Epilogue
Warner
We moved out of the tower, as she called it.
I liked the penthouse, but it was never the same after she left.
Her moving in didn’t feel like the way for us to start a new chapter.
That chapter includes renovating a brownstone to suit us as a family.
Living on the West Side has been a good change.
It’s close to her school, and it’s only two blocks from her family.
It makes Sass happy, so I’m happy, even if they do tend to let themselves in at the most inopportune times, like when I had her pinned to the shower wall fucking her last week. I don’t think her brother Joe will ever come over again.
But seeing her now, I don’t mind if they stay away.
My Sass, dressed in white, her diamond necklace back where it belongs, along with a matching wedding band, does something to me—a growl rumbles through my chest as I claim my wife for the first time.
It’s only a piece of paper, but knowing we’re bonded in every way possible is all the foreplay I need.
The sugar dish of condoms is beside the bed, but when I lift from her to reach for one, she says, “How do you feel about trying to make a baby?”
I open the nightstand drawer and slide the sugar dish inside, slamming it shut before returning to kiss my wife. “Thought you’d never ask.” I chuckle, then dip to kiss her neck.
An hour later and fresh from the shower, she walks across the room and into the closet we’re sharing until our individual spaces are built. With one towel wrapped around her torso and the other around her hair, she disappears inside. “Warner, what is that?”
“What?” I ask, still lying in bed after a quick recovery nap.
She comes out holding the plaster. “This.” I’m certain she knows what it is since it’s her writing on it.
I’ll humor her, though. “Part of my cast.”
“Why do you have it?” I’m struggling to figure out from her tone if she’s happy or bothered by it.
My shrug loses effect since I’m lying down. “I wanted to keep it.”
Her gaze falls to the souvenir again, and she smiles. She moves to the dresser and sets it on top, standing back and admiring it like it’s a source of pride. “This is so unlike you.”
“I’ve changed, baby.”
“You have. I’m impressed. You’re spontaneous, and the other day, you left a spoon in the sink.”
“I was running late.”
“Still. I call that progress.”
“I consider it a failure, but of course it’s a good thing in your book.” I laugh.
She flips the towel off her head and crawls back on the bed. Resting her head on my chest, she says, “You are miles out of your comfort zone. Lifting her head to catch sight of my eyes, she adds, “But you’ll always have me right there with you.”
She never had to say the words, but hearing her confirm what I already felt feels good.
The only regret I ever had was repeating my father’s mantra. I’ll spend the rest of my days making sure a word of it never touches her life. If there’s one thing worth protecting, it’s Delaney. I love her so fucking much.
Even more, if that’s possible, when she made me watch the video to the end. She was right. She didn’t leave me for dead, but she sure thought about it. I don’t blame her. I was an asshole back then. Thank God, she came along to save me.