EPILOGUE
THREE MONTHS LATER
LANGSTON
Waking up alone in bed, without my Songstress next to me, was not the way to start the day. Not this day. Fuck, not any day, honestly.
The only way for me to wake up is with my woman at my side. I’ve never slept better than I have with my woman at my side and the only way to start the day is with a glimpse of her beautiful face while being wrapped around her soft curves.
She knows that I can’t stand it when she slips from bed before me. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the mansion needed help. That’s just the kind of woman she is, but still.
We were up way too late last night finishing up the album or else I would have felt it the moment she slipped out of my hold. I was exhausted, but, then again, so was she. She should have been able to sleep in today before being woken up by my mouth.
Yesterday was huge for us with recording the last song and being able to say, after all this time, that the album is complete. Still, today is even bigger.
I have a surprise for my woman, and I won’t be putting it off. I’ve been working too damn hard to keep it a secret from her and I’ve had to call in so many favors it isn’t even funny. Not that anyone minded giving me a hand.
After joining WPF and spending time around the guys in SO, Cove and I have been included in their giant friend group which functions more like a family. I was overwhelmed in the best of ways the first time the guys invited us out to the land where they’ve built homes right outside of Denver. Cove was nervous, but she shouldn’t have been.
She was accepted and welcomed with open arms. We met so many people that day, including their kids. Apparently, everyone had already heard about how I met Cove and fell in love with her with one look. After hearing some of the stories about how the rest of the family found love, I understood Kat’s comment about finding soul mates the day we played the first five songs written for the album.
I can’t imagine my life without this cooky, quirky, and sometimes downright unhinged family in it. I know Cove feels the same way.
Conley would have loved them too. Maybe, just fucking maybe, if we had found them soon then Conley would be alive.
I rub my chest and push the thought away as I slip out of our room in the mansion. Those kind of musings won’t get me anywhere and they sure as fuck won’t help me miss my best friend any less. The sting is still there—I think it always will be—but not seeing him every day has gotten easier.
Cove helps me with that.
There are times when she’ll simply walk up to me and slide her round ass into my lap and wrap her arms around my neck. It pulls me from my thoughts, from my memories, and gives me something to focus on instead of the pain of the past. She doesn’t say anything, she simply offers me comfort and support.
I’m not sure how I got so damn lucky, but I’m not going to squander what I’ve been given.
The sound of Cove’s laughter has me walking into the kitchen to find her standing there with a few members of a punk rock band that was recently signed to the label. I’m sure I should know the name of it, but I don’t. When they heard a song Cove and I were working on a few days ago, they asked if she’d be willing to listen to their shit and help them.
As much as I wanted to roar and carry my woman to my proverbial cave so no one else could even look at her, the way her eyes sparkled had me biting my tongue. She has a talent that I can’t even think about dimming. That would be a fucking crime.
She deserves to let her light shine.
Even though possessiveness roars through my veins, I find myself smiling as I watch Cove shake her head and flip a pancake in the pan at the stove. One of the guys is covered in what I can only assume is pancake mix and another’s shoes is covered in batter. When I study the floor, it’s clear that more than one pancake was lost when they tried to flip it.
It’s clear my woman came to their rescue, and they desperately needed it.
The way she sparkles and shines takes my breath away as she looks over her shoulder, her blue eyes locking with mine. I stand up straighter and stride toward my woman, not giving a single fuck who else is in the kitchen. She looks up at me from underneath her lashes and I’m fucking lost.
My hands cup her cheeks before I take her mouth in a claiming kiss. I might not care who is watching, but I’ll be damned if I miss an opportunity to remind everyone around that she’s mine. When she whimpers, I swallow down the sound before slowing the kiss.
“You left our bed without waking me up,” I whisper against her lips.
“You were tired and looked so peaceful,” she breathlessly explains.
“Don’t care, Songstress. You know I hate waking up without you next to me,” I remind her. She nods and kisses me softly, an apology that isn’t really needed on her lips. “You done here?”
She looks around at the mess the guys created and shrugs. “The pancakes are done,” she giggles softly, “and that’s almost a miracle.”
“Thanks, Cove,” one of the guys pipes up.
Cove shoots him a look, one that is so motherly that it makes me yearn whenever she’s ready for our family to grow. I want to see her round with my child. But I also want to make her dreams come true, so I’m waiting.
For now.
“It’s on you guys to clean up the mess,” she tells them sternly, but with a smile. “After you eat.”
The guys cheer, bouncing on their toes and I can’t help but laugh as I entwine my fingers with Cove’s. With a gentle tug, I lead her out of the kitchen and toward the garage. I had one of my cars brough out to me here in Colorado from California. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to go back for some of the things I left behind in the house I shared with Conley, but that’s okay.
This was a step in the right direction.
“Where are we going?”
I look down at my woman as I open the car door for her and smile before wiggling my eyebrows. “It’s a surprise.”
She huffs out a breath but doesn’t argue with me. When I slide into the driver’s seat, Cove slides her hand over the console and onto my thigh, right where I want it. A rightness settles somewhere deep in my gut.
As much as I wish Conley were here with me most days, my life led me here. I do wish he were here to experience it as well, but he’s not. Everyday I make my peace with that in some way.
The drive doesn’t take long since I wanted a place as secure as the mansion, but not quite as big. When we pull through the security gates after I hit a button, Cove’s nails dig into my thigh and I can’t help but chuckle under my breath.
I can feel her curiosity, excitement, and trepidation. When I glance over at her, her blue eyes are wide with wonder as she takes in the house in front of us.
“What is this place?”
I reach down and grab the ring I’ve stashed in the car and grip my woman’s hand on my thigh. As I slip the ring into the place—right where it belongs—I tell her simply, “We’re home.”
Cove’s eyes bounce between the house, the ring, and me. I’m smiling so wide that my face starts to hurt, but that’s what she does to me. She’s my light. She’s my reason. She’s my dream.
She’s my fucking prayer.
“We’re done with the album,” I remind her and swallow hard. “I wanted to give you a place to really call home. We need it.”
Her voice wobbles, “And the ring?”
“I have a private jet booked to take us to Vegas. Let’s get married, like rock stars, and start our lives together. I don’t want to wait. I can’t.” I reach over and cup her cheek in my hand. “I need you in my life, Cove. You’re my everything. I promise to always help you achieve your dreams, but you are my dream.”
Cove launches herself at me as best she can in the confines of the vehicle, but I still try and pull her closer. “I’ll always say yes to you, Langston,” she pauses and adds, “unless you’re wrong. But you’re not wrong about this.”
My eyes well up with tears because of how fucking good this moment is. It’s more than I thought I would have when I was at my lowest and mired in grief. It’s more than I thought I would have even when I was at the top of the damn mountain and thinking nothing could touch me.
She’s it. She’s mine.
“Let me give you a tour and then we’ll go and get married.”
“Yes, please,” she breathes out as she pulls away from me.
And that’s exactly what we do because as we tackle the things life brings our way, the only way we’ll get through is to do it together.
Always.