Epilogue
SCARLETT
August
Cardinals fly high above Nova and Lincoln’s backyard at the house they keep in Mount Gaines.
Nova’s childhood home, the one she shared with her family, the one she mourned in, then healed in.
The one she fell in love in, and though it icks me to think it, the one she and my brother conceived the child that is, right this minute, popping Nova’s stomach forward just enough to make the lines of her white gown imperfect.
But perfect, too.
She looks exactly right.
“It’s creeping you out, huh?” Sebastion follows my gaze to my brother and his brand-new wife while they stare up at the birds in the sky.
They’re supposed to be dancing; music is playing, and guests gather.
Koda cuts a line across the dance floor, his suit jacket already gone, his tie untied, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to his elbows, and his sword…
well, he keeps it sheathed against his hip, just in case.
Exhaling a happy sigh, I peel my eyes away from Nova’s adorable little bump and instead up to the man who always smiles now.
Well… almost always. When it’s just me and him, anyway.
“You feeling a certain way, Princess? Gonna go Arabella on poor Nova and get mad because she stole your brother?”
Scoffing, I drape my arms over his shoulders and allow him to hold most of my weight. Because I’m a little high-maintenance and princess’y like that.
And besides, he’s big and strong, and he never complains.
“Ya know what’s worse than calling your mom La Bruja behind her back?
” I extend my neck and pucker my lips, and when he obliges me, bending and giving me the kiss I ask for, I slide my fingers through the hair and thrill in the way he practically purrs under my touch.
“Using her name as a verb. She’ll smack you down for it. ”
“She would never. She loves me.” Chuckling, he glances across the yard, under starry strung lights and past a three-tier cake certain Jameson men study with a hungry glitter in their eyes. Peeking past my mom and dad, and past Koda’s cool dance moves, he stops on his father and grins.
It still feels weird to see them here in the very backyard I first met their son, because I’m not sure I ever imagined a world where Arabella and Paul Jameson would leave their property.
Except, maybe, to visit a trampoline play place.
Paul tips an icy cold beer back and savors the taste on his tongue, while Arabella curls into his side and doesn’t look like a tyrannical warlord.
Mostly, her floor-length gown and salon-styled hair make her look princess’y.
“She’s had her eyes on your parents for a while.
” Sebastion places the tips of his fingers beneath my chin and forces my attention back to him.
“That woman has led an army for decades, Princess. She convinced men to turn their backs on Uncle Sam and Grandpa Fuckface, and now she’s watching your folks like she’s got some shit to say.
” He draws me to the tips of my toes and nibbles on my bottom lip.
“You’ll still love me, right? Even if she scares them? ”
I choke out a breathy giggle and nod. Because Sebastion Jameson is, beneath all the muscle and bravado, just a man with simple pleasures.
It’s me. I’m all he needs.
“I’ll still love you. I promise.”
“Oh my gosh! You two are so freakin’ cute!
” My mom crashes into my side and forces Daddy to dance shoulder-to-shoulder with a man an entire foot taller than he is.
I don’t think my mom is drunk…yet. I think she’s just happy.
It might have something to do with Nova’s adorable baby bump.
“I was so sure we’d be planning your wedding first, baby.
In fact, I wasn’t entirely convinced Lincoln would even invite us to his. ”
“Of course he would.” I cuddle into Sebastion’s chest, because weddings make for big days, and high heels make for long days.
But since he’s so gracious about holding me up, I take my mom’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze.
“We weren’t sure he’d ever settle down and get married,” I concede.
“But if there was a wedding to attend, I never doubted an invitation. How are you feeling about becoming a grandma?”
“Thrilled!” Her voice comes out in a loud shrill. A squeak that mostly only dogs could hear. And Arabella, evidently, considering the way she bounds up from her chair and rips Paul from his.
“Dammit.” Sebastion exhales a defeated sigh. “Look what you did.”
“Me?”
“I’m just so thrilled for your brother,” Mom babbles. “I’m excited to see him as a father. And Nova’s lovely, isn’t she? Right?” Not so sure, her eyes glitter with uncertainty. “Right, baby? She’s good for him?”
“Yeah. She’s great for him. She’s amazing.”
I feel Arabella’s presence before I see her. I smell her expensive perfume before she speaks. Drawing my eyes around, I release a tired groan and accept that Sebastion and I are trapped, sandwiched between two determined mothers and their mildly tolerant husbands.
“Mrs. Jameson.” I tip my chin and hide my smirk. With great difficulty. “Enjoying your day?”
“Mmhm.” She brushes me off and looks straight down the gap between me and her son. Tyrannical: there’s no other way to describe her. “It is my absolute pleasure to formally meet you, Mrs. Castro.”
“And you.” Mom, being Mom, drags my dad around until they dance on Arabella and Paul’s other side. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know your boy these past few days.” Mom’s cheeks glow with an embarrassed blush. “He’s so handsome.”
“Mmm. He is, isn’t he?” Arabella preens. “And made with love.”
“I’m so sorry to hear your sweet friend couldn’t attend today.” No longer blushing, Mom’s lips turn downward. “Nova said you were hopeful he could make the trip.”
“He’s not feeling great,” Paul murmurs. “But Bastion is an exceptionally stubborn man, and he’s decided he’s not done yet. We consider each day we still have him a gift.”
“We’ll return home shortly,” Arabella adds. “And I’ll get back to my duty as the greatest nag in his life. His body is failing him, but in his mind…”
“He’s still twenty-five,” Paul chuckles. “Fearless and a little too impulsive for his own good.”
“I feel like I’m surrounded with several men just like him,” Arabella teases, then glancing across the yard, her lips curl higher. “Congratulations are in order. A wedding and a grandchild in the same year. You must be over the moon.”
“Mom…” Sebastion warns on a low timbre. “No.”
“We honestly thought Scarlett would be the first to settle down,” Mom snickers, oblivious to the silent conversation had between the Jamesons.
“She was always our romantic. So set on seeing the good in everyone, even when they didn’t deserve it.
Lincoln was her opposite. He made everyone earn his affection. ”
“And earn them, she did. Did you see the cake, Mom?” Look that way! Focus on the cake! “Nova and I spent all day in the kitchen yesterday baking up a storm. We worked really hard on it.”
Arabella’s lips twitch as Mav sneaks a fingertip of icing and plops it into his smiling mouth.
“Do you know any eligible women, Mrs. Castro? My middle son is getting older now, and his choices so far have been… less than spectacular.”
“Mom!” Sebastion reaches across and drops his hand on top of Arabella’s head. With just his fingers, he forces her eyes back around to his glower. “Do you never get tired?”
“Rarely.” She grabs my mom’s hand and does what could only be described as a butt wiggle. “My first-born child is in love with your romantic. I’d be honored if you would sit with me for a while. I wish to discuss the matter of our future mutual grandchildren.”
“Ma!”
“Oh my God.” The instant they’re gone, I drop forward and roll my forehead against Sebastion’s broad chest. “They’re a lot.”
He re-wraps his arms around my waist and palms my ass. Since neither my dad, my brother, nor Koda, is watching. “I brought five kilos of explosives and a remote detonator switch.”
I pull back and search his eyes. “What?”
“For a diversion,” he chuckles. “If we’re lucky, maybe an old dude’s heart will stop at exactly the right moment and take out all the power.
” He brings his thumb up and strokes the scar I now wear on my temple like a crown.
It’s not even that deep, and chances are, in a few years, I won’t even see it at all.
But for now, I consider it a badge of honor.
Proof I didn’t freeze.
Perhaps even a kiss on my forehead from a man determined to protect, even when his body begs for rest.
Bending his neck, Sebastion presses his lips exactly where a bullet grazed me half a year ago. “I’d blow this whole motherfucker up if you need me to, Princess. Get you outta here. Put you in a suite in town, cause I kinda wanna peel your dress off and make a meal of your panties.”
“Incorrigible.” I roll my eyes and enjoy the ache in my cheeks. Smiling too much is a good reason to hurt. “Can you think of nothing but sex, Boot? Geez.”
“I’m always thinking lots of things at once.
Like this vacant spot on my chest that needs a new design.
” He pokes himself, right over his heart.
“If you loved me, you’d draw something for me.
I’m also thinking about the cake I wanna taste, because I know you worked so hard on it.
And the hotel room I booked for us, since staying in Castro’s guest bedroom while his sister screams my name is gonna get me shot. ”
“Stop!” I smack him and burn under his heady gaze. “Sebastion!”
“I can also look at Nova and see that cute little belly and wonder…” He silences for a beat, staring into my eyes like he knows my heart is gonna go splat. “Not necessarily this week. Not even this year. But eventually, maybe, I could make your belly do that.”
Yep, there it goes. Splat.
“And then there’s the ring in my pocket I kinda wanna put on your finger. Both of my brothers are annoyingly in love with you, and Koda’s banging out those suave dance moves. I’m scared that if I don’t do it soon, he might convince you to marry him.”
“Y—” My brain screams a million instructions. Run away. Stay still. Kiss him. Don’t do anything at all! “Y-you have a ring in your pocket?”
“Mm.” He pinches my chin between his thumb and finger and draws me to the tips of my toes. “I guess I’m just not sure when I should jump, ya know? If I ask too soon, I might scare you off. Ask at Linc’s wedding, and he might get mad that we stole the focus off them. If I ask in front of—”
“Jump.” I wrap my arms around his neck and slide my fingernails through the short hair at the back. “I think you should jump, Boot. Don’t freeze. Ask me.”