Epilogue
JULIETTE
TWO MONTHS LATER
Chewing on my bottom lip, I look over my shoulder and wonder what the hell I’m thinking, not that I did much thinking when I got into this predicament. But then my gaze lands across the room.
Releasing my lip, I feel my mouth curve up into a smile at the sight of Cade standing next to the dessert table.
He’s smiling as he looks over at some girls dancing. I don’t know who they are. Hell, I don’t know who half of these people are, but that doesn’t stop me from grinning like a fool, and it’s because I’m ridiculously happy… for several reasons.
One being that Cade is in my life. I don’t know how I even lived without him in my life. Without cartoons in the mornings, animated video games on the weekends. Stories. My god, how did I live my life without the amazing stories he has to tell?
Every day is new and exciting because he’s part of it. I didn’t think children were ever going to be in the scope of my life, not with the way I was constantly on the run, and I refused to bring a child into the world that had Victor as a father.
But being a mother to Cade has given me joy that I didn’t even know was possible or plausible. It’s only been a few months. Everything is still very new, but it’s been the best few months of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Not for a single thing.
“They are seriously having a blast. Who would have thought a sixth-grade pool party would be this fun?” Elodie asks.
“I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever attend a sixth-grade pool party,” I murmur.
Cade reaches for a dessert. It’s a cookie, and I watch as he leaves the girls he was standing beside, then walks over to one who is sitting by herself on a chair underneath an umbrella.
We’re at Elodie and Alex’s neighborhood pool, a place I’ve discovered both Elodie and Alex will find any excuse to rent, including an end-of-the-school-year sixth-grade pool party.
“Now that is freaking cute,” Elodie whispers.
I know what she’s talking about, because we’re both focused on Cade sitting beside the girl who is alone and sliding a cookie over in her direction. She looks at the cookie, then slowly brings her gaze up to meet his. Her cheeks tint pink, and it’s not because it’s a million degrees outside.
“Cute or not, he needs to stay away from her,” a deep voice growls behind me.
I look over my shoulder to see Slade standing behind me, his arms crossed over his chest and his focus on the two kids. I start to ask him why, when he continues speaking. His focus never leaves the two kids.
“That’s the police chief’s daughter. He may tolerate us being here, and he may turn a blind eye to a lot of shit we do here, but he’ll never be cool with our men being with anyone in his family.”
“Shit,” Elodie hisses.
“They’re just kids,” I murmur, shifting my attention back to the two kids.
It’s obvious she’s feeling out of place here and is very shy. It’s freaking cute as hell that he’s giving her attention, talking to her, and when she smiles, I know she likes it, too. Who wouldn’t? Cade is a mini-version of his father.
“Yeah, well, they’re getting to be that age, and I gotta shut this shit down now,” Slade growls.
Turning around, I lift my left hand, curling my fingers around his forearm as I tilt my head back and look up into his eyes. I hope that my expression is a pleading one, because that’s what I’m trying to convey here.
His chin is tipped, his gaze is focused on mine, but his face is set in stone. “Give them this party. She’s been over there alone and looking absolutely miserable until he brought her a cookie.”
Slade’s brows snap together, a muscle in his cheek twitches, and then he finally dips his chin in a single nod. He curls his fingers around my wrist at his arm and slides his thumb across the ink on the inside, the one that claims me as his to his club—his road name.
“I’ll do that for you, honey. But I’m going to talk to him tonight.”
“Okay,” I exhale.
He grunts as his nostrils flare, then he dips his chin, touching his lips to mine. He releases my wrist, taking a step backward—and makes an announcement. His voice booms over the kids’ music and pool horseplay.
“Alright,” Slade calls out. “Who wants burgers and who wants dogs?”
Just like that, the conversation is dropped, and his mood shifts.
He’s still going to discuss this with Cade later tonight, but for now, a little girl is a little less sad, and my son did that.
His sweet, gentle, take-care-of-everything nature did that.
All the things he gets from his father did that.
The rest of the party goes off without a hitch. The kids are fed, watered, and sugared before they’re sent home. There is no drama, and by the time we head home, I hope like hell that Slade will drop the little-girl thing, but he doesn’t.
“Cade,” he calls out as he drives us toward home.
We helped clean everything up, and the pool party area is as good as new now. I was hoping Slade wouldn’t do this, that maybe we could just forget it all and not have this conversation, but here we are—conversating.
“Yeah?” Cade asks.
“I don’t want you hanging out with that little girl anymore, okay?”
There is a long moment of silence. I’m not sure what Cade is going to say, but I hold my breath anyway. He is usually a “yes, Dad” kind of kid and doesn’t argue much or cause any trouble.
“She needs a friend,” Cade murmurs. “The girls are mean to her. They tease her all the time.”
Without giving Slade a moment to respond, I whip around and look at him. “Why?” I demand softly.
“Because they say she’s fat, but she’s not. She’s really pretty, but she’s also really nice. She doesn’t deserve to be made fun of like that.”
Slade grunts. I shift around so I can look at him. I watch as Slade flicks his gaze to his rearview mirror, then back to the windshield to look straight ahead. A muscle in his jaw tics, then he clears his throat.
“Okay, Cade,” he exhales. “Just remember who I am and know who her father is.”
“I know who he is, Dad. I get it.”
The conversation is dropped, but I can tell it’s not something Slade is going to ever accept or be okay with. Clearly, he doesn’t want to make waves, and this could do that. I hope it doesn’t.
They’re kids, and Cade is trying to be a friend to this girl. I think it’s sweet, and it’s a testament to how good a father Slade is. And also, how very much alike they are. Cade wants to be this girl’s protector. Just like Slade is mine.
Reaching across the console, I slip my hand into his, lacing my fingers through his own.
I feel his thumb slide across my tattoo, and my lips curve up into a smile.
I love it when he does this. My skin breaks out in goose bumps.
Then, he lifts my hand to his mouth, his lips brushing softly against the ink.
By the time we get home, Cade is dead tired. Too much fun in the sun. I get that. The sun wipes me out too, but today, I’m exhausted for a different reason. One that I’m still trying to wrap my head around.
I’ve been trying to keep from shouting my news from the rooftop, because while I’m excited, I’m also nervous as hell. I don’t know how he’s going to take it, and I don’t know how Cade is going to respond, either.
I don’t want to mess anything up.
My life has never been as perfect as it is right now. It’s becoming increasingly more difficult as each minute passes, but I want Slade to be the first to know.
We pull in the driveway and get Cade to bed. As Slade walks into the kitchen, I’m suddenly nervous. He’s moving around the kitchen, but I’m frozen at the bar, watching him while trying to think of a cute way to say this.
Maybe I should have bought a present and wrapped it up or something so I wouldn’t have to actually say the words.
Words that I’ve somehow lost.
“You want a glass of wine? A snack?”
I shake my head a couple of times, my gaze flicking down at my hands on the counter. I look at my ring and then flip my hand over and gaze down at my tattoo. My lips curve up into a small smile.
All of my worries melt away.
Just like that.
In an instant, because I know that Slade is going to be happy. There’s no reason he won’t be. He loves me. He’s vowed to protect me. He’s claimed me—forever.
“Slade,” I call out as I lift my head.
He hums but continues to move around, and I realize he’s making a sandwich.
Apparently, the two hot dogs, burger, chips, and two cookies weren’t enough.
My smile grows. The man can seriously put some food away, but you’d never guess it looking at him.
Sure, he’s fifty, but he’s built with muscle stacked on muscle. It’s sexy as shit, just like him.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.
Zero chill.
His spine straightens, and I wonder if he’s going to freak the hell out, but then he slowly turns around to face me.
His eyes find mine. We stare at one another for a long moment in silence, and then his lips twitch into a smile that rivals mine.
I mean, it consumes his entire face. I didn’t know he could smile that big.
“Seriously?” he asks.
Dipping my chin in a single nod, my gaze still connected with his, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. I start to tell him that I’m serious when he moves around the kitchen and walks around to meet me.
He closes the distance between us, and then I feel his hands cupping my cheeks. His mouth is on mine, his tongue tasting me before he shifts his head back slightly. I feel his forehead press against mine, and then I feel his warm breath wash over my face.
“Holy shit,” he exhales. “I can’t believe this is real.”
“It’s real,” I whisper.
He lifts his head, and his eyes find mine. I’m not sure what he’s going to say next, but I can tell he’s got something on his mind. His mind is spinning a million miles a minute, and then he chuckles.
“Jules. Holy fuck. I didn’t think I could be happier, but here I am, happier than I’ve ever been. Happier than yesterday.”
Lifting my hands, I grip his wrists at my cheeks and search his eyes. “I hope tomorrow you’ll be even happier,” I murmur.
“Hell fucking yes, we both will be.”
His lips touch mine again, then he carries me to bed, and the sandwich is eaten later… much later. After kisses and orgasms. After more affirmations of love. After holding each other for what feels like hours.
This man who should scare me, this man who is an alpha asshole, this man who is sweet and protective. He might put on a show of being hard, but he’s the gentlest being I’ve ever encountered.
I’m not sure I would ever tell him any of that, though. My gentle giant. The man who owns not only my body, but my heart and soul as well. No way would he just accept that, so I have to think it and not say it all, because he’s a badass biker.
And the man I love.