Epilogue Derek
EPILOGUE
Derek
One Year Later
This is bad luck, Derek.” Jasmine caught sight of me in the bathroom mirror and didn’t even bother to turn around. “You’re not supposed to see me before the wedding.”
“We’ve already been married, kitten.” I sidled up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist before pressing my lips into the curve of her neck. She grinned and turned to face me.
“This time, we’re doing it for real,” she purred in a low voice before she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed our lips together.
“It felt real before.” I pressed our foreheads together and grabbed two handfuls of the luscious ass that I’d been waking up to every morning for the past year.
“You didn’t feel that way the first time, Derek Carter.” She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“That’s what you think.” I scooped her under the knees and deposited her on the bathroom counter.
“Derek!” she squealed as I pressed my body between her open legs, spreading her knees farther apart, while hiking her robe up over her hips, exposing the sexiest pair of lace panties I’d ever seen.
“Jasmine?” I lowered myself to my knees and looked up to meet her admonishing gaze with an eyebrow raised.
“I don’t believe in any ridiculous superstition that keeps me from enjoying this delicious pussy”—I pressed my nose into the lace gusset of her underwear, feeling the curves of her intimate folds beneath the thin fabric and making her squirm in my arms—“and putting a smile on the most beautiful face in the world.” She grinned down at me before rolling her eyes.
“But, if you really want me to…” I grazed my teeth over the inside of one of her thighs.
“If you really, really want me to… I can stop and go back to my room.”
“Well.” She placed a palm on the top of my head. “You are already down there.” She shimmied forward to bring my face closer to the junction of her thighs.
“I thought you might feel that way.” I hooked my finger into the crotch of her panties and pulled them to the side so I could have full access to her heat.
She was already slick and ready for me when I pressed my tongue in between her lips and proceeded to devour her until she squealed for me to stop.
“You are a menace, Derek Carter.” Her chest heaved as she pulled me to my feet and into a kiss.
“How much time do we have, sweetheart?” I whispered in her ear before I sucked the lobe between my teeth.
“Well.” She checked her smartwatch. “My hair appointment is in three hours, and it will be about two hours before my mother comes in, followed by Cassie and a million other people. So, I’d say about ninety minutes.”
“I can get a lot of menacing done in ninety minutes.” I scooped her into my arms and carried her into her bedroom.
“I can see why you love this place so much.” CJ slapped my hand away for the second time while attempting to tie my bow tie. “One of these days, you’re gonna learn to tie one of these yourself. There.” He patted the knot tied at my throat and turned me to face the mirror.
I almost didn’t recognize the man staring back at me. It could have been the lack of glasses or the fresh cut, but something else had changed about me.
The last year felt like a chapter from someone else’s life. I felt like my life began when Jasmine accepted my proposal last year in the kitchen of The Derry House’s apartment. Afterward, we had dinner with David and Eleanor and laid our truths bare. It was a true fresh start.
Once presented with the founders’ document, Edward Mason and the three founding families of Miller’s Cove reached a fair financial settlement involving the transfer of ownership of the one thousand and forty-two acres of land encompassing Walkerville, Florida.
Yes, Edward Mason could have challenged the document and buried the families in paperwork and legal fees, but the new public relations firm representing Miller’s Cove successfully convinced him that a simpler course of action was in his best interests.
It turns out that Jasmine and I ended up making presentations about Miller’s Cove to Edward Mason after all.
With CJ heading up our legal division and a sizable investment from both sets of parents, we opened our own public relations, crisis management, and consulting firm, the Tora Group.
Miller’s Cove was our first client. Jasmine succeeded in helping Eleanor produce her first cookbook and a line of innovative kitchen appliances.
We were still based in New York City and were slowly gaining high-profile clients all over the world, but Miller’s Cove would always have a special place in our hearts, which was why we chose to get married here.
“Now, why would I do that when I’ll always have my big brother to do it for me?” I joked and punched him in the arm.
“Shit, you might.” He laughed. “I might have to come visit you down here more often. I think I found a new doctor.” He hit me with a sly smile.
“Dr. Lyons?” I said with a laugh. “Good luck with that one.”
“I don’t need luck, little brother.” He straightened his tie and raised one eyebrow. “I have skill.”
I shook my head and was about to tease him about his skills with the ladies when we heard a gentle knock on the doorframe. We turned to look, and I felt the smile slide off my face. My father was standing in the doorway wearing a dark blue suit.
Chris and I stared for a moment before I found my voice.
“Dad,” I said with a shake in my voice that I hadn’t been expecting. “You made it.”
“I wasn’t gonna miss my son’s wedding.” He let out a chuckle and stepped into the room, holding a bottle of scotch and three glasses.
We’d been attempting a reconciliation since our conversation a year ago, but it had been a long, difficult journey.
When Jasmine insisted on sending him an invitation to the wedding, I hadn’t been optimistic.
When he sent in his RSVP, I still wouldn’t believe it until I saw him with my own eyes.
He set down the glasses and the bottle before pulling Chris into a wordless hug that lasted a few seconds longer than I expected it to.
My anxiety about having all four of our parents in the same space after nearly fifteen years melted away when I saw Jasmine at the end of an aisle that felt way too long, wearing a white gown that made her look like an angel floating on a cloud.
She was escorted by her father, who was equally unaffected by any external issues.
Like me, he was wholly focused on the beautiful woman he was leading down the aisle and into my arms.
“You better take care of my little girl,” he growled at me in a low voice after giving Jasmine away. His expression was serious.
“Every minute of every day, for the rest of my life, sir,” I responded without missing a beat. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile, and he gave me a curt nod before returning to his seat.
The rest of our wedding was uneventful, except for Tora attempting to run off with the rings in the middle of the ceremony.
“Can you believe all four of our parents are here?” I whispered to my wife as I twirled her on the dance floor.
“And behaving themselves,” she whispered, almost in disbelief. “Were you nervous?”
“A little,” I confessed. “I’m still surprised my dad showed up.”
“I didn’t have any doubts.” She smiled and leaned up to kiss me. “One thing I remember about your dad is how much he loved you and CJ. He wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
“I hope you don’t think we’re gonna become some big, happy family again.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I saw our dads chatting at the bar earlier.”
“One chat at a wedding does not a happy family make, kitten.” I pressed my lips to her forehead.
“Well, I’m not saying that it would happen overnight.” She hit me with a sly smile. “But maybe after a few years and a couple of grandchildren…”
“Grandchildren?” I stopped mid-spin and narrowed my eyes at her. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Her smile widened. “I was planning to tell you on our honeymoon.”
“Really?” I felt my eyes sting with tears. “Are you sure? How do you know?”
“Well, Eleanor suspected it a few weeks ago.” She shrugged and cast a glance at David and his wife, who were a few feet away from us on the dance floor and seemingly lost in their world. “I went to the doctor, who confirmed that there is a little Carter in here.” She momentarily lowered her eyes.
“Wow,” I whispered before tightening my arms around her waist. “I love you so much, Jasmine Carter.”
“Wow, indeed,” she agreed and rested her head on my chest. “I love you, too, Derek Carter.”