Epilogue #2
“Please, baby, don’t make me cry in front of these people,” Xander joked. “They will never let me live it down.”
Everyone laughed.
Rylee giggled, stepping closer to him to lay a hand to his chest.
Life had been amazing with Xander by her side. And although he’d been there for three years before all of this, her being able to accept it became like food to her soul.
No more did she resist. In fact, she’d woven her being so tightly with his, the idea that she wasn’t once this close felt like a distant past.
“Xander, I promise to love you without hesitation, because you deserve more than that,” she said. “And I promise to trust you without fear.”
He smiled.
“To show up, speak up, and soften when it’s easier to shut down… because you give me every reason to be soft in your presence. And I am more than confident you know what to do with all that.”
“And do,” he said, making her laugh.
“I vow to hold your hand and your heart… especially when the world tries to make you feel like you have to carry it all alone. You don’t.”
He nodded.
“‘Cause you got me, and I got you,” she recited his line back to him. “So we got us.”
He balled his lips, but gave into the pull at his mouth and nodded, his smile so big beneath it all.
“And with that, I promise to make this house of ours a home you never want to leave, even on the hard days.”
They’d already made their house a home full of love and comfort. And even though Xander insisted they keep the brownstone and visit it here and there, the children had already chosen what they felt was their haven.
She remembered the exact moment that showed her just how far they’d come.
A moment that had broken her heart in the quietest of ways…
“Mommy?” Nova called as she approached Rylee’s bedroom door in the brownstone.
Rylee was sitting on the bed, reading a book. This was one of the rare moments she was able to have to herself. Junior was asleep in the spare bassinet by her bed. The children had been busy in their rooms.
Well, at least they were before Nova came stepping inside.
“What’s up, baby?”
Nova climbed her little frame onto the bed, folding her legs once she was comfortable in her seat.
“When are we going home?” she asked. “I miss my room so much.”
The question hit Rylee square in the chest and made her close her book.
Her first inclination was to respond with, What are you talking about, Nova? We are home.
But she couldn’t.
Her goal when they moved to Greene Gardens had been to get the children comfortable with their new environment. She’d planned several trips around the village to familiarize them with the area. But most of that had proven unnecessary.
It only took one night for both Nova and LJ to become acclimated with their new home. They were in love with their rooms, and had already created tight-knit bonds with the neighborhood kids.
It was like the perfect magnetic click for them over there.
That didn’t stop Nova’s question from hurting.
It hurt Rylee a lot.
Her daddy bought that brownstone with her in mind. Before Nova was even born, Lennox had bought that place for her.
Rylee forced a smile to keep her bottom lip from trembling. To keep the tears from forming.
This was a good thing. A wonderful thing.
Nova kept her big, beautiful eyes—ones she shared with Rylee—locked on her mother’s, making it that much harder for Rylee not to break down.
They’d literally just arrived four hours prior, with plans to spend the weekend before heading back.
Plans change.
“Tomorrow,” Rylee assured with a nod. “We’ll go home tomorrow.”
Some days were harder for Rylee. The grief, as she said, was still there… but softer. And when she looked into her kids’ eyes, and into Xander’s, the future always seemed to extend its warm, welcoming hand. And she felt so good when she took it, every time.
“You gave me a love that never tried to replace the one I lost. Instead… you became the love I didn’t even know I deserved.”
Xander’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, his eyes welling again.
“I’m so in awe of you. So in love.” Rylee’s smile grew, a tear streaking her makeup, but she didn’t care.
“I’ve never felt luckier than the day I said yes to this life with you.”
It was like the world vanished around them.
Yes, they stood at the altar dressed in their wedding best—Rylee in a cream A-line dress with lace sleeves, roses etched along the fabric; Xander in the matching cream tux, no tie—but to Rylee, it was just Xander and her, on any day.
There, in their backyard, creating a core memory for just the two of them.
To her, he was the greatest choice she’d made. Only second to her children.
And for once… she wasn’t trying to figure out what happens next.
She was excited to just be.
“By the power vested in me in the great state of New York,” Reverend Holden voiced, smiling. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Xander, you may kiss your beautiful bride.”
Xander took Rylee by her hand and whispered, “Get your fine ass over here.”
She laughed from deep in her chest, her head tipping back as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Lifting onto her toes, she cupped his cheek with one hand to steady herself.
The instant their lips touched… the moment felt slow and sacred.
Their friends and family celebrated behind them, but their voices were muted.
All Rylee heard was Xander’s satisfying moan—the sound he released as he pulled her even closer—and in that moment, she felt like honey in his arms.
And she allowed it. She let it all happen without resistance, without hesitation, and without feeling like the pain she’d experienced would simply vanish at the end of it all.
Because she learned in all of this…
Love doesn’t erase loss.
It writes something new beside it…
If you let it.
She pulled back to meet Xander’s eyes, and he moved in close again, brushing the tip of his nose with hers.
“I love you,” Rylee whispered.
“Oh, baby.” Xander smiled so big she could see his back teeth. “I so love you.”
Rylee leaned in for another kiss… and into the life they’d built, full of light, laughter, and love that lasts.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Reverend Holden broadcasted beside them. “Please continue to put your hands together for Mr. and Mrs. Xander Cox!”
THE END.