Epilogue
“Knock, knock,” I said, entering the house without waiting for a response. A couple of people were already here.
Dad and Sheila.
Wyatt and Wes, along with the girls.
Claire’s boss from the Delano Library. David Pratchett from the Historical Society.
My brow furrowed a bit at those two, but I didn’t spend any more time thinking about it.
Jane waddled up to me, raising her hands straight into the air until I scooped her up and placed her on my waist.
“You run to Uncle Luke now instead of Uncle Seb? My heart is broken,” Seb complained. He hitched a ride with me to Reid and Claire’s new house, Scarlett having come by earlier to help with the preparations or something.
We strolled up to Wyatt, baby Veda asleep on his chest, already so big at only five months old. The older she got, the more she looked like Maeve, but I could see Wyatt in her too. In the shape of her mouth, the way she crinkled her nose.
I liked to imagine what our baby was going to look like. Would they have her eyes? Her red hair? Her curls? I hoped they looked just like her. An absolute vision from head to toe .
“Hey. Where’s the hosts for this thing?” I asked.
“Haven’t seen them. I got here a few minutes ago, and it seems like people are just starting to show up.”
“Well, I hope they won’t be upset, but I don’t think I’m going to make it to midnight,” Sheila said.
“Where’s Maeve?” Dad asked.
“She got here earlier to help out. I haven’t seen her either.” Wyatt had barely finished his sentence when Scarlett and Maeve appeared at the top of the stairs. They really got decked out for this thing. Matching shimmery dresses reflected the light, making it look like twinkling stars.
“Thank you all for coming,” Maeve started. “Hi, baby.” She waved at Jane.
Scarlett picked it up while Maeve fawned at her little girl. “If you would all go to the family room, there should be enough seats for everyone. The hosts will meet you there shortly.”
“The fuck is this?” Wyatt whispered. “Maeve wasn’t wearing that when she left the house. Trust me, I would have remembered.”
“Neither was Scarlett.” I shrugged my response, looking to Seb. He shook his head, looking to Wes. Wes chuckled, amusement glinting in his eyes.
“You know what’s going on?” Wyatt asked.
“No. I have no idea what those two are up to,” he huffed. “But we’ve got company.”
I turned to see what he was looking at, only to find my baby sister standing in the foyer.
Silvery-purple hair trailed down her back. Her eyes were rimmed in black eyeliner. She wore black, ripped jeans and an equally ripped cropped shirt.
“Lydia fucking Wilder. Get your ass over here,” Wyatt yelled, his smile lighting up his face.
She threw her head back, laughing. “Look at this place. Reid’s got some talent. I’ll give him that.”
I wrapped my arm around her, Jane still on my hip.
“Oh, hugging. Good. My favorite,” she deadpanned.
“Well, show up more often and you won’t get the fanfare,” Wyatt said, coming in for a hug after me.
Wes nodded at her, not going in for the unwanted hug. “Welcome home, Lydia.”
“Thanks, Wes. These idiots didn’t give me much choice. I think I got six calls telling me I needed to be here. And for what? A housewarming party?” She rolled her dark-rimmed eyes. “Sebastian,” she added coolly, her gaze barely even landing on him.
People were migrating to the family room on the other side of the stairs in this massive four-bedroom Victorian house that Reid had designed and built for Claire.
I walked in and immediately stopped short.
About thirty fold-out chairs were lined up in rows.
At the front was a sign that read “Family.” Mrs. DeLuca, Claire’s mom, was here.
Sitting beside her was a man in his early fifties, dark hair turning gray at the temples.
It wasn’t Senator DeLuca, so I figured this was probably Leon, the house manager at her parents’ estate.
A man stood by the mantelpiece, a small book in his hands, nodding pleasantly to the guests as they came in. I turned to face my father, his wide eyes a mirror of my own. Sheila had her hand to her chest, unshed tears brimming in her eyes.
“Oh, Charlie,” she sighed. “This is beautiful.”
Curtains lit with strings of light were hung by the fireplace. An arched arbor of flowers stood in the center. Additional bouquets were strategically placed around the room. Bouquets that I had seen Scarlett working on over the past week when I’d visited her at Daisy’s.
We found our seats at the front of the room just as the first notes of music played from hidden speakers.
Reid walked into the room. Clad in a full suit, he stood at the front facing the back of the room.
Maeve walked down the makeshift aisle first, followed by Scarlett.
Visions of her walking down an aisle, me waiting at the other end, played in my head.
Jane tried to wiggle out of my arms to go to her mommy, and I had to adjust my hold on her to keep her on my lap.
The music changed, and everyone stood.
Claire radiated joy and happiness as she slowly made her way to my brother.
Reid’s emotions were splayed across his face: adoration, amazement, and a deep love for her.
Having eyes only for her, he waited as she got closer and closer to him, until he couldn’t wait any more.
He took the last two steps to close the distance, not waiting for the requisite permission before he sealed his lips over hers.
They whispered something to each other, both smiling dopily. Claire passed her bouquet to Scarlett while Maeve righted the small train. Both ladies then came to sit with us. I moved down a seat to give Maeve a spot next to Wyatt, and she hauled a wiggling Jane to her lap for the ceremony.
“You know,” I whispered to Scarlett, keeping my eyes focused on the bride and groom, my hand twinning with hers in an overwhelming need to touch her, “I should be mad at you for keeping this a secret from me, but you look so good in that sparkly dress I think I’ll let it slide.”
“I didn’t realize all it would take was a pretty dress. And here I was, fully prepared to offer myself up for your forgiveness later,” she whispered back, heat in her eyes that set my blood aflame.
After the vows—and the tears—the real party started. Drinks were flowing, and I wasn’t the only one who was feeling liquored up.
“You’re so fucking sexy, doll. This dress…” Wyatt growled at Maeve, his hands sloppily wiping down the shimmery jewels sewn into the fabric. “Let’s make a baby tonight.”
“We have a baby, Wyatt. She’s only five months old.”
“But we can have another one in the house. We can have three under three.”
“Okay, big guy. Let’s hold off on that.”
“How about we just practice instead?” Maeve’s face flushed pink, and she looked around at our entire family huddled in a circle in the dining room.
Scarlett nestled into my chest, knocking me off-balance for a second. I wrapped my arms around her and steadied myself, swaying a little in the breeze. Was there a breeze inside? Maybe that wasn’t it. Maybe it was just me.
“How are you doing?” I asked her.
“I’m good. I’m not the one who just tipped back three shots,” she laughed. “How are you is the real question.”
“Baby, if you’re in my arms, I’m the happiest guy in the world.”
“Dude, I just got married today. I think I get the happiest guy in the world award,” Reid said. I didn’t think he had taken his hands off Claire the entire night, always finding a way to touch her.
Seb slapped Reid on the shoulder. “Good job, man. A pop-up wedding, I fucking love it. ”
Someone shouted that the countdown was starting.
Ringing in the new year surrounded by the people that mattered the most to me, there wasn’t a better way to spend the night.
So much had changed in the last year, hell, in the last five months, and I couldn’t be more grateful for how it all turned out.
I lifted Scarlett’s chin so I could meet her eyes, placing my lips on hers at the count of eight.
“It isn’t time yet.”
“It’s always the right time to kiss you, Letty.”
Wyatt held Maeve, his hand in her hair, tilting her head back. Reid’s hands were on Claire’s hips, their noses pressed together, waiting for the final seconds to tick down to start the new year as husband and wife.
“Are you going to be my New Year’s kiss, little wild?”
I glanced at Seb, a single brow of his raised in challenge. Where did that come from? Lydia looked him up and down with none of the typical signs of appreciation women leveled his way.
“In your dreams, Devereux.”
Good. Seb and Lydia together would be like pouring gasoline on a fire.
The clock struck midnight, and all other thoughts disappeared the moment Scarlett’s lips pressed into mine. I licked the seam of her lips, seeking entry into her mouth. Her tongue swiped against mine, my skin tingling with electricity as desire coiled within me.
This wedding was beautiful, and I was damn proud of my brother and new sister-in-law for finding a way to stay together through their challenges. But it was time I got my lady home.
It was time I made her my bride .
“Marry me,” I said, pulling back from her kiss.
“What? You’re drunk. You’re not serious, are you?” Her eyes searched mine, looking for the joke that wasn’t there.
“I’m not drunk. Well, I’m not that drunk. I’m completely serious, Letty,” I told her. My hands splayed across her mostly flat belly. “Have my babies. Be my wife. My family… Scarlett Ruth Hart, will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
She bounded into my arms, my lips crashing into hers.
“We’re getting married,” Scarlett shouted. Cheers went up around us. Wyatt, Maeve, Wes, Reid, Claire, and… Lydia was gone.
And so was Seb.
I didn’t bother looking for them. I couldn’t look anywhere except at my future wife, the mother of my child—hopefully more down the road—the most radiant woman I had ever known. I would never take for granted what I had with Scarlett. I knew I was damn lucky that she wanted me too .
Thank you for reading I Want You!