Epilogue #2
The front door opens, and Kade steps inside. He looks rough, real rough. His eyes rimmed with dark circles, and his jaw covered in stubble that looks to be longer than a couple of days. His flannel is wrinkled, and there’s a wildness in his eyes that makes my stomach tighten.
“Kade.” Sawyer moves toward him immediately. “You came.”
“Of course. I was invited.” His voice is flat, empty.
I keep an eye out in case I’m needed but I can’t help but notice, Allie is across the room also near the door, and the moment Kade’s eyes land on her, the air shifts.
There’s something there. An eclectic current that’s charged and dangerous.
She straightens, and green eyes widen with shock before narrowing with what looks to suspicion.
“Kade,” she greets him carefully.
“Allie.” He doesn’t move toward her, but I can see the resistance. The way his hands curl into fists down at his sides, the tension in his jaw. “Emma send you to check on me?”
“What? No.” She takes a step toward him. There’s a mixture of concern and fear in her eyes. What the hell is going on between them? “I’m here for Saint’s party. I didn’t even know you were coming.”
“Sure you didn’t.” His laugh is bitter rage if it were a sound. “Y’all are one big happy family now. Must be nice. Knowing who you are. Where you come from.”
“Kade—” Sawyer starts, but Kade cuts him off.
“I don’t need a damn lecture. I’m fine. I didn’t come to cause trouble, only to wish the birthday girl well.” Even as he speaks his gaze remains on Allie, like she’s the only person in the room. I can’t tell if he wants to strangle her, or kiss her to death.
Everyone can feel it. The rage barely contained under Kade’s skin.
“Happy Birthday, Saint.” Kade turns his attention to me. I’ve made it closer to the pair of them now, no doubt showing all my confusion on my face. I don’t miss the forced smile on his lips. The way he looks like he’s uncomfortable in his own skin.
“Thank you, and it’s nice to see you.” I try to smile in return.
“Same. I’ve got some shit to do so I’ll be on my way.”
“You just got here,” Levi mumbles.
“You sure you can’t stay for a piece of cake?” Calder asks, his eyebrow raised.
“Nah. I’ve never been one for sweets. Thanks for the offer though.” He turns toward the door, and then pauses. He looks back at Allie over his shoulder, then shakes his head and walks out slamming the door behind him.
Everyone exchanges glances, but no one knows what to say.
Allie’s staring at the closed door, her face pale, and hands trembling.
What the hell is going on?
Soon enough conversations pick back up, but there’s not missing the way her gaze keeps drifting back to that door.
How she wraps her arms around herself like she’s cold.
Something’s happening between them. Something complicated and dangerous.
As much as I’ve come to accept Kade as my brother-in-law, he’s the last person I would trust to be with my best friend.
I suppose that’s a problem for another day.
I take a couple of plates into the kitchen and set them in the sink. On my way back out into the living room, Calder finds me. He’s got a mischievous smirk on his face that promises all kinds of trouble. With his hand on the small of my back he leads me into the pantry.
“What are you—”
He cuts me off with a kiss, pressing me back against shelves lined with canned goods and dry pasta. The door clicks shut behind us, muffling the sounds of the party.
“Calder,” I whisper against his mouth. “Everyone’s right outside.”
“I know.” His hands slide down my sides, and hook into the waistband of my jeans. “And I’m not even the least bit sorry. You look so fucking beautiful. I couldn’t help myself.”
“We can’t. Not with—”
“Shh.” He drops to his knees in front of me, and my breath catches. “You can be quiet, can’t you sweet girl?”
I rest my hands on his shoulders, and I’m torn between pushing him away and pulling him closer. “We shouldn’t.”
“Probably not.” He unbuttons my jeans and slides them down just enough. “But you’re going to let me because you want it as bad as I do. Don’t you?”
Dammit. There’s no point in denying it.
“Tell me, sweet girl.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I want you to eat me out.”
“Of course you do.” He grins, and pulls my panties aside. The first touch of his tongue makes my knees buckle.
“God,” I gasp, my fingers tangling in his dark hair.
He holds me steady with one hand on my hip and the other on my thigh. The position is awkward, cramped in this small space, but he works me with devastating precision.
I bite down on my fist to muffle the sounds trying to escape. The party continues just beyond the door. Voices and laughter. My father’s quiet conversation with Elena. Allie’s bright energy. And here I am, pressed against pantry shelves while Calder Bishop devours me like a starving man.
It’s wrong. It’s reckless. It’s so perfectly us that I almost want to laugh.
Sensing that I need more, he adds two fingers, and the combination makes stars burst behind my eyelids. I pull at his hair, trying to anchor myself to reality, but he just groans against me and doubles his efforts.
“Calder,” I breathe. “I can’t—I’m going to—”
He pulls back just enough to murmur, “Fuck yes, come for me, sweet girl.”
That’s all it takes. The orgasm crashes into me hard, and I have to press my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. He works me through it, gentling his touch as the waves subside, until I’m left trembling and breathless against the shelves.
Slowly, he rises from his knees and helps me pull my jeans back up with steady hands. My legs feel like water. My face is flushed, my hair mussed. Anyone with eyes will know exactly what we were doing.
“You’re insane,” I tell him, but there’s no heat in it.
He smirks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You love it.”
“I love you.” The words slip out easy now. Natural. “Even when you’re being a possessive bastard who can’t wait until our guests leave.”
“Especially then.” He pulls me close and kisses me deep enough that I taste myself on his tongue. “Happy birthday, Saint.”
I laugh against his mouth, and it feels like freedom. “Best one yet.”
We slip back out to the party separately.
I head to the bathroom to fix my hair and check that I look somewhat presentable.
When I return to the living room, Calder’s standing by the window talking to Sawyer, expression perfectly neutral like he didn’t just have his face between my thighs in the pantry.
But when I catch his eye across the room, that smirk returns. Satisfied. Possessive. Mine.
I shake my head and turn back to Allie, who’s showing me something on her phone. But I’m smiling. Can’t seem to stop smiling.
As the sun sets, I catch my father talking quietly with Calder by the window. They’re keeping their distance, bodies tense, but they’re talking. I can’t help but smile. It’s something. The start of a relationship at least.
“Think they’ll ever be normal with each other?” Levi appears at my elbow, watching the same scene.
“I don’t know.” I glance at him. “What about you? You ever going to forgive your brother?”
Levi considers the question. “I want to. He’s family after all, but it’s hard. He lied to us, let us all think he was going to go through with the ceremony. It’s the betrayal and the fact that he didn’t trust us enough to allow us to be a part of helping him that angers me the most.”
“He didn’t do it to hurt you, or because he doesn’t trust you. He was trying to protect you.”
“I know.” Levi’s voice gentles. “Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
I understand that. The complicated knot of love and betrayal. You can forgive someone and still carry the wound.
“For what it’s worth,” I say quietly, “I’m glad he did it even though it hurt. Even though it was terrifying. I’m glad he found a way to end it all. To set all of us free.”
Levi looks at me, really looks at me. “And you both found happiness in the end.”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I never thought it would happen, but it did.”
“That’s all that matters.” Levi squeezes my shoulder. “Happy birthday, Saint.”
“Thanks, Levi.”
Joy fills my chest. I’m grateful for this moment with family and friends. To share this birthday with Calder. No, it wasn’t love from the start for us. We had to fight tooth and nail, go through trauma and tears, but we’re here, together.
The party winds down as night settles over the mountains. People drift away one by one until only Calder and I are left, standing on the porch in the crisp night air.
“That went better than expected,” I say.
“Low bar to clear.”
I laugh and lean against the railing. “True, especially after our last gathering. I’m surprised anyone showed up.”
Calder smiles. “It’ll get easier. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but eventually all the wounds Roman caused will heal.”
I know that, but part of me feels guilty for being happy when I know others are suffering. “I just hope it isn’t too late. Especially for Kade. You can tell he’s not himself.”
“Kade’s complicated, but he will figure it out. He’ll have to make peace with himself, then he’ll be able to figure out what he really wants.”
“I know. I’m just worried, that’s all. Something is going on between Allie and him. Did you see the way he looked at her?”
Calder wraps me up in his arms. “I saw, and I know that they’ll figure it out, just like we did.”
Dipping his head, he brushes his lips against mine, and I open to him, kissing him back. Not in a hurried manner, but in a way that says we have tomorrow and forever together.
This is what we chose.
Us. Together. Forever. Against all odds.
It’s not redemption or forgiveness. Nor is it some neat and tidy ending where everything is magically fixed. It’s messy and real. The love story of two broken people deciding that broken together is enough.