Epilogue

Idon’t know if I have ever been this nervous. I look in the mirror on the back of the door, even though I’ve already checked my outfit three times. It’s not like it matters. No one is really going to see me, but it does matter. It’s a sign of how important I’m taking this meeting.

So I look at my dark-wash jeans, low-heeled boots, and lightweight cotton shirt. The neckline is wide, showing my collarbones and framing the necklace Gabe gave me for passing my finals. I’d told him it wasn’t necessary. I mean, I’ve passed every test I’ve ever taken without some promise of a material reward, but he’d insisted.

I swear, I half think it’s a tracker for the rare occasion he lets me go out without him escorting me. But I don’t mind. It’s a beautiful necklace, and I love having him with me as much as possible, especially when there’s still a question about what Blackwell’s next move will be.

Gabe’s head pops around the door frame. “You ready?”

I nod, biting my lip nervously.

“You look beautiful. He’s going to love you. No worries.”

I’m a bundle of nerves, and Gabe is as cool and calm as can be as we get into his SUV and he drives. I lose track of the turns, finally relaxing a little and singing along with his deep baritone to some old rock tune on the radio.

He turns through a metal archway covered in flowers, parking and coming around to help me out. We walk through the rows of stone, Gabe’s hand in mine leading me. He knows exactly where he’s going, like he’s been here many times before.

And then he stops, and I look down, following his eyes.

“Hey, brother, got someone I want you to meet. This is Isabella Turner, my Bella. I think you would have really liked her.” He speaks casually but switches in and out of both past and present tense. He probably doesn’t even realize he does it, both living with Jeremy in his past and carrying Jeremy with him in his heart in the present.

I smile softly. “It’s nice to meet you, Jeremy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

And there, under the bright sun and swaying trees, I listen as Gabe tells our story to his brother. He apologizes for not following through with his promise of revenge but finishes with the belief that he’s doing the right thing, and Jeremy would’ve wanted that.

“Besides, as much as I love you, man, I love her too. And she’s got something you don’t have . . . a pussy that sucks me in like a damn vise.”

I gasp, shoving at Gabe’s shoulder. “What the hell! You were being all romantic and then you go and say something crude like that.”

Gabe gives me the grin I love, slowly growing until his dimples pop and he’s already halfway out of trouble. “That’s how brothers talk, Princess. It’s not like you thought I was some sweet Prince Charming.”

He leans in, whispering in my ear even though there’s no one around us in the cemetery. “And you wouldn’t like me if I was.”

“Fine,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But you’re my not-so Prince Charming, so let’s keep the talk about my pussy to a minimum with other people.”

He narrows his eyes. “That mean you’re not talking about my cock with Mia and Charlotte either?”

I freeze, remembering how I’d just told them about our successful mission to christen the whole house. “That’s different,” I say, knowing it’s not at all.

“Innocent, sweet, good girl, my ass,” he says, but I giggle because he squeezes a handful of my ass as he says it.

I look to the rounded concrete engraved with Jeremy’s name. “You see what I put up with from this brother of yours? But as much of a danger to my good name as he may be, I love him too.”

A big wind blows through us, warm and swirling, and a white flower drops from a tree beside us. Gabe picks it up, moving to place it behind my ear, but I take it from his hand. Walking over to the tombstone, I lay it on top. “We’ll be back soon, Jeremy. It was nice to meet you.”

And then we go home.

Together.