Epilogue
Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
One Year Later
LAINEY
LAINEY ADJUSTED THE painting above their bed, careful not to wake Justin. It was the one she’d first spotted at True Art—a vibrant watercolor of a woman gazing out a rain-streaked window, her features blurred just enough that only she and Justin would recognize them as her own.
The Dreamer, the brass plate read. His birthday gift to her.
The same painting they’d nearly knocked off the wall last night during a rather enthusiastic lovemaking session.
“That’s what I thought,” Justin murmured sleepily from beneath the covers. He wasn’t an early riser, while she was up at dawn. Most mornings, she had a cappuccino ready for him when he woke, a small, quiet joy that started their day. “That you were a dreamer…and my dream. You still are.”
Laughing as his muscular arm snaked out from beneath the tangled sheet to circle her waist, she let him pull her on top of him.
“We don’t have time,” she whispered as he pressed his cock against her, the thin strip of pink silk the only thing between them. He slept nude—much to her delight—and loved morning sex nearly as much as she did.
He slid his hand beneath her tank top, his thumb grazing her nipple and sending a jolt of heat through her. “Sweetheart, for this, we always have time.”
She groaned as his fingertip moved in slow, knowing strokes. “Our flight,” she managed, though it was hard to care when he touched her like this. “Your final presentation’s tomorrow. The movers come the day after.”
“There’s another flight at three,” he murmured, in a low, lazy rumble that left no room for debate. “I switch them all the time.”
He kissed her like she was still the girl who’d stolen his heart, and Lainey met him with the woman she’d become—heat rising, memory and need colliding in a rush of sensation. Lovemaking with Justin was never just about the now. It was the past, the ache of what they’d lost, and the staggering wonder of finding each other again, all of it crashing together, breathtaking and real.
Only…they had to make that flight.
She pressed a hand to his shoulder, a low hum escaping her as a flicker of shyness crept in. “I have an appointment this afternoon. In the East Village.”
Justin’s fingers slid into her hair, tilting her head to draw her in deeper. She melted against him—unable not to.
He kissed like a man born to it. And he knew it.
“It’s a dress designer, Just. Um …wedding dresses.”
That got his attention. He gently cupped her chin, guiding her gaze to his. “You’re looking at a dress,” he said, voice lower now, intent. “You’re ready to set the date.”
Breathless, Lainey pressed her brow to his, tears threatening—as they always did when she thought about marriage. He’d proposed two months ago and had waited patiently, giving her space to let her nerves settle, to arrive at this moment on her own. “I’m ready to set the date.”
Justin laughed, the sound edged with disbelief. “You said yes, but fuck , I wasn’t sure until this second that you meant it.”
Her words trembled, low and full of truth. “Of course I meant it. I’m just nervous.”
He was the only person she could admit this to. The diamond solitaire he’d given her—the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen—seemed to warm where it pressed against his broad back. “I want this. I want you . I just don’t want to mess it up.”
“You have me.” His arm came around her, pulling her close, tucking her against his shoulder. If he cried, she was done for. “Every fragment of me.”
She drew a shaky breath, her voice barely steady. “A summer wedding, maybe?”
Justin’s arm trembled slightly as he pulled her closer. Seconds passed before he said, “Holy shit, we’re getting married, Lain.”
Thoughts spinning, Lainey rolled to her side and threw her arm over her eyes. “There’s so much to plan. Your brothers. I don’t have any left, so we need family there. Campbell’s on a shoot in a different country every time we talk to him, and Dallas is off covering whatever war zone needs him. Ransom’s in New York, so he’ll surely be able to?—”
“Slow down. We’re doing this together, the whole deal,” he said with a soft laugh. Gently lifting her arm, he stared down at her, and as she’d suspected, his eyes shimmered with tears. “I’ll corral them. Well…Dallas, I can’t say for sure.”
He had a complicated relationship with his younger half-brother. Lainey didn’t know all the details, only that Justin loved him fiercely and carried a heavy sense of responsibility for the ways things had gone wrong, things he was still trying to correct.
But that was life, wasn’t it?
She’d made her share of mistakes—and been forgiven.
And, in turn, she’d learned how to forgive.
Lainey skimmed her toe along his ankle, sensing the moment was right. “Once we’re in Promise full-time—after the ceremony—we can adopt a dog. I stopped by the shelter last week, and they had the sweetest hound mix named Dolly.”
Justin snorted, bracing himself on one forearm as he turned to face her. His toned body, still a marvel, made her cheeks flush. “So this date is just a formality so we can adopt a dog?”
Lainey shrugged, trailing her finger down his chest, over the firm line of his pec. “One more reason. I’ve got about a thousand others.”
He caught her hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a reverent kiss to the ring he’d given her. “I love you, Lainey Prescott. Soon to be Lainey True.”
“Lainey True,” she whispered, her heart full. “Yeah. That sounds perfect.”
* * *
Thank you for joining Justin and Lainey on their fiery ride—and for stepping into something a little different with me!