Epilogue
A res – (Six Months Later)~
“Not sure if I should offer my congratulations or my condolences.”
I turned to see Brantley Kingston walking up to me as if we were old friends, which we weren’t. Again, I was friends with his wife, not him. Granted, I didn’t hate him as much as I’d had years ago, but now that I was married with a child on the way, I understood him better.
“A mixture of both would be appropriate,” I replied truthfully.
“Being in love is definitely not for the weak,” he remarked with a chuckle.
“Well, let’s just say that I understand Magnus’ hatred for me a little more,” I said as I watched my wife make her way to the bar. “I wouldn’t be okay with my wife still befriending someone that she’s slept with before.”
“It’s the worst feeling in the world, to be a man in love,” he replied. “It’s also the best.”
“Only when it’s just the two of us,” I sighed, this night lasting longer than I’d like. “I don’t like sharing my wife with the rest of the world.”
At that, Brantley let out a genuine laugh. “Welcome to my world.”
I shot him a look. “You could have warned me.”
“And miss the chance to witness your descend into madness?” he snorted. “No way.”
With that, he gave me a slap of comradery on my back, then went off to find his wife, no doubt.
After all, it was public knowledge that Brantley Kingston went slightly crazy whenever his wife was away from him for too long.
Granted, the same could be said for most men in love, but Brantley made no effort to hide it from anyone, especially his wife.
Forgetting about Kingston, I walked over to the bar just as the bartender was sliding Capri a drink, and I knew for a fact that she was treating herself to some lemonade, having shied away from as much sugar as possible these past few months.
Capri was also good about staying away from caffeine of any kind, something that had taken a lot of rough mornings to get through.
Because I couldn’t help myself, I automatically reached out to touch her belly. “How are my girls doing?”
My wife grinned up at me. “We’re good.”
Though I hadn’t exactly planned on getting Capri pregnant right away- or at all, having made peace with never having children -my refusal to use protection had done fairly quick work of getting her knocked up, and so we were already five months pregnant, her belly already rounding.
We also hadn’t wanted to wait to find out the sex, being as old as we were.
We wanted to get the ball rolling on having everything ready for her as soon as we brought her home.
“How long are you going to make us stay here?” I asked as I pulled my hand away from her stomach.
Capri let out a delicate laugh. “Ares, stop it. This is a worthy charity.”
“Any charity for children is a worthy charity, baby,” I countered.
She reached up, then ran her finger over the inked arch that peeked from underneath my collar. “I still can’t believe that you did that.”
I found my first genuine smile since arriving. “I put it on my neck for aesthetic reasons.”
She rolled her eyes. “You had room on your arms.”
“Says you,” I teased.
“One more hour,” she finally promised.
“If I donate five million, can we make it a half hour?” I bargained. “I’m done shaking hands.”
Her blue eyes narrowed as she regarded me. “I saw you speaking with Brantley Kingston. Did he hurt your feelings again?”
I threw my head back as I laughed. “Christ, you’re good for me.”
“Someone has to keep you humble,” she joked.
Grinning down at her, I said, “He was actually giving me advice on marriage.”
“Oh, really?” she chuckled, her brows jumping high in surprise.
“I still hate him,” I assured her.
“You hate everyone,” she snorted.
“Everyone but you, baby,” I told her, not necessarily lying.
The End.