Epilogue
Three Months Later
Aven
Ilick my lips and stare at the line snaking around the corner outside of the bookshop. Quinn doesn’t seem a bit nervous, and she’s the one they came to see. Meanwhile, I’m a fucking wreck.
We pooled our money and bought a small cabin in Vermont—close enough to the others that we can hang out regularly, but far enough away that we can still have our privacy.
We’ve been living off the remainder while Quinn worked to get her dream off the ground, and judging by that line, she’s well on her way to the sky.
She wrote the first book in just two weeks.
The lass has plenty more where that came from, too.
She’s had them knocking around in that bonnie brain of hers for years.
For the past six weeks, she’s been busy okaying covers and formatting and working her ass off to follow her editor’s corrections.
The release was a week ago, and it was an overnight success.
Granted, Eve might have helped a little, what with her visibility on social media.
She and the other girls have become a veritable street team, recommending the book everywhere they can.
But the book is good, and now word of mouth does all the advertising for her.
No one can take that away from Quinn Carter.
“I think I’m ready,” Quinn says. “You can let in the VIP winner first.”
I nod and stroll to the front of the bookstore. The owner unlocks the door and lets the first visitor inside.
“No funny business,” I tell the woman. “Keep your hands to yourself and you’ll make it out of here with both of them attached to your body.”
“Oh my god,” she squeals. “You’re the husband from her bio, aren’t you? You really are Scottish!”
“Aye, and I really am serious about keeping your hands to yourself.”
She nods up at me, her blue eyes bulging with excitement. “I promise. No touching.”
“Aven, stop being a bull and let Andrea through,” Quinn says behind me, and I step out of the way.
The woman nearly knocks me over as she rushes forward and holds her book toward Quinn. “I want to buy a special edition too, but can you please sign this tattered copy? I’ve read it three times since it released, and it’s helped me through a breakup.”
“You aren’t buying anything. I’ll sign that copy and your free special edition. Thanks for your support, love.” Quinn takes the book from the girl’s hands, then scrawls her signature in the front with a metallic silver pen. “And I don’t care what my husband says. You’re giving me a hug.”
I roll my eyes as she stands and pulls the flabbergasted woman closer. “Lass, I cannae do my job as bodyguard if you keep breaking all the rules.”
“Breaking rules is what got us here,” she says over the woman’s shoulder. She pulls back and looks Andrea in the face. “Now, tell me all about your book collection. We have about fifteen minutes before Aven lets the horde through.”
I stand to the side as the girls gush about their favorite authors. My head remains on a swivel. She may no longer be a cam girl, but ravenous fans are still ravenous fans. I’m happy to retain my post as faithful watchdog for the rest of my life.
And it will be the rest of my life. This marriage thing has turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
I wake up to the woman I love. I come home to her.
Every day is spent anticipating seeing her again and knowing she’ll be there.
Granted, it’s taken some getting used to.
Remembering to lower the toilet seat has been the hardest bit, though.
We’ve experienced our first fight. We’ve had our first makeup sex. It was pretty epic. I’m okay with losing fights to her if it ends with my dick in her mouth. Yeah, I’d say this is pretty much the best.
My musings are interrupted by a commotion around the front door as a man fights his way through the crowd of agitated women. He flails a small leather satchel as he pushes through. I’d better save his ass before they rip a second hole in it.
“Grab the door,” I say to the worker near the front. “I know the guy.”
The woman opens the door, and Jim falls into the bookstore, landing on his ass with a grunt.
“Well, I never,” he says as he rises and dusts off his tailored suit. “They’re like hyenas.”
“And there’s their queen,” I say with a nod toward Quinn.
“Is everything okay?” She peers around the woman in front of her. “We weren’t expecting you until after the signing.”
He raises the leather bag and gives it a wiggle. “I got some news today, and I was too excited to wait. Could we have just a moment?”
Quinn nods and jots something on one of her business cards, then passes it to Andrea. “I hate to cut this short, so let me take you to dinner. That’s my number. Text me later, and we’ll set something up.”
Andrea pulls the card against her chest and jumps up and down. “Oh my god, I have Quinn Carter’s phone number!”
I grab the girl by her shoulders and start moving her toward the door.
“Thank you, Quinn! Best day ever!” Andrea yells over her shoulder as I shove her outside.
Once the door is secured once more, I hurry back to Jim and Quinn. He’s already pulled a few papers from the satchel, and he places them on the table as I approach.
“This is an email chain that was intercepted by Frankie last week. Look at the country of origin.”
I raise the printouts and read through them. The conversation is heavily coded, but it’s not hard to figure out they’re discussing a hit. The country of origin is listed as America for one and Canada for the other.
“I’m failing to see what you want me to see,” I say.
“Same,” Quinn says.
Jim taps the page in my left hand. “That’s Grantham Carter. And he’s currently in the States.”
Quinn’s eyebrows pull together. “What does that mean? Is that a big deal?”
“It’s the biggest deal,” Jim says.
“No one’s seen him for years.” I read the emails again. “Are these dates accurate? The emails were exchanged last week?”
Jim nods. “He’s in the wind again, but if what he says holds true, he’s about to embark on a cross-country spree before retiring for good.”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Quinn says, and she’s already packing away the books on the table. “Let’s go get him!”
“It’s not that simple, lass.” I place her books back on the table. “Besides, you’ve got a book signing to handle. You can’t let them down.” I motion toward the rabid women pressed against the glass shopfront. “They might kill you. Or me.”
“I’m already working on the next steps,” Jim says,” but Frankie thought I should clue you in as soon as possible so that you can plan around your book tour. I’ve purchased a slew of RVs, so get ready for a road trip. We’ll chase him down, then land in California for Ezra and Kindra’s wedding.”
Quinn bounces on her toes. “Oh my god, how exciting! This will give me so much inspiration for an upcoming series. I can’t wait.” Her excitement fades when she realizes I don’t share it. “Aven, what’s wrong?”
“What do we do when we find him?” I ask Jim. “What’s the point?”
“Perhaps he could be convinced to make amends with his children, for starters,” Quinn says. “I mean, if that’s something you guys want.”
I shrug and shake my head. “I don’t really know what I want. I haven’t thought about it. I guess we’ll find out when we catch the guy.”
“Right.” Jim shoves the papers back into his bag. “Well, I’m off to meet with the others. Don’t forget about dinner!”
He hurries off, leaving Quinn and me in the silent shop. She strolls around the table and resumes her seat. I take up my post beside her and try to swallow the building anticipation.
“I almost wish he hadn’t told us,” I say.
Quinn reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze. “Hey, we’ll get through it together. If we survive the road trip, that is.”
“Aye, there’s that. I only hope he doesn’t make us share an RV with Ice Pick. He could clear an event space with his nighttime gas.”
“Yuck. I’ll talk to Eve to make sure we’re with her.”
That brings a smile out of me. A few months ago, I would have been looking for a way out of this. Now I’m planning ways to make it work.
“You ready to meet your fans?” I ask, and she takes a deep breath.
“With you by my side, I’m ready for anything,” she says.
I couldn’t agree more.