Epilogue

Fourth of July Oceanfest

Evian held my hand in his tight grip, pulling me toward Beachin' Bakery's tent. "Lorenzo Russo, if there are no more chocolate chip pecan cookies left, I'm calling Mama Russo and telling her you made her little biscotti miss out."

"Little biscotti" was a fitting nickname from my aunt considering how much my man loved cookies. I laughed and squeezed his hand. "You gonna tell her why we're late? Because, I dare you."

He stopped short, causing my bigger body to bounce right off him.

"Dammit. I didn't think that one through." His lips twitched, trying to hold back his laughter. "But don't even try to deny that it's your fault. Not to mention what you made me do in my favorite pants." He started pulling me forward again, a man on a mission. "If there are no more cookies, then…" He thought for a second. "I'll bump your A plus in Evian: 101 down to an A minus."

Jesus, he was adorable. I laughed again and said, "That'll teach me a lesson. No way will I enjoy getting to do my favorite things to you to bring my grade back up. I fully accept the consequences of my actions."

"Blast," he yelled, still dragging me through the fairgrounds. "This is what I get for having a hot as hell boyfriend."

"Then, one might say it's your own fault." I cracked up when he gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest as we stopped abruptly in front of Teresa and her table of baked deliciousness.

"I was wondering when you boys were gonna get here." Teresa's eyes lit up as she gave us both her usual happy smile.

"Teresa, for reasons I can't discuss"—Evian looked at me with narrowed eyes, plastering a giant smile on his face as he looked back at her—"we're running late today. Please, please tell me you have cookies left."

"Of course, I do, honey. Enzo asked me yesterday to put a few aside for you so you didn't miss out on the first day of the festival."

Evian froze, his jaw dropping. "Enzo asked you to…"

"What was that about an A minus?" I asked, gripping my hip with my free hand, my head dropping forward like I was deep in thought.

"Um…"

"I just can't remember…"

"I love you," Evian said in a singsong voice, fluttering those damn gorgeous eyelashes.

"Uh huh…" I teased.

Evian stepped closer, making me lose all rational thought as I breathed him in. "And you love me, too," he singsonged again.

"Dammit. I do," I grumbled, but I couldn't hold the scowl. Not when I was so fucking happy because of the man giving me a sexy smile that promised so much more. "I really do," I whispered, completely forgetting where we were until Teresa let out a long sigh.

"You two are so adorable," she said, pressing her hands to her chest and staring at us with hearts in her eyes. I'd yet to see the sweet woman so much as slightly frown at someone. She even managed to put a rude customer in their place while keeping that sweet-as-can-be smile on her face.

"We are, aren't we?" Evian loudly smacked a kiss on my lips and turned around to get his precious cookies, making Teresa laugh.

We walked around for about ten minutes before ending up at the Oceanside Bar and Grill tent. The delicious scent of burgers coming from the two industrial-sized grills my cousin was using floated on the breeze and filled my nose.

"Uh, sir, can I have a well-done burger, please? You know, just cook the crap out of it," I said in a serious tone, staring directly at Burke.

"How about I give you the ground beef and you can make your own charred excuse for a burger when you go to hell?" He stared at me for a second before we both broke into laughter, easing the minds of the people around us who weren't used to our antics. "Family," he announced to the customers while shaking his head in derision. "Can't live with 'em, can't toss them in the ocean for their poor choices."

"Hey," Evian said in protest, cocking a dark eyebrow at Burke. "I happen to be one of those choices."

"That includes your choices, too. I said family, right? Although, I guess that means you're perfect for each other." He smirked and winked at Evian, once again showing Evian that he was officially part of our very large and crazy family.

Rina, Vito, and I had never been closer since the showdown with our mom and Tino. Which was ironic considering I lived three-thousand miles away from them now. We'd talked more over the last couple of months than we ever had before—it was the one silver-lining to the dark cloud that remained between us and the two people we'd cut all contact with. After having long talks about how life had been for us ever since our dad died, we'd come to realize all the ways our mom had been manipulating us behind the scenes. Things we'd never shared with each other until we finally united and took a stand. Oddly enough, it took breaking the cycle of toxic influence with our mom to strengthen the healthy bond between the three of us.

It was impossible for me to think about family and not feel the ache of a wound still healing. Slowly but surely, though, and with the help of my remaining family and, most importantly, Evian, that gaping hole where my mom and brother used to be was gradually closing. I wasn't sure it would ever truly seal shut, but I needed to get to a point where the crack was so thin, it barely let any light in. I was done allowing the things that lit up my life to be swallowed in darkness.

I met Burke's eyes and saw the concern he usually tried so hard to hide. Smirking to let him know I was okay, I said, "Those grills better be spotless tomorrow."

The concern vanished, replaced with a devilish grin. "Your first experience at manning a festival tent will be the highlight of my year." He turned around, that wicked smile still in place as he walked over to help his staff.

"You okay?" Evian asked softly, squeezing my hand and giving me a look that said he would do anything to lessen my pain.

I smiled sadly but squeezed his hand back. "I will be."

Understanding me on a level no one ever had, he smoothly changed the subject. "My dad texted this morning. I can't imagine what made me forget to mention it."

"Don't lie. You're imagining it right now." I wiggled my eyebrows and pulled him closer.

He smacked my chest. "Smartass. Anyway, he's attempting to make tacos for us on Sunday. It should be easy enough since he's using a kit. However, I've been instructed to tell you that if we show up without your blueberry pie, he'll make me work an entire weekend with Neil." Evian widened his eyes in horror, shivering at the thought, and whispered again for emphasis, "With Neil." He'd managed in two sentences to make me laugh and remind me that his dad had welcomed me with open arms, even though Lloyd was in the midst of coming out of his own fog. I didn't realize how much I needed that acceptance until the first time he told Evian to bring me to Sunday dinner.

I laughed. "Oh, that's…genius. Threatening your sanity to coerce me into making his favorite dessert."

"I can't do it, Enzo. I cannot listen to the history of the man's GI tract for three days straight."

"I don't know. That sounds like a you problem," I teased, watching his eyes grow bigger.

His mouth dropped open in shock, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I will make it a you problem. As in, you will be denied entrance into any part of this body for those three days. Three. Whole. Days, Enzo."

It was my turn to shiver with the thought. "So, just one blueberry pie, or should I make two?"

Evian leaned his head back and laughed before meeting my eyes again with those gorgeous hazel depths. "Come on. Let's go find Lucas, Stacey, and Topher. They should be here by now."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where Topher would be. Sure enough, the guy was standing in front of Joel's stand, leaning as close to Joel as he could get with a table between them. Once I moved into the apartment below Joel's, we'd become pretty good friends. He dropped in a few times a week for a beer. He also casually mentioned one night that he was gay after commenting that Henry Cavill was hot as hell. I couldn't disagree. Still, I figured Topher's crush on Joel was one-sided. Watching the way Joel was currently looking back at Topher, mouthing what looked like the word fine with a smirk, I finally saw what was going on.

"Are they…?" I asked Evian, shifting my eyes toward our friends.

He shrugged with a laugh. "Who the hell knows."

We got to the stand at about the same time as Lucas and Stacey. Stacey immediately went around the table and gave Joel's sister, Hailey, a huge hug, easily chatting and laughing with her. They'd met the day I moved into the apartment and apparently had become fast friends.

Our lives, Evian's and mine, were truly intertwining, as intricately as the stitching in one of Evian's stunning designs…or the sexy lace he loved to wear.

I needed to stop that train of thought before it ran off the tracks.

The five of us ended up at SandBar that night, sacrificing the girth of our wallets in favor of fried food and alcohol. The bar was no longer a place Evian avoided for fear of running into the lying, cheating, sack of shit. It was made clear by Aiden and Cole that Drake wasn't welcome in the place. It was also made clear by me that I'd kick his ass if he ever came near Evian again. That got me a mind-blowing kiss followed by Evian dropping to his knees with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, intent on blowing something else.

"It's past my bedtime." Lucas yawned.

"He's not exaggerating either," Stacey said, shaking her head. "He'll be asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow."

Topher was next to yawn with a big sigh, stretching his arms dramatically over his head. "Oh my goodness. Look at the time." Belatedly, he brought his watch-less wrist down and stared at it. "I can't wait to get into bed. I mean my bed," he clarified quickly with a goofy grin. "Yep, it's a good thing I brought my own car. I can head straight home and get some Z's. I don't have anywhere else I need to be tonight." He stood up abruptly, sighing again. "Okay, well, drive safe you two." He shook a finger at Lucas and Stacey with a parental expression and a tilt of his head. "I know I will."

With that, he turned and headed for the exit.

I snorted. "Does he seriously think we don't know he's going to Joel's?"

"Figured that out, huh?" Lucas asked, chuckling and pushing his chair back so he could stand up before holding his hand out to Stacey.

"Yeah, well, I think he's forgetting I live one floor down from Joel." I stood up, taking Evian's hand to help him up.

"Topher is…" Stacey paused and the three of them looked at each other for the answer.

Evian finally said, "Topher is Topher. We love the filterless goofball who's too kindhearted to tell a believable lie."

Lucas and Stacey nodded their heads in agreement. We said goodbye outside on the boardwalk, but instead of heading to my place, I took Evian's hand and led him to the nearest bench.

"What's up?" Evian asked, sensing there was something I wanted to say.

"Speaking of Joel…" I rubbed my hand nervously on my thigh until Evian took it and held it with a firm grip. "I asked him the other day if they'd allow a cat to live in my apartment, and he said yes."

It took Evian a second until a gorgeous smile took over his face. "Enzo, are you asking if my cat can move in with you?"

I barked out a laugh and pulled him in for a kiss. "Smartass. What I'm asking is, are you ready to take this relationship up a level and move in with me?"

He wrapped his arms around my neck then peppered my face with kisses. "You bet your Deg-ass, I am."

The End.