Epilogue
W arm summer breezes stirred the salty air as we lay on white sand. Moonlight outlined our bare bodies, and palm trees swayed overhead.
Two months had passed since the visit to my mother’s house. Will was still working for one of his father’s rivals. A few days earlier, he’d come home to our apartment with a broad smile.
“I’m going to the Bahamas this weekend,” he murmured, pulling me close in the small kitchen. “Want to come?”
I’d burst out laughing. “Is this a joke?”
“I got promoted. Say yes, Andie, because I’ve been wanting to take you since you turned me down that summer.”
When I turned to face him, he looked so proud that it made my heart squeeze. “Would you go without me?” I teased.
“No, sweet girl.” He backed me against the counter, pushing away the bread I’d been buttering. I was in the middle of making us grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. “So say yes.”
Will knew how to read me like no one else. He knew that sometimes, his insistence aroused me. He sensed when to push, and when not to.
He stroked my hips through my thin dress, pressing the bulge in his slacks against my belly. Tucking my hair behind my ear, he whispered, “I’ve been wanting to fuck you there at midnight on a private beach for two years. Say yes.”
An electric charge ran through me. I knew how much it meant to Will to support himself, our household. And I knew how much he wanted to spend money on me, to enjoy the good life. There were a lot of things from his old life he’d been glad to let go, and he told me often that he was the happiest he’d ever been.
I was, too.
But he still wanted a touch of luxury. I understood.
I pulled his head down to kiss him. “Of course I’ll go to the Bahamas with you.”
“We’ll have the best time,” he whispered, his warm breath stirring my ear. “It’s just the beginning, Andie. I’m going to take you all over the world.”
Now, we were curled up on a blanket laid out on the softest sand I’d ever felt. As Will promised, the beach was deserted. But there was still a hint of danger, of being discovered.
Yet no one had seen us — as far as I knew. No one had seen Will chasing me down the beach into the waves, the two of us laughing hysterically, our clothes getting drenched. No one had seen him grab me and throw me over his shoulder, leaving me breathless. No one had seen him turn me over his knee, pulling my wet skirt up and my soaked panties down to spank my bare bottom.
“What did I do to deserve this?” I choked out between bursts of laughter, my cheeks heating under his palm. The delicious sting curled into my pussy, making me ache for his hand there too.
“Mmm, let’s see.” Will stroked and slapped the tender skin. “You ran away from me — again. You’re a bad girl through and through, Andie. You drive me wild and you know it. All day, every day. So sexy and heartless.” I kicked my legs, gasping when he pinched my ass. “But honestly? I’m spanking you because I want to.”
After that, it was a trance. His hand between my legs, caressing my clit until I came with helpless pleasure. His cock in my mouth, thick and satiny. Climbing astride him, catching him by surprise. Riding him, taking the reins, running my palms all over his gorgeous chest and shoulders turned silver in the moonlight.
When he climaxed, he came with a roar, his hands squeezing my breasts, his lean body rigid.
Now we lay tangled together, our breath slowing, the sweat drying on our skin in the warm midnight breeze.
Will nuzzled my neck. “Guess what I was thinking about when I came.”
“Me?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Obviously. But more specifically, little cousin?”
I shivered at the nickname. Will rarely called me that anymore. Any worries about him wanting me only because I was forbidden had been laid to rest. He wanted me, Andrea Baker, who got lost in books and writing, and considered wine and something cheese-based an adequate dinner most nights but baked a pie every once in a while, who still beat him two games out of three at chess, who was dreamy but ambitious, shy but sharp-tongued, and filled with more love than I ever knew I could have.
And I most definitely wanted Will for himself.
“Tell me.” I stroked the line of his jaw.
His finger lightly drew a circle around my navel. “Guess.”
“Will!” My whole body flushed hot, my eyes opening wide. “Were you thinking about knocking me up?”
“Mm-hm.” He tickled the smooth expanse of my belly. “It’s hot.”
“Now you’re just trying to shock me.”
His grin beamed in the dark. “That’s fun, too. But I’m not totally joking, Andie.”
I stared at him. “God, where is this coming from? It’s out of nowhere.”
“You’re right, sweet girl.” Regret took over his beautiful face. “I jumped ahead. Let’s back up. Want to get married?”
He posed the question as casually as if he was asking what I wanted for breakfast the next morning.
“What?” My jaw dropped.
“Hmmm.” Green eyes moved over my face, clear as the ocean pounding below us. “Not the response I was hoping for.”
My head was spinning. I cupped his jaw in my hands, trying to come back to earth. “You just sprung that on me. Are you serious at all?”
Will’s dark brows lifted sorrowfully. “You’re cruel, baby girl. So cruel, to doubt me. I’m as serious as I’ve ever been. We can, you know.” His teeth flashed at me. “We can get married. It’s legal in New York. And a lot of other places.”
“I know,” I murmured. “I’ve checked.”
“So it’s not out of nowhere. You’ve been thinking about it too.”
I dipped my head in a nod. “I just didn’t expect to talk about it so soon. You’re twenty-three. I’m twenty-four.”
“Why wait, if we want to be together? You’re it for me, Andie. You’re the woman I love.” His face was open now, and vulnerable.
“You’re the one for me too,” I whispered. Taking a deep breath, I gave voice to the tiny fear that still haunted me, the one that surfaced occasionally when I woke from anxious dreams. “Are you sure — I just wonder — would you ever get tired of this? Would you ever want some society wife? Would you want to go back to your old lifestyle?”
Will looked shocked. He grasped both my hands in his. “How can you think that?”
I stared down at the blanket, our crossed legs, the soft white sand surrounding us. “You’re making more money now—”
“So are you,” he interjected. “You’re doing great. If you stay at that publishing house, you’re going to be running it someday. People love your writing.”
“Thanks,” I murmured. “I just worry. If you eventually get wealthy—”
“You mean, if we get wealthy.”
“You keep interrupting me!” I poked his chest. “I’m just afraid of what you might miss. Once it’s within your reach again.”
Will moved to sit up, facing me on his knees. “Andrea Baker,” he said softly. “Listen to me.”
I blinked at him. “I’m listening.”
“I don’t ever want that again. Ever, in my fucking life. I don’t want a goddamn society wife. I don’t want a life that’s all nice things and no love. I want you. I want to make money for us. For the family I hope we have someday. To give you what you’ve dreamed of. To take care of you like I promised. You think I’d want to let you go?”
“No,” I said softly. “I believe you.”
I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his chest, and he sank down on the blanket, pulling me into his lap.
“I wonder too,” he whispered. “If you’d ever rather have someone who doesn’t come from a fucked-up family. Someone who’s always been — a good guy.”
Will and Richard hadn’t spoken since Will ran away with me a year ago. Rose had called a few times since, hoping to connect with Will. Eventually, she’d come alone for a strained visit to our apartment.
She’d brought an exquisite crystal bowl as a “housewarming gift.” With every glossy blonde hair in place, my aunt looked as beautiful as ever, but faint lines surrounded her eyes that hadn’t been there before. I could tell she missed her son. I sensed that Richard didn’t know about this visit. Rose had been polite and controlled, but she was trying. She’d even asked about my writing.
At the end of the visit, she’d pulled me aside. “I don’t know if I can stand it much longer, Andrea.” Bracing myself, I asked what she meant. “Him, of course. My husband. I’m sorry,” she added tightly. “About him. What he did to you. And Will.” I nodded, too shocked to respond. “I knew who he was when I married him, but I didn’t know how far he’d go.” Her gaze turned faraway. “Sometimes, Andrea, I dream of leaving him and taking him for everything he’s worth.” She winked at me. “Wait and see.”
I found my voice. “We’re here if you need us.” Not something I’d ever imagined I’d say to my aunt.
“You’re very kind.” Aunt Rose patted my cheek. “I suppose Will knew what he was about when he ran off with you.” With that, she swept out.
“We don’t choose our families,” I murmured to Will now, as the surf crashed ceaselessly against the shore. “But I chose you.”
Will let out a long breath. “Then…how about it?” All joking was gone from his face. He looked naked and open, and more beautiful than I’d ever seen him. “Us, getting married? We’ve got nothing to hide anymore.”
He was right. We didn’t advertise that we were cousins to the people we knew, but it wasn’t a deep, dark secret, either. The friends who’d known for a long time — Meg and Emily, even Spence and Pax, who had truly stuck by Will in the end — were so used to the truth that it didn’t faze them. Spence had assured us, trying to be helpful, that his own family tree was more of a bush. All the best families are.
“You’re right.” A smile took over my face. “Nothing to hide.”
Will twined a hank of my ginger hair around his hand, stroking the long strands. “We belong to each other. I want you to be my wife.”
My head buzzed with his proposal. “And…kids, someday? Do you think that’s safe?”
Will laughed. “Cousins used to marry each other all the time.”
I gazed up at the moon. “I just keep picturing our future child making a huge mess and you giving me a smoldering stare and saying ‘The staff will clean it up.’”
Will snorted with laughter. I trailed a finger down the center of his chest.
“I want a better family,” he said, all seriousness now. “I know I can do better than my dad. You’re nothing like my mom. When I have kids someday, I want to love them. Not treat them like pawns, or trap them in a golden bubble. I want their mom to be a good person. To be you. ”
I took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“Yes?” Hope flooded Will’s face, like a sunbeam breaking through a cloud.
“Yes. Let’s do it. All of it.”
He slid his arms around me, clasping me to his hard chest. I hugged him tightly as swaying palm trees rustled overhead. I’d learned to tune into my body and emotions. To embrace what I wanted and deal with it head-on. And this felt right, completely.
The shame, the fear, the intensity of desiring too much…they’d all dissolved. I wanted Will. I loved him. It was a truth that was so good to finally accept. Sometimes, I’d asked myself if this was because he was my cousin, or in spite of it. And the answer was probably…both.
“I love you so much, baby,” he murmured, kissing my hair.
“I love you too.” I pillowed my head on his shoulder, gazing into his eyes, the ocean crashing before us. “You’re everything I could ever want.”
THE END