Epilogue II #3
“Because you have a soft spot for Brynn,” Addison teases, earning a glare from Killian, who loudly drops a stack of Brynn’s signature packets on the table. “Not that kind of soft spot, Tiger,” Addison says, rolling her eyes. “Relax.”
They have a contentious friendship, so Killian still shoots her a look, then he walks away from us, probably to round up Brynn. She’s already at it with a clipboard, harassing a student she saw walking by to sign her petition, but she’ll want to see Cassie’s ring.
“Anyway,” Sophie says, trying to talk to Cassie over the chaos, “what’s the theme?”
“The Great Gatsby. Specifically, the musical version we saw in New York, so the music will be—” She finishes her sentence with a chef’s kiss.
“Yes. I love this.” Addison nods approvingly. “I’m gonna kill it in a flapper dress.”
“We have to tell Brynn. She’ll die,” Sophie says, then to Cassie, “She’s such a Broadway girly.”
“You should apologize to Killian,” Silvan says. “If she didn’t already have the idea, he’s definitely going to have a Phantom wedding now.”
“Broadway weddings. That’s so much fun,” Addison enthuses. “I’m tempted to get married so I can have one, too. What do you say, Hex? We can do Chicago.”
“I think I’ll pass,” he says dryly.
“Your loss,” she shoots back.
Cassie grins. “I stayed up late last night starting my wedding binder. I’ll have to show it to you guys later.
I already had some bridal magazines because this man is always talking about marrying me, so I already put some possible bridesmaid dresses in there.
You’ll have to let me know what you guys think.
We’re going to build a stage with a Gatsby-style set behind the jazz band.
We were so inspired when we saw the show on Broadway, we decided immediately one of the songs would be our wedding song if we—”
“When,” I interrupt.
Cassie takes my correction with an indulgent roll of her eyes. “When we eventually got married.”
She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m already in talks with the actor who performed the night we saw it to fly out so he can sing ‘For Her’ during our first dance.
I smile at the thought. Not of the party or the grand gesture, but the mental image of Cassie in a wedding dress, dancing in my arms, bound to me forever.
Becoming my wife.
The truth is, she’s spent every day since the one that ended with her leaving the lake house in pieces becoming my wife, she just needed support to get through the transformation.
My poor Cassie was lost in a tunnel all by herself, and she couldn’t see the light on the other side.
No one was looking for her, but we found each other, and I helped her fit all those broken pieces back together.
I helped her build something better, stronger, freer—in a way.
Something beautiful that fits me like a glove.
Before I bent every bar and made the place uninhabitable, Cassie lived in a cage, she just didn’t see it.
I forced her out, and once she got through the hard, scary parts, she made it to the beautiful atrium I built for her.
She was skittish at first, but now that she’s settled in, she’s much happier here, and she has more room to grow.
I’ve loved every version of Cassie, but the current version is my favorite.
To me, Cassie was like a butterfly clinging desperately to her chrysalis, so afraid not to be a caterpillar anymore that she wouldn’t let herself emerge. Once she let go of that fear and let herself spread her wings… I knew it would be beautiful.
And it is.
She is.
And she’s mine now—officially.
Until death do we part.
___
When we finally finish doing our part to “save the world” for the day, I get to my favorite part of every day.
Returning home so I can settle in with Cassie.
Tonight, we grabbed dinner with Brynn and Killian after the girls handed out the last of their lemonade. Now that we’re home, Cassie grabs my hand and hauls me to the living room so she can show me all the work she did last night on her wedding binder.
I want to see it, I really do, but I’ve had to share her so much today that I’m jonesing for a fix. Grabbing her waist, I pull her in, needing the warmth of her against me.
“I’m very excited to see your wedding plans,” I tell her, leaning down.
“Yeah?” she murmurs, but I think she knows there’s a “but” coming.
I nod, then I kiss her. Against her soft, perfect mouth, I murmur, “But I’m also very interested in having your pretty lips wrapped around my cock.”
“Oh,” she says playfully. “Well, those are two very attractive options. I can see why you’re having a hard time deciding.”
I take the binder from her. “A very hard time.”
She smirks, letting her hand slide down to caress the bulge in my pants. “Oh, it is very hard. We’d better take care of that.”
“We can look at the binder first if you want to. But if I seem a little impatient…”
She shakes her head, then leans in for a kiss. “No,” she murmurs. “I need you, too. We can look at the binder later when we’re able to focus on it.”
I sigh against her mouth. “I love you.”
I feel her smile, and then she leans in just enough to let me know she wants another kiss.
I walk her backward as I claim her lips, dropping her binder on the coffee table, then pushing her down onto the couch.
She sits on the edge in her pretty dress, looking up at me with those big brown eyes, and my heart kicks up the way it always does when she looks at me like that.
I grab the back of her neck, pulling and forcing her face against my abdomen. She sighs, her hands instinctively going to my belt. She loves when I do that.
And I love when she undoes my pants, peeking up at me beneath the dark fringe of her eyelashes as she says softly, “I love you, too.”
She lifts my shirt so her lips can touch my bare skin. She knows exactly what I want. I’ve trained her well.
I cradle her face in my hand, then lean down to steal one more kiss.
For the moment, anyway.
I plan to steal all her kisses for the rest of our lives.
The End