Epilogue

Shana

Five years later

It's the quiet part of the late afternoon, when I haul out our wedding album to look at it while our two-year-old daughter naps. I can't believe it's already our fifth wedding anniversary.

Memories flood me as I settle into an armchair and leaf through the heavy pages. We had such a good time that day, and the party after is still one for the record books. It didn't matter that everything was on sale or that my sister and I did all the flowers ourselves. My nieces' flower girl dresses were their Easter dresses from that year and all of us nearly passed out, blowing up balloons for the reception hall.

As I turn another page, smiling at how handsome Caleb looked in the rented tuxedo, my eyes fall to the massive diamond ring on my finger. He gave it to me three years ago on our anniversary and it doesn't just signify our love, but how hard he worked to pay off our debt. When we finally paid it off, he struck out on his own and made a killing. Between that and my somewhat brief time on tour as a singer, we've made a comfortable life here.

I hold up my hand, entranced as the flawless rock catches the sunlight streaming through the window. I love it and am proud of his success, but I still get up and go into our bedroom and take my original engagement ring out of my jewelry box. It's a thin gold band with barely a chip of a diamond, paling when compared to the sparkler I wear now. But the flimsy little ring still gives me a thrill. Caleb loved me enough to scrape together his meager earnings for it back then, even after I told him I didn't need one.

Looking at the wedding album and my old ring makes me think of our tiny garage apartment. We had such good times there and made so many wonderful memories. I honestly wouldn't mind still being back there.

There's a scuffle on the baby monitor, then a wail, and I hurry down the long, marble hallway to Chrissie's nursery. She stands in her custom crib and tosses her blanket over the side as she reaches her arms out to me. I kiss her downy head as she snuggles up under my chin, but only for a second before she squirms away, pointing to the door.

Our daughter is going through a phase where all she wants is her daddy, so I check the hand-painted fairy clock on her wall.

"Okay," I say. "We can go get Daddy."

Chrissie settles down as I carry her outside, past the pool, to the guesthouse that Caleb turned into a home office last year so he can have more time with us. The fragrance of the rose bushes in our garden fills my nose, and I can't help but smile at my earlier musings.

Okay, this is a lot better than the garage apartment, as long as we're all together.

Caleb seems surprised that it's time to quit work for the day already. He always gets wrapped up in the company business, continuing to add to our vast fortune. He just as easily snaps into family man mode, stretching out his back as he stands, then reaching for Chrissie.

"Are you singing at the club tonight?" he asks, giving me a kiss.

Opening the club was a dream come true for me. I get to sing and perform whenever I want, while still staying close to my family. But right now, I frown. He knows darn well I'm not performing at the club tonight. Or, at least, he'd better. His grin melts my heart as his blue eyes meet mine.

"I know it's our anniversary," he says, pleased with his joke.

We hang around in the yard, taking turns rolling a big pink ball to Chrissie until my sister arrives to take her for a sleepover with her cousins. Caleb's eyes darken as he watches their car leave our driveway. A rare night all to ourselves.

"What do you have planned?" he asks, slipping his arm around me.

"Well," I say, leading him upstairs to our room. "I hope you aren't too disappointed." I turn on some music and melt against him. We sway in each other's arms as I look up at him. "We've been so busy ever since we opened the club, and I'm performing there most nights, so I thought we could just stay in tonight."

He pulls me close and I can feel his hard length pressing against my belly. He smiles and whirls me in a circle to the music.

"It's perfect," he says, leaning down to kiss me. "You're perfect."

I don't get into our usual cheesy argument about who's more perfect, and just let my eyes drift shut as his tongue slides between my lips. I draw him nearer to our giant bed, eager to get our anniversary party for two started. He chuckles as he begins to pull my blouse out of my skirt, then tugs at the edge of my bra.

He whispers that he loves me, something I never tire of hearing, and his hand covers my breast. I lean back, still holding onto his shoulders, so he can nuzzle my neck while he brings my nipple to a taut peak under my bra.

"Get it off," I say. "All my clothes."

A moment later, he pops the buttons on my top and slides it down my arms. I shake my head at him, not really caring about the blouse. That's what tailors are for, and the one I go to has lots of practice sewing on buttons.

While kissing me so deeply, he has to hold me up to keep me from swooning backward, Caleb expertly unhooks my bra, capturing my breasts in his warm hands. I open my eyes to see him looking down at me reverently.

"You just keep getting prettier," he says in that drawl that sends lust coursing through me.

"And you're still the hottest man I know," I tell him.

He shrugs off the compliment and picks me up, sweeping me onto the bed. "I know we have all the time in the world with Chrissie at your sister's, but I need to be inside you now, Shana."

"There's no reason we can't do this a dozen times tonight," I assure him. "If you're up for it."

He smirks at me, accepting the challenge. When he's laid out beside me, his impatience seems to recede as he studies my face for a long time. I take in every dark shade of blue in his eyes, the way his lashes tangle at the outer edges because they're so long. Everything about him fascinates me, and time hasn't dulled that at all.

"I never get tired of looking at you," he says, mirroring my thoughts. His hand glides down my body to push my skirt up, his fingers teasing me through my panties. "Let's get started on the first round, shall we?"

At my nod, he yanks my panties down, his fingers sinking into my soaking, slippery folds. I sigh as he makes a hungry sound. "That's what you do to me," I tell him.

His thumb strokes my clit, back and forth as he pushes deeper. "Spread your legs wider, little girl," he orders.

The old nickname makes me shiver and roll toward him, dragging him on top of me. I'm the impatient one now. I wrap my legs around his hips, moaning when I feel his stiff rod pulse against my pussy. Sometimes we're wild, sometimes we're fast and furious, and sometimes, like now, all we need is to look into each other's eyes and it's enough.

As soon as his thick length is buried deep inside me, his gaze locks with mine, causing me to tumble over the edge.

"How?" I cry out as the first orgasm rocks me and I have to dig my fingers into his back. "How do you do this to me every single time?"

And I ask myself how I got so lucky to have Caleb, not just as my husband, but still my best friend. The man who sacrificed everything for me.

He's not too far behind me, and finds my clit with his magical fingers, forcing me to come again as he fills me with a shout. We hang onto each other, his face pressed into my shoulder as his movements slow and our breath returns to normal.

"I should ask you how," he gasps as we lie here limp for several long minutes. "How do you always feel so damn good?"

Overwhelmed with love, I grab his face and kiss him hard. "Thank you," I say.

His face clouds with confusion. "What for? I haven't even given you your gift yet."

"You know what for," I say. "For being my first and only and best and—"

"Okay, I get it," he laughs. "Now tell me what you really want, because you never butter me up this hard unless you're scheming."

I lightly tap his nose, but he's right. I have been scheming a little. "Well, I had a great idea for the nightclub," I say, drawing out the suspense until his eyebrows practically meet his hairline. "A monthly auction."

His brows slam back down and he pushes up, looking like he might need CPR if I don't stop teasing.

"For music memorabilia," I hurry to tell him. "There's a gigantic market for it and we can take part of the proceeds and donate the money to the county music festival. What do you think?"

His mouth curls up in a smile as he shakes his head at me. "I think you're going to end up giving me a heart attack for sure, but baby, I don't want to go any other way."

~The End