48. Epilogue
Epilogue
Ava
Baby fever has taken over my life, and I set the latest pregnancy test on the bathroom counter to wait it out.
Where I was blissfully ignorant to becoming pregnant last time, this time, I think every time we have sex is the time.
Since every month has led to disappointment so far, I’ve poured myself into other things that feel worthwhile.
With my mother and Raul in jail, my divorce finalized, and all Landon’s official paperwork switched to reflect Stephen as his rightful father, I’ve begun reorganizing The Nile into a company that cares about its workers.
Step one? Installing my sister, Maren, on the board of directors.
She’s my humanitarian representative, or as I like to call her, the moral compass of The Nile’s board.
Reckless is still my priority, so at least I’ll have my sister at The Nile to tell me when the board starts to prioritize profits too heavily over people.
We’re still in the process of hiring a new CEO to replace Raul, but with Gage and Nathaniel’s help, I’ve been able to keep The Nile floating along nicely enough.
Julia Jensen, who also married into the royal family, has agreed to interview for the job.
After having two children with Nicholas Summerset, she wants a role outside the royal realm.
At least I know her moral compass is closer to that of my siblings than my mother or Raul.
The timer on my phone goes off, and I glance at the pregnancy test, bracing myself for failure before I move closer.
“Holy shit,” I whisper out loud, grabbing the package to check the instructions again.
Not that I haven’t read them so many times in the last few months.
But there’s no mistaking the two lines of the test result.
“Holy shit,” I say again. Then I grab my phone to text Stephen, but after I open the message, I pause.
Sending him a text message to tell him he’s a father?
Bad idea.
Pause and reset, Ava.
Instead, I call Dr. Bennett’s office to see if I can pop over to the medical clinic at the palace uninvited.
When it started to seem like I might have trouble getting pregnant a second time, I went to him for a consultation.
Apparently, it’s not unusual for couples to try for a year before fertility testing is done.
Of course, I left in a huff. When I want something, I want it now.
Since I’m on Dr. Bennett’s patient roster, his assistant says I can pop by for a pregnancy test. One of the nurses can administer it, and I can have the results confirmed before I leave.
Beautiful. No pee-infested tests need to be exchanged. I can hand Stephen a nice, clean piece of paper that confirms we get to do this again—but together. So together.
At the palace, I’m getting out of my car when Brice comes out of a side door of the palace and crosses toward me.
“Hey, Ava,” he says. “Do you have a minute?”
I check my watch. “A minute or two. I have an appointment at the clinic.”
“You’re okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” I wave off his concern and try not to let my potential elation rush whatever he needs to tell me. “Is Maren okay?”
“Yep, yep.” He nods. “I was volunteering at the soup kitchen the other day, and Stephen’s sister was there?”
“Vanessa?”
“Oh. Does he have more than one?”
“No,” I say with a nervous laugh. “No, I’m just surprised. Really?”
“She’s living in her car at the auto wrecker lot on the edge of Tucker’s Town.”
“In her car?” I brush my hair back from my face, stunned. “You’re sure?”
“That’s what she told me at the soup kitchen. I don’t think she recognized me.”
“When I’m done here, I’ll go find her. Thanks for telling me.”
“I just figured I’d want to know if my family was living on the street.”
“It’s a complicated situation,” I hedge. “But, yeah, I’m glad you told me.” Then I push open the door to the clinic.
Her car isn’t hard to find once I enter the lot, being one of the few still intact. I knock on the driver’s-side window, and Vanessa starts awake, wide gray eyes turning to me before her expression turns wary.
She opens her door and steps out, the sun setting in the distance.
“You’re sleeping in your car?” I ask in disbelief.
“Raul might be in jail, but his influence still runs deep. No one will hire me.”
“Come work for me. I have control of The Nile and Reckless.”
“I don’t need your charity. Something will come up.”
I pass her the bag of groceries I picked up—all nonperishables. But when she doesn’t take them, I set them on the ground.
“Let me talk to Stephen,” I say.
“He doesn’t want to hear from me. We pass each other like ghosts whenever we’re visiting Mom and Dad near the same time.”
“Even so, he wouldn’t want this for you.”
“He’s the one who told me I could live in my car, Ava. That’s literally what he said to me.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it.” I let out a noise of frustration at how stubborn she can be. Maybe that’s the quality she and Stephen share. “He’s the reason you’re not in jail. He pulled every string he had to make sure you didn’t get hauled in as an accessory to attempted murder.”
“He found a way to make sure I still felt punished, though, didn’t he?”
“Seriously, come work for me.”
“You think my brother would be okay with that? Are you going to keep that from him?”
I can’t. We’re both really firm on our honesty, always policy. “He’d get over it,” I say.
“I’m not causing you two more problems. I’m healthy. I’m just poor. Something will come up. Whatever ‘most wanted’ poster Raul sent out about me will fade.”
I dig around in my purse, and knowing she won’t take the cash I have on me, I stuff what I have into the grocery bag on the ground.
“Ava,” she says, a note of warning.
“I don’t care. I’m not sitting by and watching Stephen’s little sister starve. Burn it to heat your car for all I care.” I huff out a breath. “I’ll figure out a way to help you that won’t get me in trouble with Stephen.”
“I can take care of myself,” she says. “It’s honestly way easier than trying to take care of everyone else.”
“Until you’re back on your feet, I’ll be here every week with groceries. If you’re not here, I’ll leave them with whoever is in the office.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I know, but I am.” I fluff my hair and then cross my arms. “He’ll get over it eventually.
You know that, right? He loves you, and when Stephen loves, he loves hard.
It’s just the trust thing. Working for the police for so long, he’s got a real thing about trust. Being untrustworthy is the cardinal sin.
We all make mistakes, and you shouldn’t pay for yours forever. ”
“You should go home,” Vanessa says.
“I’ll be back next week,” I say, stomping toward my car. The stubborn gene is my least favorite, and I’m afraid I also have it in spades. There’s no way I’m going to let Vanessa live in her car any longer than she has to.
When I get home, I grab the two bags on the passenger seat and head into the house. The sounds of Landon and Stephen cooking in the kitchen greet me as soon as I open the door.
“What are we having?” I ask as I wander into the living room and then the kitchen.
“Chicken parm,” Landon says over his shoulder. The apron Stephen got him is secured around his waist, and my heart constricts with how much I love coming into these moments between them.
“Yes, Chef,” I say, and I give him a mock salute.
He laughs and goes back to stirring the pasta from the stool Stephen’s set up for him.
“What have you got there?” Stephen asks, leaving the stove to kiss me on the temple and nod at my packages before returning to the chicken.
“An after-dinner surprise,” I say.
“Dad said we could play cribbage after dinner. I’m learning it so I can play with Grandma and Grandpa next time we visit them.”
I catch Stephen’s gaze over Landon’s head, and my soft smile matches his.
From that first night, Landon has moved seamlessly into calling Stephen Dad and Stephen’s parents his grandparents, much to the delight of everyone.
Stephen’s posture always changes slightly—straightening—as though the reminder sends him into secret superhero mode, ready to respond to any hint of danger.
“You good?” I ask, running my hand along his shoulders and down his back as the two of them keep cooking.
“Great,” he says, leaning over to kiss me again.
Instead of being weirded out, Landon grins. “You kiss her a lot.”
“I love her a lot,” Stephen says without missing a beat. Then he grabs Landon’s head and plants a kiss on the top of it. “There, I love you a lot too.”
Landon giggles and then carefully scoops out one noodle of pasta. Then he throws it at the wall, where it sticks. “Pasta’s ready.”
I let out a startled laugh. “Tell me you did not teach him that.”
“Harmless fun,” Stephen says. “And I’ll wash the wall later, don’t worry.”
We sit down to dinner, and while the two of them chatter, I contribute as much as my addled brain will let me.
“Would you be mad if I helped Vanessa?” I ask, unable to contain it anymore.
“In what way?”
“I don’t know yet. I just need you to say you won’t be mad, and then I can make a plan.”
“Are you sure you want to help her?”
“Aunt Vanessa?” Landon asks. “Can I see her again?”
“Someday,” I say before Stephen has a chance to answer. “I want to help, so can I?”
“You can help,” he says, cutting a piece of chicken. “But I don’t want her around Landon until she’s sorted herself out. Starts making better choices.”
I’m not sure he’ll see her living in her car as a good choice, and I wouldn’t know how to explain that to Landon anyway. “Fine by me,” I say.
After we tidy up, Stephen nods at the bags I set on the table. “Presents?” he asks.
“In a way,” I say with a little laugh.
“Me first?” Landon asks, hopping on his toes.
“Your dad first,” I say, taking out a bottle of whiskey and handing it to him.
Stephen shoots me a quizzical look, and then I pass him the card.
“Read the card,” I say. “It’ll all make sense.”
He sets down the whiskey and opens the card to begin reading. “This is your Dad-to-be survival whiskey”—Stephen’s voice grows husky—“for when your pregnant wife is being extra hormonal. I hope whoever we meet gets your eyes.” He raises his gaze, a sheen of tears visible. “Is this real?”
“The realest. I’m pregnant,” I say, and he scoops me into his arms, holding me close, breathing heavily into my ear.
“I can’t believe I get to do this with you,” he whispers.
When we break apart, Landon is staring at us. “What’s going on?”
I hand Landon his bag, and he takes out a blue T-shirt, and when he holds it up, he reads, “World’s Best Big Brother.” Then his eyes widen, and he gazes between the two of us. “I’m getting a brother?”
I let out a little laugh. “Or a sister.”
“Can I order a brother, or is it too late?”
“Definitely too late,” Stephen says.
He holds the shirt up and then gives a slow nod. “Okay. I guess I get what I get and I don’t get upset.”
Stephen and I laugh, and then he drags me into his arms to hold me tight again.
“Do you think the baby can hear me?” Stephen asks that night in bed with his hand splayed across my stomach.
“I’m barely pregnant,” I say. “So no. Eventually, I think the research says yes, probably.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so amazed about anything in my life,” Stephen says, nuzzling my ear. “A baby. My baby.”
“I’d love to see you as a girl dad,” I say.
“A healthy baby. You safe and healthy and happy. That’s all I care about.” Then he goes down to my stomach, and he kisses along the edge of my panties. “You hear that, little one? Everyone comes out of this healthy.”
“I just love this life with you,” I whisper. “I really, really love it.”
“Me too,” he says, glancing up at me. “Even better than I always imagined.” Then he crawls up my body and kisses me. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure it stays that way.”
“We both will,” I say. “Because we’re in this together, forever.”
Read the start of Ava and Stephen's relationship as well as a scene where Ava gets jealous here:
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