Cristiana Epilogue - Four Months Later
So many changes had taken place over the past four months since Fisher and Rhys were removed from my life.
Reuben had kept specific details about what he did to them to himself.
I told him I was okay with that, as long as he talked about it with Mikhail, Matvey, Iker, or Hoss, since they had been there.
I wouldn’t allow those two bastards to haunt him.
Reuben promised. And I believed his word when he said he wasn’t haunted by it.
His sleep was regular after the first week.
The day after the reckoning, I woke up not to another round of lovemaking, well, not at first.
Instead, it was to my man standing at the side of the bed with a tray in his hands. I sat up, pushing the hair away from my face.
“Carino, what is this?” I asked.
“It’s breakfast.”
“I see that. I guess I should’ve asked it differently. Why did you make me breakfast and serve it in bed?”
“I felt like pampering you. Now, let me put this down. I’ll be back in a minute. I need to grab mine.” Reuben got me situated, then hurried out of the bedroom.
I waited for him to return before digging in. It was delicious and I savored every bite. He finished before I did, which was normal. He removed the trays, and I was finishing drinking my juice when he spoke.
“I’ve got one more thing for you.”
I groaned as I rubbed my stomach. “Reuben, I don’t think I can eat another bite.”
“Well, it’s a good thing it’s not food,” he replied.
I was giving him a puzzled look when he held up his hand. I stopped breathing. In his hand was a red velvet ring box. I met his stare. When he flipped the lid open, the air rushed out of me.
A gorgeous, light blue stone surrounded by small white diamonds stared back at me. “Oh, Reuben, it’s breathtaking. What is that center stone?” I asked.
“That is an aqua blue diamond. I know blue is your favorite color, and I wanted something other than a regular diamond or a blue sapphire. Do you like it? If not, I can take it back.”
“No! Don’t you dare! I love it,” I half shrieked, causing him to laugh.
He removed the ring from the box, then picked up my left hand. Before sliding it on my fourth finger, he gazed into my eyes and asked gruffly, “Cristiana Marie Perez, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Reuben Miguel Davila.”
As soon as he pressed it all the way on, our mouths sealed the pledge a second way.
As happy as that made me, I did worry for the first month that someone would somehow figure out what was done to Rhys and Fisher, and that Reuben would be taken from me, but it was all for nothing.
During that same time and since, we’d been planning our wedding, which was set for May.
To make it the happiest day for us, we needed our families to be there to celebrate with us.
It was easier for me, since my family had already begun to accept us and our choices after the anniversary weekend.
For Reuben, he had to speak to his. Their attempts to talk to him, he’d put off.
They met alone the first time, and then we went together the subsequent times.
It had gotten better, but I wouldn’t lie and say there wasn’t still some healing that had to occur on both sides. On ours, it was more Reuben than me. They called me names, but the fact that they had known about his life for all those years and never accepted him still hurt.
I was glad that both sides were helping with the wedding preparations. And all thoughts of having a small, intimate ceremony were a dream. With the size of our immediate families and the number of friends and close acquaintances, it was already larger than a small one.
One of the benefits of our family size was the availability of plenty of hands to help with the workload. Our mamás were generals commanding troops when it came to making it a spectacular day.
As the days passed into weeks, I became impatient for the big day. I wanted nothing more than to be officially Mrs. Reuben Davila. There was only one other thing that would make him, me, and our families even more thrilled. It was the announcement that I was pregnant with our first baby.
I loved teasing him about wanting to compete with his friends.
Mikhail had Matea, and the other day, Hoss and Cady shared the fantastic news that Cady was pregnant.
She was still in the first trimester with a due date in mid-November.
They did it at a gathering at their house, which included close friends and family.
Their news had Reuben taking me to bed later that night and keeping me there for most of the weekend.
He pretended to grouse about not letting anyone else beat us to becoming parents.
When I joked that Carver and Alex would, I’d been given a spanking that left me with a sore ass that I would choose any day.
Four couples found their happiness and forever partners through the House of Lustz. It made me wonder. Who would be next? And would it be one of our close friends—Iker, Sawyer, Sharlena—or someone else? Whoever it was, I couldn’t wait.
The End Until House of Lustz Book 5: TBD