Epilogue #2
“Oh.” Eli immediately looked away from Gwen. “Yeah, I’m gonna go, uh, get a water to, um, cool off.”
Chris stifled a laugh, then started for Rory but was stopped by Elaina and Bear.
“You look so handsome, Uncle Chris. I mean, I still think you should go as Captain America on Sunday when we trick-or-treat. We’ll get extra candy because everyone will think you’re a real Avenger.
” She grinned. “But I do have to say, you”—she opened her palms—“are all the real heroes.”
Chris crouched before her, and Bear howled. “You think so, huh?”
“I do.” Elaina closed her eyes and lifted her chin to the night sky. “One of these days, I’m going to save people, too. I just know it.”
Yeah, he felt that in his bones. “You will. And you’re already a hero.
” His words had her lids parting. “You saved my brother.” He poked her belly button in her cute pink and brown cowgirl get-up.
“You gave me a chance to get to know him. I don’t know how to thank you.
” He tipped the brim of his hat to better see her.
“No thanks needed! Heroes do what is right because, well, it’s right.” She turned when Liam called out for her. “Save a dance for me,” she said while looking from Bear and then to Chris, “the both of you!” She darted off.
Yeah, she was special. And he wanted a daughter, too.
Did Rory want kids? He needed to introduce Rory to his dad. His dad had made a lot of mistakes, but he’d like for him to meet the love of his life.
As he pushed upright, Rory came into his line of sight. Long, gorgeous legs in a jean skirt. Brown boots. A denim jacket over a tank top. Her khaki cowgirl hat on. She had to be a bit cold, but they’d been fortunate it was still in the fifties.
“Hey, cowboy.”
“You always wanted to marry a cowboy, huh?” Chris teased while Rory looped her arms around his neck.
“No, plenty of cowboys where I came from,” she whispered. “But no one like you.”
“No one?” He arched a brow, his arms hooked around her waist.
“Nope. Not a one.” She wet her lips. “Traveled all over the world, and no one like you anywhere else, either.”
“You’re one of a kind, too.” He dipped his hand into his vest pocket in search of the ring box, then stepped back and held out two fists. “Trick-or-treat?”
“Ohhh.” She closed one eye. “I do love a good trick, especially that one you do in the shower, but I’ll go with treat.”
“Yeah, um.” Okay, now he was growing hard picturing their naked bodies beneath the water as they made love in a naughty, filthy, and absolutely amazing and hot way.
Focus. He blinked, and his eyes dipped to the curve of her tank top as he continued imagining them having sex.
“Okay, so we’re going to need to do that later.
But first.” He opened the ring box to reveal the white gold infinity diamond band with a princess cut stone set at the top.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have this before. Still want to marry this guy? ”
She swallowed, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Absolutely,” she said as he slid the ring on her finger. “Infinity. It’s perfect.” She pressed up in her boots and kissed him. “Love you so much more than a ring, though, you know that, right?”
My issues. My mom. Right.
“I know,” he replied, and his answer was one hundred percent the truth. He trusted her with his heart and with his future. “Can I ask you something?” He returned the empty box to his pocket.
“Of course.”
“You think someday you’ll make me a father?” He’d never wanted to be one, given his childhood, but then he’d had no idea he’d meet Rory.
Her brows pulled together, and her eyes lifted to his. He released a shaky breath right before she leaned closer and murmured, “Now that’s an adventure I think I could get behind.”
“A little dangerous,” he warned. “And messy.” He thought about the diaper changes. “Probably scary. Lots of pulse-racing kind of moments.”
“But totally worth it,” they said at the same time and smiled.
He pressed his lips to hers, lifted her off the ground, and spun her around.
“Now, how about we get this show on the road, what do you say?” she asked when he set her back down. “DJ for us. Show these boys you’ve been holding out on them with your spin skills. You think you remember?”
“Pssh. Do I remember?” He cracked his knuckles and tsked. “Of course.”
She quickly took him by the hand, and they hurried across the yard, slowing for a second when they spotted Jesse and Ella talking, beers in hand, standing awkwardly like they hadn’t known each other their entire lives and were actually on a blind date.
Ella caught Chris’s eyes, and she patted Jesse on the shoulder twice before striding toward him and Rory. “Hey there, you two.” Ella hugged Chris, then spied the diamond on Rory’s finger. “Well, damn. Nice job.”
He smiled. “Glad you could make it.” Chris glimpsed Jesse now chatting with A.J. and Ana.
“Of course. I love a good Halloween party.” Ella tipped her head to the house. “You, missy . . . I know what you and A.J. did,” she added a few seconds later.
Ah. The “blind date” setup.
“Hate me?” Rory asked.
“Never, but Jesse will probably give you hell.” Ella squeezed her forearm. “We’ll catch up later. Congrats again, though,” she said as Ana motioned for her to come over.
“Yeah, looks like we have two couples we need to get together,” Chris said, eyes moving back to Harper and Roman talking.
“I agree.” Rory pointed to a table covered with a red cloth. “But first, I need my DJ.”
“What’s that?” Chris scrunched his forehead, curious. He recognized the familiar shape beneath the cloth, but . . . really?
“Okay, everyone!” Rory called out, hands cupping her mouth. “My fiancé is going to drop some beats. Introducing DJ Hunter!”
And, oh shit. Chris blinked in surprise when she pulled a sheet from a table to reveal his favorite turntables, Technics. Plus, a Pioneer mixer and accompanying headphones.
He went behind the table and thumbed through the crate of vinyl. The woman got me vinyl.
Yeah, he loved this woman.
Holy shit. A kid at Christmas right now.
Chris grabbed hold of her cheeks and kissed her as everyone began clapping and whistling, asking for more of a show. So, he tipped her back and set his mouth to her lips like that famous V-J Day kiss in Times Square.
“Mmm. More of that later?” Rory asked against his lips when he set her upright, and he grinned, insanely happy.
“That’s a promise,” he responded, then she patted his ass, encouraging him to get a move on and start spinning.
He viewed the sleek tables. It’d been decades, but hopefully, it would be like riding a bike.
Chris removed his hat, put on the Pioneer headphones, and searched the vinyl his amazing fiancée had purchased.
He slid the David Guetta track out of the sleeve and set it on the first table, then positioned the needle onto the vinyl. Once the second record was in place, he worked the knobs of the mixer as it all came back to him.
“You were holding out on us, huh?” Roman asked thirty minutes later when Chris was mixing a song with The Chainsmokers’ Call You Mine.
He lowered his headphones to his neck. “More than a pretty face,” he teased, repeating what he’d said to him back on Mona Island.
“Never doubted you, brother,” Roman returned the same words. He started to walk away, but Chris caught his arm.
“Hey, you’re okay, right?” He wanted Roman to find happiness like him, and he was concerned happiness was staring Roman right in the face, but he wasn’t making a move.
Roman peered Harper’s way as if reading Chris’s thoughts. “I’m trying to be,” he mouthed over the music, then left, clearly not in the mood to discuss his love life or lack thereof.
“Marrying my sister, and you didn’t ask for permission?” Jesse asked, catching Chris off guard. He turned to see Rory’s brother at his six. “You realize that’s grounds for termination in the South.”
Termination, huh? Chris let the beats play on their own to face Jesse. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He stepped around the improvised DJ booth. “It was spontaneous, and I—”
“I’m just giving you a hard time.” Jesse adjusted his brown cowboy hat. “My sister loves spontaneity, so it was probably perfect. But you’ll need to come back to Bama for a little grilling.”
“Like cooking?” he asked with a smile, knowing damn well what he meant.
“Not giving him a hard time, are you?” Rory came up and looped her arm with Chris’s.
“Would I do that?” Jesse winked, leaned in and kissed his sister’s cheek, then left and started chatting with Owen and Knox.
“We’re ready!” Emily called out, pulling everyone’s focus her way as she stood by Ana.
“You know what they want.” Rory hugged him and squeezed his ass with both hands, and he laughed. “You got the record, didn’t you?”
Rory nodded with excited eyes. “Of course. These ladies want a show, what can I say?” She playfully shrugged, and Chris pinched her ass right back for that.
“The Git Up by Blanco Brown it is, then.” Chris set up the record, and A.J. went to the center of the grass.
“You boys know what to do,” A.J. yelled over the music, twirling a finger in the air, motioning to break it down.
Chris started for the line of guys but then turned to see Rory gently tugging him the other direction. “Come with me.”
“No dancing?” he asked in surprise as they stealthily maneuvered toward the gate.
“No, that was a distraction,” she said once along the side of the home, and she set her hands to Chris’s chest. Her lips curved into a delicious tease of a smile before she wet her lips and whispered, “I’ll be needing that trick now.”