Epilogue
Reunions could be fun. All those personalities coming together in one space, everyone catching up after so much time apart, your closest relations gossiping, eating food, and having an all-around good time.
Even the clashes that came out of nowhere could be entertaining—to me anyway.
I usually lived for those moments, and there were plenty.
Our annual Kent Family Reunion was typically full of happiness and havoc. It was my favorite event of the year.
But this was ridiculous.
"What do you think they're saying to him?" I asked.
Viola lifted a brow. "Do you really want to know?"
I nodded while biting another one of my nails.
Yes, of course, I did.
My uncles had taken Tolliver aside; they'd been 'talking' to him for the past 15 minutes and counting. That didn't seem like a long time. But when you had no clue what the conversation entailed, and you knew nothing of how your boyfriend would react when thrown in this situation?
Yeah, I wasn't too proud to admit it.
I was nervous.
"They're probably asking him about hockey," Viola said, and I nearly sighed in relief. Until she added, "That or they're asking for his specific body measurements, height, width, and weight."
"What?"
"You know, for the coffin."
I threw her a scowl that would've made others crumble.
But Viola smiled and held up a hand. "Hey, that's what Uncle Ollie asked Dare when he met the uncles."
I looked to her boyfriend for confirmation.
He gave a solemn nod. "I may or may not have run away screaming."
"Dare." Viola scoffed.
"What?"
"You didn't do that."
"No, but it's only because I love you and didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Coach."
She arched a brow. "Don't you think it's weird that you still call my dad that? You don't even play for him anymore."
Dare Frost shot her a grin. "Nah, he'll always be my coach. But I'll start calling him 'Dad' if you want."
Viola laughed out loud. "Oh my gosh, that would be priceless."
I grinned despite my nerves. "Uncle Becks would hate that."
"No, he wouldn't," Dare replied. "Coach Kent loves me."
"But are you sure he loves you that much?" I asked.
"How could he not?"
Viola shook her head, gazing up at him with a mixture of love, joy, and amusement. "I have to see his face. Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah," I said. "He broke away from the uncle inquisition a second ago to dance with your mom."
"Okay," she said, "so we'll let them finish their dance and do it after."
Dare placed a kiss against her temple. "Whatever you say, flower."
Internally swooning, I watched Uncle Becks and Aunt Sally dance.
It was a slow song, and as they stared into each other's eyes like there was no one else in the room, it was clear to anyone watching how deeply in love they were.
Still. After all this time. I smiled, thinking they were the perfect example of best-friends-to-lovers I'd ever seen.
Lottie apparently agreed.
As she sidled up to me with her boyfriend in tow, she sighed and said, "Aren't they the cutest?"
"I was just thinking the same thing."
Bo Stryker, Lottie's boyfriend, was frowning. But he usually was, so I didn't read anything into it. Looking back to the corner, I noted that my uncles—minus Uncle Becks—were still talking to Tolliver.
"Hey Bo," I said, "what did my uncles talk to you about? When you first met, I mean."
He shrugged. "Lots of things."
"Was it scary?"
"Yeah."
I waited, but when he didn't elaborate, I asked, "Can you give me any more details?"
Bo was a big guy, as built as Tolliver and possibly a bit taller, so it was an odd thing to see someone like that blanch.
"I'd rather not," he said gruffly. "But it was nothing compared to meeting Lottie's dad for the first time. That was…yeah."
"He was a bit traumatized," Lottie said as she wrapped her hand around his. "I try not to make him relive it."
Bo threaded his fingers with hers, and there was a crack in his icy demeanor when he looked at her. "I would do it a hundred times again. No question. So long as it meant I got to be with you."
Charlotte beamed up at him. "My marshmallow," she said with affection.
Bo scowled again, but it was obviously forced.
When she leaned up and kissed his jaw, the corners of his mouth twitched. I had a feeling it was his version of a smile. But Bo's words only made me that much more nervous.
Scarlett and Sam joined our group as I tried to read lips, body language, anything that would offer me a clue as to the overall feel of the conversation.
"What are you guys chatting about?" Scarlett asked.
"The talk the uncles give," Lottie said, "and how scary Bo thinks our dad is."
Next to her, Sam laughed. "What? Leo's cool."
"Yeah," Scarlett said, "Sam and Dad hit it off right away. It was kind of weird actually."
"No, it wasn't," he said. "Parents usually love me."
"I know, but at the time, he didn't like you because you'd already broken my heart once. Remember?"
"I remember you breaking mine." As she went to open her mouth, he smiled then added, "And putting it back together."
Sam and Scarlett kissed, and it was sweet and swoony and all the things. And I couldn't even enjoy it because my boyfriend was currently over there either being scared out of his wits or making best friends with my dad and uncles. I wasn't sure which was worse.
"But yeah, Leo Kent's a chill guy," Sam said.
Bo was staring at Sam as if he'd grown a second head. "Did we meet the same person?" he said. "That guy is scary as hell."
"Not as bad as Becks."
"It's true," Dare said. "Coach Kent can be terrifying when he wants to be."
Bo shrugged. "He and my dad are best friends, so I didn't really get that."
"Good for you, Stryker."
"Don't be jealous, Frost."
"I'm not."
"Sounded like you were." As Dare scoffed, Bo shot him the smallest grin. "It's not like he would've chosen me over you. Oh wait, he might have, in soccer anyway."
Dare barked a laugh. "Please, there's no way. I'm the better baller and boyfriend."
"Keep telling yourself that."
Viola and Lottie exchanged matching eyerolls.
"No offense or anything," I said, "but will you two please shut up?"
They looked to me in surprise mixed with amusement while Sam laughed.
"I'm trying to lipread here."
"How's that going?" Scarlett asked.
"Terrible," I said and nearly jumped when Tolliver finally, finally stepped away from the group, which quickly disbanded. "Oh, it's over. Thank goodness. Does it look like Tolliver's going to make a run for it?"
"Nope," Lottie said, "looks like he's coming this way."
"Do you think he's scarred for life?"
"He looks pretty calm actually," Viola said and patted my shoulder. "We'll leave you to it."
"Okay."
"Don't forget we have to perform soon," Scarlett said.
"Have I ever forgotten?" I said.
"No, but"—she waggled her brows—"you've never brought anyone to the reunion either. I wanted to make sure you don't get distracted. So…"
Rolling my eyes with a laugh, I said, "Thanks. See you soon."
Tolliver reached me, and I smiled up at him.
"You good, Stone?" I asked.
Instead of answering me with words, he pulled me into a bear hug.
"That bad, huh?"
"No," he murmured into my hair, "but not gonna lie. There was a moment I didn't think I'd make it out alive."
I laughed.
"You think that's funny, Kent?"
"I think you're hilarious," I said.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Of course, it is." As Tolliver squeezed me one last time then took a step back, he was smiling. "Not to ruin the moment or anything, but I'm dying to know. What exactly did they say to you?"
"Well, let's see," he said.
Tolliver looked up in thought.
"Your dad told me again what would happen if I disrespected you—in much greater detail. That man is a legend."
I smiled then gestured for him to go on. "Okay, what else?"
"The others followed his lead. Clayton was definitely the scariest—he's Aurora's dad, right? Although, there was a moment when your Uncle Ollie asked for my measurements. Something about getting the size of the coffin right? That was inventive and horrifying."
"Apparently, he says that to everyone."
"And I thought I was special."
I smiled at him. "You are to me. What else? Come on, Tolliver, you were over there a while."
He shrugged. "Well, we talked about you, of course. But besides that and the threats, we mostly talked about hockey.
"Really?"
"Yeah, apparently, they don't know much about it. So I gave them the basics."
Shaking my head, I put my hands on my hips and said, "All that time, I was over here worrying about you."
"Ah, that's sweet, Kent."
"Don't call me sweet right now. I'm mad at you."
"Why?"
"Because I thought you were suffering, and instead, you were talking about sports."
Tolliver grinned. "Did you want me to suffer?"
"Maybe a little," I grumbled, but when he pulled me in for another hug, I sighed.
"I thought of it as a rite of passage," he said. "Or whatever it is when you have run barefoot over hot coals or something. I knew it would be hard, so I came prepared."
Looking up at him, I tilted my head. "You're tougher than you look, Stone."
"You're worth it, Kent."
As he leaned forward to catch my lips, I felt like I could fly.
Aurora hurried over and said, "Did I miss it?"
My phone alarm chimed, the one I set to alert me five minutes before the performance, and I turned it off. "Nope, you're right on time. We're about to go on."
"Oh good. I didn't want you guys to be upset or think I wasn't coming."
"We wouldn't have been."
I nudged her with my elbow.
"Plus, this is nothing compared to playing sold-out shows with HERS."
"Performing will always be a little daunting for me. I'm not like you, Freya. You shine on stage."
"She does," Tolliver agreed.
"Thanks," I said, "but you do too, Ror."
She sent me a knowing smile. "Not like you. Even after the tour, I still have anxiety—it's just deeper down. Anyway…" She smiled at me and Tolliver. "How are you guys doing?"
"We're fine," I said, catching myself and looking up at him.
Tolliver and I had been a we for a while. But it was still weird sometimes, feeling the word fall from my lips. For his part, Tolliver merely arched a brow and laid a kiss against my hair.
"We're good," he echoed and smiled at Aurora. "It's nice to see you again."
"You too, Tolliver," she said.
I gestured to the makeshift stage. "The others are getting ready. I was about to head back."
Aurora nodded, and after giving Tolliver one last kiss, I walked away with her to get our instruments ready.
"Again, sorry I was almost late," she said.
"It's fine," I said.
"Felix and I got some surprising news that held us up."
"Where is Felix anyway?"
"The uncles caught him on the way in," she said.
"Good luck to him," I said.
"Yeah, he'll need it. But I think he'll be okay."
There was a beat then…
"Anyway, we got some news."
"Okay, Ror, I can see you want to tell me. What happened?"
Aurora's smile grew. "He found out his brother is engaged."
"Oh?"
"Ryker and London. She's really awesome actually. I met her on tour. Anyway, someone in the press leaked it, and yeah, it caused a whole thing."
I shot her a smile. "You know exactly what that's like."
"I do," she said, reaching out a hand to stop me. "Hey, Freya. Are you…okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"It's just I know you're with Tolliver now, but I also know you had that crush on Ryker. I wanted to make sure you're good. Because I love you."
I didn't even have to think about it. Hadn't thought about HERS's drummer in a long time—besides to enjoy their music. The news about Ryker and his fiancée didn't phase me. I felt nothing, not even a twinge in my chest.
"I love you too, Ror," I said. "And I'm good. Really."
After hugging me, she went to say hi to my other cousins.
They looked so happy, and I smiled, feeling thankful. Us being together again, that was what made it my favorite event of the year. I looked out at my family, at the guests they'd brought with them, until finally, my eyes landed on Tolliver.
He was already looking at me.
With a smile, he mouthed, "What?"
We still had a minute until we had to perform.
Before I could overthink it, I ran back out and straight into his arms. Tolliver caught me around the middle, and I kissed him.
"Don't you have to play?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"And you know your family's watching?"
"Nah, they're all doing their own thing."
We smiled at each other.
"Love you," I said.
"Love you too," he said back.
It didn't get any better than that.
* * *