eleven, comes rushing into the room. He’s slightly taller, a little broodier, but still an amazing kid.
And an incredible big brother.
Unfazed, Kaleigh reaches the bed. After making a poor attempt to climb on, Sloane takes pity on her, leaning down to pick her up and place her in her lap.
“Someone just wanted to see her mommy, huh?” Sloane chirps as she taps our daughter’s nose playfully.
Kaleigh giggles as Liam rolls his eyes.
“At some point, she’ll learn to knock. Won’t you, darling?” I chuckle, tickling her little belly. She lets out another peal of laughter, and I look back at Liam. “Thanks for trying, bud,” I tell him with a grin.
He shrugs. “She’s a year and a half. Rome wasn’t built in a day, I guess,” he says.
I laugh as I look at Kaleigh again. She is the spitting image of Sloane, with her golden hair and sapphire eyes. It’s hard to believe that within just two years, we’ve gotten to this point: married, a child of our own, and raising Liam together. Sloane’s career is taking off internationally, and Hart, Inc. is doing better than ever. Especially since I officially reopened the marina in town.
My team and I restored the marina with all the updated equipment it so badly needed. Now tourism is back and stronger than ever in Rose Valley, keeping the town’s economy in ship-shape. Better yet, the local community has returned to the water. It became such a rarity to see locals on the lake because no one felt safe anchoring off the dilapidated marina. Now we can hold all the fun, traditional boating events during the holidays that makes the area so special.
“Oh, hey, we got some news to tell you,” I say to Liam.
His eyes widen in alarm. “If it’s another baby, I don’t want it,” he says, only half-joking. I know he wouldn’t really care if Sloane was pregnant again, but Kaleigh is enough for all of us right now. Maybe somewhere down the line, we’ll have another one.
I nudge Sloane so she can share her news. She smiles widely at Liam. “My new collection is heading to a gallery in London,” she announces.
Liam’s face breaks into a smile. “That’s awesome, Mom! Congratulations!”
I close my eyes for a moment. I’m still getting used to him calling Sloane that. I know it shouldn’t make me sad. If anything, I feel happy knowing Liam adores Sloane so much that he feels comfortable enough to call her that. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t feel a little guilty about it.
But then I remember that Sloane has been the mother figure Liam always needed and wanted. For years, he wondered why all the other kids had moms, but he didn’t. I would tell him that I hoped he would one day have someone in his life he could look at as a mom but never feel like he had to replace his real mother with her. And then Sloane came along and became all that and more. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in life to grow my family and make me see that there is more to life than just work and living for my son.
If you had told me life would be like this two years ago, I’d have laughed in your face. Especially if you told me I’d be sharing a life with my best friend’s younger sister. But somehow, some way, Sloane and I found each other again and we worked. We’ve fixed each other in the areas we needed help in and became exactly what we needed for the other person. Sloane has saved me in more ways than I can count, and I’ll never stop being grateful to her for reminding me what happiness can look like.
Our life truly couldn’t be any better.
And to think all we needed was a hook-up in a public bathroom.