Epilogue

JUNE

" What's that look for?" I turn to Jensen, who's unloading the trunk.

Days out with two four-month-olds are not for the faint of heart. I swear we packed more into this SUV than we did when I finally sold and packed up my apartment.

"Just thinking about you in a bikini and me rubbing sunscreen on you."

I smirk in response and begin unclipping June from her car seat when she pulls my sunglasses from my eyes with her tiny hand. "That's right, baby girl. Glasses," I giggle. "Daddy insisted on high-end ones because he's a great big snob."

"Heard that."

"I meant for you to," I call from the back seat.

Will brings his chew ring to his mouth and starts chomping down. June immediately follows but on my glasses. "Oh, no, baby. Not the glasses," I say, replacing it with her purple ring. "There we go."

It's a gorgeous day at Alki Beach. We load up the strollers and make our way down onto the soft sand, finding a place to set up for the day.

"I'm going to set up the canopy." Jensen starts unloading it from the bag and setting out the pieces.

The salty air whizzes past my face as I roll out June and Will's blankets and set them down for some tummy time. Both can already push up onto their elbows and are becoming increasingly inquisitive. Even though they aren't identical twins, they are so similar with their mass of black hair and deep brown eyes, just like their daddy. At this point, I'm the odd one out in this family.

"Do you think they will stay dark forever, or do you think their hair color will get any lighter?" I say to Jensen as he starts putting up the canopy to provide us with some shade.

He looks down at me through his sunglasses, clearly checking me out in my black plunging one-piece swimsuit. "I don't know. They'll probably get lighter, I guess. They got lucky and got their daddy's genes." He pulls off his glasses and winks.

Brat.

"It looks like you could use a hand there." Jon and Felicity approach from behind, and Jon immediately starts helping Jensen with the canopy.

In her huge "out of the office" straw sunhat, Felicity comes to sit next to me and kisses me briefly on the cheek. "Hi, babe."

"That's it?" I say as she glides past me and straight to June and Will, picking them both up in her arms.

"Yep." She pops her p. "You and Luna will always be my girls, but now I have aunt responsibilities. Don't I?" Felicity says as she looks between them.

"Is that so?" I reply in a mock tone.

"Look, don't get offended." Felicity sets June and Will down and then passes June a bucket and shovel to explore. "Even my own husband has taken a backseat to Aster, June, and Will."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Jon says from behind me.

I turn around to face him and throw my hands in the air. "Join the club, Morgan."

"Well, if you can't beat them, join them." Jon fixes one of the poles into place and then walks across to his wife, picking Will up and throwing him in the air.

"Shall your favorite aunty and uncle take you for a walk along the beach?"

I watch as Felicity observes how he is with Will, her eyes full of hearts.

Quietly, I nudge her in the side. "Never too late, you know?"

She scoffs. "You have got to be kidding me. Anyway, he's one to talk; I barely see him. He's dropped me for Jack."

"Still as intense?"

She nods. "I'm so damn proud of them both. Jon sees he has what it takes, and Jack is working so hard to follow his dreams."

"You think he'll make it? To the NHL, I mean."

She takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. He has Jon and all the guys in his corner. He has all the ingredients to make it happen if that's what he truly wants."

"He'll make it." A deep voice joins us, followed by a cheeky three-month-old giggle.

I jump to my feet. "Aster!"

I take him from Zach and plant a huge kiss on his mass of red hair. "Why is it that you got all your mommy's genes, but mine got their daddy's, huh?"

Zach sets down all the bags as Luna catches up with the stroller. "And why is it that the beach is the most beautiful but inconvenient place to visit when you have a baby?" She crouches down to say hello to June.

"Tell me about it. I have sand in places where it should never be," Jessie adds.

"When did you get here?" I ask, taking a sip of water from the bottle Jensen just handed me.

"Around five minutes ago. I was just on the phone with my agent." He eyes Jensen.

"All okay?" he responds.

Jessie scratches the back of his neck. "Hope so." He looks anything but sure about the call with his agent.

With Will still in his arms, Jon crouches down and kisses the side of Felicity's forehead. "Let's take these little guys and girl for a walk. Give their mommy and daddy a breather."

Felicity lights up in response and looks over at me and Luna. "We'll be back in three to five business days."

Luna snorts a laugh. "You're going to need a lot more than just one diaper, in that case."

We watch as Jon and Felicity walk toward the ocean, the two boys with Jon and Felicity swooning over June.

With the canopy all set up, Zach walks over and takes Luna's hand, pulling her to her feet. He wraps his arms around her pink tie-dye beach dress, and I can tell he's already thinking about adding to Aster. "Come take a swim with me, Miss Johnson."

She kisses him lightly on the lips and then rips her beach dress over her head, tying her long auburn hair into a messy bun. "Race you!"

She flies down the beach as Zach races after her.

"Pair of teenagers," Jessie calls after them, but his smile is interrupted by his phone ringing. As soon as he sees the name flash on his screen, he stalks off in the opposite direction.

"And then there were two." Jensen comes to sit next to me on the now empty blankets.

"Are we still heading off to Zach and Luna's new place for a barbeque after this?"

He nods. "Yeah, I have to swing by and pick up the sliders."

"I won't lie. I'm relieved I can eat meat again, or at least not want to throw up on sight."

Jensen stays quiet and kicks the sand in front of him. He looks troubled, which makes my heart drop. "What's wrong?" I ask, twisting his baseball cap backward.

"I, uh, I think Jessie might be getting traded."

"What?!" I shout and then quickly look around to check no one heard my outburst.

"Other than Coach, no one knows, not even Zach. It's…" He grips at the back of his neck. "It's really complicated and not my business to tell, but he has a lot going on, which is why he played like shit in the playoffs. He also thinks that's why we lost out to Dallas."

"When did you find out?"

He shrugs. "About ten minutes ago when he showed me the email from his agent on his phone. Nothing is confirmed yet, but he doesn't want to go."

"Can you do anything to help?"

He shakes his head. "No, because I don't even know the full details of what's going on, but Coach Burrows wants to keep him. I want to keep him. He isn't just my best friend. He's one of the greatest forwards our sport has ever seen."

"How can I help?" I ask, feeling all kinds of useless.

Jensen looks over at me and takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger, our lips almost touching. "I told you, Princess. All I need you to do is breathe and be mine."

Butterflies swarm my stomach. "I can definitely do that."

He kisses me softly. "When is East coming over again?"

More warmth fills my chest, knowing I'll see my brother for the first time since he came to visit after the birth. "He should arrive tomorrow morning. Violet and Henry want him to stay at their place, but he refuses. He's staying at a hotel."

"They got what was coming to them, you know?" Jensen's jaw ticks. "Tax evasion and cooking their books." He shakes his head. "Karma always finds bad people, sooner or later."

I wish I felt some sort of sadness for my parents. But I can't. They made their bed. They'll likely lose their business, and the Feds are looking into their personal finances. Perhaps they did Mark and David Preston a favor after all when they disassociated their business.

Lying back on the blanket, I decide now is the perfect time. "Hey, come lie with me."

On our sides and almost nose to nose, I pull off his sunglasses and take in his deep brown eyes. "I want to show you something. Can you cover me with a towel?"

He looks confused but grabs one anyway, holding it behind me for privacy.

Unhooking the swimsuit strap from over my shoulder, I peel it down until the left side of my ribcage is showing, along with the plastic wrap covering it.

Jensen's eyes bug out at the sight.

"Peel it off," I say.

"When did you get this?"

"Two days ago. I've been trying to hide it from you, but I can't wait any longer."

As he removes the medical tape, it slowly reveals coordinates and then a date—December fourth.

"What's this?" he says, shock in his voice.

"An important date for my calendar. And those are coordinates."

"For where?"

"To Riley's Bar. That was the date I wore your jersey and sat on your knee." I lean forward and kiss my husband. "The hour that changed both our lives, even if I was a way behind you."

He goes to open his mouth, but I press my finger against his lips. "Thank you for showing me the definition of unconditional love. Because I love you so fucking much, JJ."

THE END.