Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Five years later…

JAXON

I know it’s been forever since you’ve heard from me, but in truth we’ve been busier than ever. What do you say? Should I bring you up to speed so you know what’s been happening since that crazy night when Aria and I tied the knot?

You got it!

The day after the wedding, we had our reception with our family and friends. It made our moms happy and that was our intention all along. Then Aria and I were whisked away on a mini honeymoon of sorts. It certainly wasn’t Caleb’s beautiful home in the Maldives, but he was kind enough to let us stay at his penthouse instead. No worries, since we made it to the island on our second anniversary. It was relaxing in the most carnal way, if you get what I’m saying. Then it was balls to the wall while we finished touring. Oh, and my beautiful wife never left my side after saying, “I do.” She still amazes me to this day, and I fall even more in love with her every single day.

Somewhere in the middle of the tour, Zander and Melody had a beautiful baby boy, Jack Ryan Stone. My sister, being the trooper that she is, went on tour with her hubby and brood as soon as ours was finished. She was carrying a mic, and Zander was slinging a diaper bag with two kids in tow. Crazy times, but those two made it appear seamless. Apparently it didn’t faze them in the least, because the newest addition to their family is a beautiful little girl, Amelia Grace Stone. I’m over the moon that now I can say I’m an uncle times three.

As for Ace and Harmony, they tied the knot at a photography convention in New England a few years back. The beautiful autumn colors made for the most picturesque backdrop for the happy couple. Harmony still has her van, Shutterbug, but Ace traded in his RV for an SUV and they built their forever home in the middle of their ten-acre forest. Hey, that’s the adult thing you do when you find out you’re having twins! Naomi and Noah just turned one and it’s been chaos ever since. In the best possible way.

Micah and Lyric are blissfully happy with Gunnar who keeps them on their toes at any given time. Most days they’re trucking him to his swimming lessons, soccer practice, and soon T-ball. Novalee never finished college, instead she moved back home and works for her father’s law firm. In fact, she and her boyfriend Scott just had a little baby boy, Scott Jr. I take advantage of every opportunity I can get to bust Micah’s balls about being a grandpa now. He flips me off just like the good old days. Lyric’s a doting nana and loves every minute of it. Oh, and Gunnar thinks it’s cool that he’s an uncle just like me.

Let me see, what else? Oh yeah, you’d never know that my mom had a stroke because she hasn’t missed a beat. Her favorite thing to do is babysit her grandchildren, and she does that flawlessly. Cooking has taken a backseat ever since they came along. She and Jim do a little bit of traveling in between. A cruise from time to time, or a trip to the Bahamas on occasion. In truth, she’s a homebody and just loves being surrounded by her family. And we’re so damn fortunate and never take a single second for granted ever again.

I’m sure that you’re curious about what happened to Stephanie. Well, four months after Aria and I were married, she and Trent broke up. Can’t say I was surprised because I knew it wouldn’t last. She kept working for Beautify for a few years after that and then moved to Seattle. She’s now working for a media company out there and from what I heard, she’s loving it. As far as I know, she’s not dating anyone seriously. I’m happy for her, I am, because I think she did me a solid all those years ago. For that I am truly grateful and wish her nothing but the best.

Now I bet you’re wondering what Aria and I have been up to, right? Well, I’d like to think we’re still in the honeymoon phase, but she begs to differ. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we’re like two ships passing in the night. She’s been crazy busy at Glamify since she was promoted to Editor-in-Chief!

Can you believe it? I’m so damn proud of everything that she’s accomplished over such a short period of time.

So, for the next year, while Rebel Riot is on hiatus, I’m the stay-at-home dad. Yep, this metal head drummer and his sexy EIC are the proud parents of Wyatt who just turned three and Stella who is six months old. They already have me wrapped around their little fingers. I’m in awe of these two tiny humans. As far as I’m concerned, they can do no wrong, but Aria strongly disagrees. I’m sure there will come a time when I’ll need to discipline them, but that time sure the fuck isn’t now.

At the end of the day, once we’ve tucked in the kids, I’m content to curl up with my beautiful wife. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t tell her how much I love her and this beautiful life we’ve built together. And I let her know over and over again…

“You are my paradise, and I would happily get stranded on you for a lifetime.”

Did you think I’d leave you without another one of my quirky phrases?

Only when hell freezes over…

The End