Epilogue
Ace
Six months later.
“Do not touch that.”
Tessa’s voice cuts across the shop.
Too late.
“Relax,” Blaze says, holding flowers like he knows what he’s doing.
He doesn’t.
“You’re mixing spring and fall stems,” she snaps.
“They’re all flowers.”
I lean in the doorway, arms crossed.
Best show I’ve seen all week.
“Should we step in?” Trigger mutters beside me.
“Nope,” I say. “He earned this.”
Beast nods.
Tessa snatches the flowers from Blaze.
“Balance matters. Color matters.”
“They’re going to die in a vase.”
She freezes.
Turns.
And yeah—
I almost feel bad for him.
Almost.
She glances toward me.
Catches me watching.
Smiles.
Small.
Real.
Still gets me.
“Coffee?” I ask.
“Always.”
I push off the doorframe and bring her the cup I grabbed earlier.
She takes it like this is normal now.
Like this—us—is real.
That matters.
“You’re early,” she says.
“I’m always early.”
“Stalker.”
“Protector.”
She smiles.
And yeah—
That’s exactly what I am.
Blaze is still touching things.
“I told you not to touch,” she says.
“I’m expanding my skill set.”
“You don’t have one here,” she fires back.
Trigger laughs.
Beast almost smiles.
The shop is full.
Color.
Life.
Everything she rebuilt.
Everything she fought for.
And she’s standing in the middle of it.
Like she owns it.
Because she does.
“You’re staring again,” she says.
“Can’t help it.”
She looks at me.
“Why?”
“Because I get to.”
She smiles.
Soft.
Real.
I step closer.
Slide my hand along her back.
Not subtle.
Not careful.
Don’t need to be anymore.
She leans into it.
Just enough.
“You’re distracting me,” she murmurs.
“Good.”
She laughs under her breath.
And just like that—
Everything feels right.
No fear.
No shadows.
Just this.
Just us.
“You staying?” she asks.
I meet her eyes.
No hesitation.
“Yeah.”
A beat.
Then softer—
“Always.”