Epilogue
EPILOGUE
EMELIA
6 Months Later
“ I can’t see where I’m going if you cover half my face!” I protest as Hector covers my eyes with his large hands.
“That’s kind of the point, baby,” Silas says from behind me.
“Aren’t you guys finished with surprises yet?” I ask with a smile. They already renovated their house to add another bathroom and extra square footage, knocked out a few walls to essentially make one huge communal bedroom with a huge bed, okay it’s several beds pushed together, and added another garage shop to accommodate our bikes and cars.
“Not a chance,” Hayden says and I can hear him chuckling behind me. “Although this is the last one for a while,” he concedes.
Hector guides me through the underbrush for a few more minutes before stopping me. I can feel the sun on my skin and I know that we’re at my favorite portion of the forest. He removes his hands and I inhale sharply. There are four picnic blankets laid out together to form one huge ass blanket with baskets of snacks and beer.
My eyes search the area for any signs that I’ve forgotten a birthday or holiday, but I come up short. “What’s all this?” I finally ask and turn to face the boys.
My boys.
They’re smiling at me, all four of them, like they’ve just won the lottery and I’m their prize. “What?” I ask and a nervous giggle bubbles past my lips.
“Nothing, baby, just sit down,” Silas says and hands me a beer.
I do as I’m told, and we all sit, munching on snacks and drinking beer in the late spring sunshine. I know I’m not destined to end up there, but this must be as close to Heaven as I’m ever going to get.
Hector clears his throat and I turn to face him. “Little Bird, I never thought I’d see the day when you let me into your life as more than just a protector. I’m so grateful to have your affections and I just want you to know how much you mean to me.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Silas cuts me off. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were a spitfire, and that you would be a handful. I wasn’t wrong. At all.” We all chuckle and I feel the heat of a blush creeping into my face. “But I’m also so glad you’re in my life.”
My birthday. That must be it. I clearly forgot my own birthday.
No. No, my birthday is in October.
What the fuck is going on.
Declan gently tilts my face to him with his fingers under my chin. “You are a giant pain in my ass. I thought you were going to rip my family apart, but I’ve never been so wrong. You literally brought my family together. All of us. Right here. This is a family, and it’s all because of you.”
“You guys.” I manage to choke back a sob but the tears escape, running freely down my cheeks. My heart expands in my chest until it’s painfully tight.
Hayden leans forward and sets a small black box on my knee. “I’ve known from the first moment I saw you in that God awful blonde wig in the hospital, that I wanted to worship the ground you walked on. Then when I saw you covered in blood in that alleyway, I wanted to drop to one knee and ask you to marry me right then and there.” He looks at Declan and Silas. “They wouldn’t let me, obviously. Something about you being an insane psycho killer and all.”
I laugh through another sob and look down at the box on my leg, almost afraid that if I touch the soft velvet, it will disappear.
“I got this the day you swindled us in poker, wiping the floor with your royal flush.” He takes the box and opens it, revealing a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring. “We all agreed this fits you perfectly. So, what do you say?” I look up with tears still blurring my vision and realize that they are all down on one knee in front of me. “Will you marry us?”
How could I marry all four of them? I look from one face to another, my throat tightening with emotion. How could I not?
“Of course I will,” I whisper and hold out my left hand so that Hayden can slide the ring into place. It fits like a glove, but then again, what kind of stalker would he be if he didn’t know my ring size.
“We also decided,” Hector says, pulling my attention away from the diamond on my left hand, “That instead of fighting over which last name you’ll take, we’re all going to take your last name.”
And just like that, my heart exploded and I died from happiness overload.
Declan moves to wrap his arms around me, pulling me tight against him. His lips touch my ear as he whispers low so that only I can hear, “I can’t wait to breed you, Wife.”
My insides turn to jello as I melt into his embrace.
“I can’t wait to start my forever with you,” Hector says when it’s his turn to hug me.
Hayden and Silas hug me together, their arms overlapping along my back. “I love you,” they whisper in unison.
“I love you too,” I whisper and blink my eyes rapidly to try and dislodge the tears gathering on my lashes. I never thought I’d trust someone enough to let someone break through my walls, but these men have chiseled away every stone, leaving me bare and exposed to their love and affections. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My boys.”