Epilogue
EPILOGUE
LAYLA
One year later…
My fingers grip the sheets. I tremble in anticipation. Behind me, I can feel his eyes on me. Feel his warm breath as it washes over my sensitive skin. My heart races and goosebumps scatter over my body in anticipation of what’s to come.
This time last year, I was hiding out in Maddie’s Paris penthouse, nursing a broken heart, and it was all just a crazy misunderstanding that could have easily been avoided had I not been so cynical. Thank God Cole took matters into his own hands, or I might still be in Paris.
My lips curl when I recall finding him standing in my doorway and asking him what he was doing there.
I needed to talk to you, and you weren’t taking my calls.
That was all he had to say. I’ve never loved him more than I did at that moment. I knew right then and there that everything was going to be okay.
So much has happened since Cole and I returned from France. It’s hard to believe that an entire year has passed since all of that crap went down with Christa which resulted in us, or at least me, almost ending things. My relationship with Cole is stronger than ever. I should really thank Christa, but I never will. The stunt she pulled—regardless of how painful it was to live through—gave me the wakeup call I needed to finally put my parents’ baggage behind me and trust the man I’m in love with unconditionally.
I’ve only seen Christa once since that night in front of Cole’s door. I was grabbing a coffee on my way to work one morning. We spotted each other as soon as she walked in the door of the café. She immediately turned around and walked right back out, without uttering a single word. The last I saw of her, she was sprinting across the parking lot back to her car, without her coffee. I’ve learned not to hold grudges, but that is more for my sake than hers.
I’m madly in love with Cole Hendrix, my once archnemesis, and I trust him completely. So much so that when he asked me to move in with him a couple of months ago, I agreed wholeheartedly. It was the best decision for all of us. That’s right, I said all of us. Aria has been living with me for the past seven months. Sadly, her gran lost her battle with cancer, but not before she took all the legal steps to allow me to adopt Aria. Her mother had given up custody of Aria years ago, making Bea her legal guardian. When Bea found out she didn’t have long to live, she talked to Aria and then to me. It was a no-brainer. I already loved Aria like she was my own daughter. I was happy to go through the legal channels to make things official by adopting her. Aria is still struggling with the loss of her grandmother, but we are working through it together.
I need to get up. Today is a big day. But right now, I’m too focused on what Cole has planned for me. We have a long day ahead of us, but I’m determined to enjoy this precious time alone with him.
I gasp when I feel the bed dip behind me. His breath teases over my bare thigh, then across my ass. I whimper, feeling my skin prickle. My arousal pools between my legs, and I can feel how wet I am in anticipation.
“Cole, please, ” I whimper.
“ Greedy girl ,” he rasps into my ear. I moan when his hand slips between my thighs. His finger lightly brushes over my lips, and I hear him chuckle. “Feel how fucking wet you are for me.”
I moan when his finger sinks into me. He strokes it in and out and then withdraws.
“Now taste how sweet you are.”
I whimper softly and open my lips. I suck his finger inside, tasting my arousal. I hear him growl and then move behind me. His breath is on my ass again. Then his tongue drags through my center. I cry out, pushing back, desperate for more.
He groans into me, dragging his tongue up and down my pussy. He makes me squirm and beg, panting for more until my toes are curling. He finally sucks my clit between his lips, and I groan in satisfaction. His tongue mercilessly swirls over my throbbing clit, until suddenly, I’m coming hard.
I thrash on the bed. The pleasure explodes through me, leaving me panting and moaning. But I’m hardly down from the high before I feel him move up behind me. He pushes forward and sinks the head of his cock into my wetness. I moan in pleasure as Cole drives deep, mounting me from behind. “Oh fuck, baby,” he hisses. His cock swells in me, throbbing so deeply. His big hands splay across my ass. He grips my hips tightly as he slides out and then plunges right back in. I cry out into the sheets, moaning eagerly as Cole starts to pound into me. He knows when I want it slow and teasing. But he also knows when I need him to fuck me into submission. This morning is the latter.
He snarls, fucking me like a savage. I slump into a puddle of pleasure on the sheets. Cole growls, pinning me to the bed as he thrusts his big cock in and out of me, over and over. My body clenches and ripples, until my orgasm is almost upon me. There’s no way I can stop it.
“Cole!”
“Come, baby,” he groans, “Come for me, love. Right now.”
He thrusts deep, and I explode. My orgasm thunders through every inch of my body. My hands twist the sheets as I cry out into them. Cole roars and drives into me. He buries every thick inch of his big dick into my rippling pussy and lets go. I can feel his hot cum coating me deep inside.
He gathers me into his arms, holding me close. I groan in pleasure, snuggling into him. “Just a few more minutes.”
“Wow,” Maddie exclaims when she takes in my pale pink silk dress. “You look fabulous, chérie .” Avery and Tori are right behind her, as are all three of their husbands.
“I honestly thought you would be the one doing this next,” Tori smirks as she leans in to give me a hug. “You do look gorgeous, by the way. How is your mom doing?” I ignore her first comment.
“Thanks. She’s good. Excited. Maybe a little bit nervous.”
It’s not that I don’t want to get married, I do. Someday. Right now, I’m happy just as I am. I’ve had enough changes to my life in the past couple of years to last me a lifetime. I’m not complaining—they’ve all been good, but I’m happy to coast for a little while and simply enjoy what I have. I smirk as I recall just how much I enjoyed my wakeup call this morning.
Today we are celebrating something monumental. My mom and Derek’s wedding. Mom and Derek got engaged not long after we returned from France, and I couldn’t be happier for them. Apparently, me letting go of my baggage forced her to do the same.
“Grab a glass of champagne and mingle. With any luck, the wedding will get started in about twenty minutes. Cole’s around here somewhere. I need to go check on Aria. I haven’t seen her since I dropped her off last night.” I leave my friends and step into the spare bedroom, which used to be my bedroom. Aria has kind of taken it over these days.
She is sitting in front of the mirror, struggling with her long, thick hair, so I step up behind her and try to take over. She should have been ready by now. “Can I help?”
“No. Let me do it myself.” Aria pushes my hand away from her hair. “I’m not a baby, Mom.”
I smile, my heart still lurches every time I hear her call me mom. Lanie never let Aria call her mom; she said it made her feel old. What a bitch. One of the first things Aria asked for after the adoption was official was if she could call me mom. In fact, it’s the only thing she’s ever asked for. My heart almost burst out of my chest with joy.
Being a mother has come pretty naturally for me, or at least, it has with Aria. We had over two years of practice before we made it official. That doesn’t mean we don’t have our struggles from time to time, but we are dealing with each one as we go along. Cole has been a great help. He loves Aria just as much as I do, and he thinks of her as his too. Maybe someday we’ll make that official too, but for now our unique little family works for us.
“Fine.” I drop my hands and step away. “But if you don’t hurry up, we are going to be late for Nan’s wedding and she’s going to start without you.”
My mother suggested that Aria call her Nan out of the blue one day, and Aria latched onto it. She can never replace Aria’s gran, and she’s not trying to, but I think it has helped Aria with the grieving process to have someone older who is more like her gran when she needs that special something that Cole or I can’t give her.
“I got it.” Her fingers fly through her hair as she deftly twists it up into a messy knot that is as good as anything I could have done. My mother and I had our hair done this morning, but Aria wanted to do her own, so here we are. Twenty minutes before the wedding is supposed to start. “Besides, Nan can’t start without me. I’m the flower girl,” she points out.
Luckily, we don’t have far to go. We are in my mom’s guest room and the wedding is taking place in the backyard. I grab the can of hairspray and spritz a little here and there to help hold her thick hair in place. She dodges the spray and shrieks.
“Mom, stop. I don’t like that stuff.”
“Just a little.”
“No…stop.” She bats the can out of my hand.
“Damn kid,” I growl as I bend over to retrieve the can that has now rolled under the bed.
The door opens and Cole strolls in, looking good enough to eat. “You girls almost ready? What’s all the shouting about?”
“She wants to spray that stuff in my hair again,” Aria says with a pout.
Cole’s eyes widen like I’ve committed some sort of heinous crime, before he winks at me. “How dare she.”
Aria starts to giggle and so do I.
“I give up.” I toss the can onto the bed and hold up my hands. Cole picks it up and walks over to Aria, who grins up at him like he’s a freaking god or something. The kid loves the crap out of that man. I can’t say I blame her. I kind of do too.
He twirls his finger, and she spins around. He tidies an errant strand of hair and spritzes a little spray on it. “Done. Now you look perfect.”
She spins back around with a huge smile on her face. “Are you sure? Do I need some more?” I roll my eyes and leave them to it. I need to find my mom anyway since I’m walking her down the aisle in a few minutes.
When I walk past the sliding doors leading to the tiny backyard, I see my friends, a couple of my mom’s friends, Derek’s brother and his wife, and my dad and his girlfriend, Sara. The same brunette I saw him with at dinner so long ago.
I still can’t believe he is here. That my parents are speaking to one another, and dare I say, friendly even. I asked them each to try and bury the hatchet a few months ago, and they both agreed it was time. I know they did it for my sake, but I think, deep down, it was probably exhausting for them to continue to hate the person they once loved. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. I have both my parents in my life, and they both appear to be happy. That makes me happy. I can’t ask for much more.
I smile as I walk into my mother’s bedroom, that is now her and Derek’s bedroom, to find her in his arms. “Hey, you aren’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”
Derek beams at my mom as he reluctantly pulls himself away.
“Shh, don’t tell anyone. I couldn’t help myself. Isn’t she stunning?”
“She sure is.” Tears fill my eyes when they land on my beautiful mother, and I have to quickly blink them away before they have a chance to fall. I don’t have time to fix my makeup. I’ve never seen her look like this before. Gabriella Silva has always been a gorgeous woman, but today, she is practically glowing.
“Your secret is safe with me, Derek,” I say as I carefully dab my eyes. “Now get out of here before someone else walks in.”
“Yes ma’am.” He leans down and kisses Mom again. “I’ll see you out there, beautiful. Don’t keep me waiting too long.”
“Hey. Out.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” he says as he bolts out the door with a huge grin on his face.
I turn back to my mom. “You look so pretty. I love you, Mom. I’m so happy for you. Derek is a very lucky man,” I say as I wrap my arms around her.
She laughs. “I’m not so sure about that. I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one, sweetheart. I love you so much. It’s always just been you and me, and look at us now. Our lives are so full.” She sniffles as she hugs me back.
“I know those are happy tears, but save them for later, You’ll ruin your makeup.” It’s nice to have this private time. Just me and her. We don’t get a lot of that these days. Right on cue, our private moment is shattered when Aria rushes in excitedly as the music starts to play.
“Are you guys ready?” she asks as she bounces from foot to foot in her little heels. Her dress is light pink and matches mine but in a more youthful style.
I sigh and look back at my mom with a smile. “Ready?” She smiles and nods. “Okay, let’s go get Nan married.” Aria takes up her position in front of us and glances back, giving us the thumbs-up. My mother chuckles beside me as I crook an elbow and she slides her arm through mine.
The sun has just set, tiny lights twinkle in the trees around us, and I’m in the arms of the man I love as he leads me around the tiny patio that has become a dance floor this evening. I hear my mother’s infectious laugh and glance over Cole’s shoulder to see her and Derek, hand in hand, talking to my dad, who has an arm casually draped over Sara’s shoulder. They are all smiling, and I can tell from here that they aren’t pretending, they are all genuinely happy.
“I can’t believe that,” I whisper in Cole’s ear. “I have never been one to believe in miracles, but I think I might be changing my mind about that. Those two have hated each other with a passion for more than thirty years, and look at them now.”
Cole spins me around so he can take a look at what I’m talking about. He smiles and pulls me closer. “Hmm, must be something in the air tonight. Take me, for example. I was a sworn bachelor, all I ever cared about was making money and a quick fuck. Some people may even have referred to me as a player .” He nips my earlobe and then gently sucks on it, which sends shivers down my spine.
I gasp and smirk. “How dare they. I can’t believe anyone would have such a low opinion of you. What could they have possibly been thinking?” We continue to sway to the music, and I feel Cole’s chuckle rumble through his chest.
“They wouldn’t have been wrong. I was convinced commitment would never be part of my scene. To my family and my job, for sure, but never to a woman.” My heart rate speeds up. I don’t know where he is going with this. As if he can feel my concern, he holds me closer and continues to whisper in my ear.
“But then—one day, I met this fiery-tempered vixen. She gave me a real run for my money. Made me work for every scrap of attention I could get, most of which were geared toward ripping me a new one, and I knew I had met my perfect match. The girl of my dreams.” My heart races a little faster, as the fluttering becomes rapid pounding against my chest.
“I don’t know how you did it, baby, but you pulled off a fucking miracle, because now I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I don’t even want to think about it. You’re the most important thing in the world to me, Layla.”
Cole looks over my shoulder again and waves his hand in the air. His other hand lets go of my hip, and before I know what’s happening, Aria is standing beside him handing him a tiny box.
“Cole—” My breath catches. Cole drops to one knee in front of me as he holds out the black velvet box.
“What…” I swallow. My eyes water as they widen, darting between the box and his face. “What is this?” This is so unexpected. I can’t believe this is happening.
“I think you should open it and find out.”
I reach for the tiny box with shaky hands. It’s hinged on one side, with a tiny clasp on the front part. I pop the clasp and slowly open the box.
My heart skips.
Inside, glittering in the glow of all the tiny lights surrounding us, is a shimmering, gorgeous diamond ring.
Cole smiles at Aria and then up at me. “Layla…baby…I love you more than life itself. You stormed into my life like a hurricane and made me want something I never even knew I wanted. You. Now that I have you, I can’t fathom living my life without you. Will you marry me?”
“Say yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Aria squeals as she jumps up and down. “I already promised him you would.” Laughter breaks out all around us. I can hear it, but I don’t see anything but the man who is still kneeling in front of me with his heart on his sleeve and a freaking huge diamond pinched between his fingers.
“Yes,” I whisper fiercely as I drop into his arms and smash my lips against his. “Yes, a thousand times yes,” I whisper into his ear.
I laugh, tears falling down my cheeks as I kiss him passionately. When I look into his eyes, I know it’s true…miracles really do happen after all.
THE END