Epilogue
EPILOGUE
CHIP
“Okay, but hold still for a second.” I fastened another necklace on one of the siren kids that Monroe and I volunteered to take trick-or-treating for their first time.“We’re almost done.”
I was so excited to finally get them on land to take part in all the island festivities. We started off the night with a pool party at our house. Our house . It was really odd thinking that when it came to Monroe and me but there we were. Our pool was filled with siren kids and other sirens. Monroe seemed to seamlessly blend in, my sisters loved him, and my father kept sending him outfits so they could be twinsies . Monroe took it all in stride and genuinely got along with my family which I didn’t even do sometimes.In such a short time, he’d blended into our family so seamlessly it was like he’d always been there.
The little boy bounced in front of me. “Chip, I want to go trick-or-treating. Come on.”
“Do you know how hard it is to latch a necklace on a kid who won’t hold still?” I put my hand on his head to get him to stop. “Hold still, kid, or we’re never gonna go.”
He finally held still and I latched the necklace. The second I got it hooked together he turned around and looked up at me. “Is my costume okay?”
“Of course it is.”
Monroe moved in beside me. “Oh you’re a cool dragon.”
“Really?” The boy beamed up at him.
“For sure. But you have to life your arms and roar so we can all see the wings.” He lifted his arms and roared at the boy. “Like that.”
“Wow.” His eyes widened. Then he threw his arms up and roared at Monroe.
Monroe held his hand up. “That was amazing, high five.”
The boy jumped and slapped his hand. “What are you supposed to be?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Monroe motioned to himself. He wore a trench coat, big rain boots, and a long bright pink tutu. “I’m Jimbo.”
The little boy covered his mouth as he giggled. Then he pointed at me. “Are you Sal?”
“You, my friend, are very smart.” I did a little spin show off my trench coat, boots, and bright blue tutu.
“You guys are funny.” He laughed then ran away to join his group of friends.
I turned toward Monroe. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”
“It was a great idea.” He smiled down at me. “I’m glad we decided to do this.”
“Me too.”
He wrapped his hand in mine and tugged me toward the gate. He gave my hand a little squeeze. “Let’s round them up.”
I turned to all the kids that’d gathered at our house. “Hey all! We’re going to get started with our trick-or-treating. Follow us and stick together.”
We turned and started walking hand-in-hand with the kids all wandering around us. Some of them ran in front of us and others stayed walking behind like baby ducks. I couldn’t help but smile at how far we’d come in such a short time. With Monroe’s help we organized this outing in days. The streets were lined with people and their children all dressed in costumes. The fun was in the air and for the first time this Halloween season I felt light and excited for the what was to come.
“I knew there was something going on between you two.” Kristie emerged from out of nowhere.
I took a small step back and moved in closer to Monroe’s side. “There was nothing going on when you guys were together.”
“I don’t believe you.” Her lip curled into a sneer. “You cheated.”
“No one cheated.” Monroe rolled his eyes and sighed. “We were done before Chip and I were even a thing.”
“Oh shut up, you’ve been a thing since the day you met.” She pulled her wand from her pocket.
Before I knew it my hand shot out and I grabbed it from her. Monroe’s eyes widened and Kristie stomped her foot in frustration. “Give it back.”
“I do believe you were about to do something you’ll regret, Kristie.” I wagged it at her.
She shoved her hand out toward me. “It’s mine I want it back now.”
I shoved the wand into my pocket. “I do believe you’ll have to prove it.”
“What?” Her brows furrowed. “Monroe, tell her to give it back.”
Monroe chuckled and shoved his sleeve up revealing out soulmate mark. “I wouldn’t dare tell my soulmate what to do.”
Her eyes widened and she growled and stomped her foot. She stomped away in a huff and I chuckled. Monroe threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “You know you have to give that back, right?”
“Yeah, I know. But she was going to use it on us and I didn’t want anything to ruin our night.”
He pressed another kiss to the side of my head. “Me either, I imagine she would turn me into a toad or something.”
“I think I prefer just your tail and that’s it.”
“Me too.” He chuckled.
“Hey Chip! Monroe!”
We both turned around to see Jude and Cameron heading toward us. Jude’s daughter, Daphne, was dressed as a plump little pumpkin. He guided her to go and run with the other siren kids and she squealed with laughter as she started running and playing with the others. Jude and Cameron stopped just in front of us.
Monroe offered him his hand. “Jude, good to see you.”
Jude shook his hand then turned to me. “Chip, nice to see you two getting along.”
“Yes, I’m kind of enjoying it.”
“Only kind of?” Monroe teased.
I bumped my hip into his and rolled my eyes. “More than.”
Cameron leaned in closer to Jude and her blue hair brushed against his arm. “You guys look great together.”
“I think you’re right.” I was too happy even for my own good. “How are the plans coming along?”
Jude’s eyes lit up. “That’s why I came to find you guys. I have the plans all drawn up and the Vaunteros have already approved. We can start construction next week.”
Monroe clapped his hands together. “I can’t believe this, it’s so cool.”
Cameron nodded. “I think a hotel for sirens is a great idea. They’ll have someplace to stay on land, to get changed, and I love the dryers.”
“That was all Chip’s idea.” Monroe beamed.
“I can assure you it’s out of pure laziness. All that drying off was time consuming. I just thought if we could swim up and get dried off quickly it would save so much time . . . and nudity.”
“Yes, we hate the nudity part,” Monroe said sarcastically and wagged his eyebrows which earned him another bump of my shoulder.
Jude nodded. “I think it’s going to be great and it’s in a great location. You guys should be proud of yourselves.”
“We are.” Monroe threw his arm over my shoulder once more and pulled me in close to his side.
“Daddy! Cameron come see!” Daphne called out to them.
Jude gave her a little wave. “Excuse us, we have to go catch up with her. But I wanted to let you know about all the progress.”
“Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure.” He grabbed Cameron’s hand they hurried down the street to catch up to Daphne.
I looked up at Monroe. “You really did a good job making that happen.”
“We, we did a good job.” He held me tighter. “I like to think we’re a great team.”
I giggled. “Oh, I don’t know. A little competition never hurt anyone.”
“Except for maybe the hot nacho cheese on the popcorn, that hurt a little bit.” He grinned.
My cheeks hurt from how much smiling I was doing. I shook my head. “Personally, I loved that prank.”
He tipped my chin up, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I love you.. ”
My heart skipped beats in my chest and sent all the warm fuzzy feelies through my body. “I love you, too.”