Epilogue

Declan – (One Month Later)~

"I missed my period."

I stopped preparing dinner, then turned to look at Keavy standing near the kitchen table, her green eyes wide and looking worried. A full month later, I was still trying to convince her to marry me, but her little announcement just upped the stakes, and she no longer had a choice.

"Is that your way of saying that you need to take a pregnancy test?" I asked evenly, doing my best not to spook her.

Keavy started gnawing on her bottom lip before replying, "I'm on birth control."

"Only abstinence is one-hundred percent effective," I remarked like a biology teacher.

"Birth control's only job is to prevent pregnancy, so how can it not prevent pregnancy?" she asked, and her voice had a tinge of hysteria to it. "It has only one job."

I eyed her. "Would it be so bad to be pregnant?"

Those eyes of hers that I loved so much nearly popped right out of her pretty head. "The whole reason that a woman uses birth control is because she's not ready for kids, Declan."

"You're thirty-two, not twenty-two, lass," I pointed out. "Right now is a perfect time to start a family."

"I've known you a month, Declan," she retorted.

"That changes nothing," I shot back.

"Declan-"

"Take the test, Keavy," I instructed. "No need to panic over the nothing that we don't know."

"What if I'm pregnant?" she asked, making me finally go to her.

"Then we'll have a baby," I said softly. "You'll also have to marry me."

She put her fingertips up to her temple, then began rubbing. "This wasn't part of the plan."

"Yeah, well…neither was you killing Jacob and Ren, but here we are," I drawled out as I put my hands on her hips, then yanked her towards me.

The woman shot me a look that I was quickly getting used to. "This is serious, Declan."

"Oh, on that, we agree," I huffed. "Not sure if you've ever been to an Irish wedding, but they're not fun." The color drained from her face, and I instantly regretted teasing her. "I'm joking, baby."

"Just us," she said, and victory soared in my chest like a motherfucker. "Your family can be witnesses, but that's it. I don't want anything big, Declan."

I took her face in my hands before saying, "I'll do it however you want, Keavy," I promised. "As long as you're marrying me, I have no problem doing it your way."

Lost in thought, she nodded to herself, shaking my hands loose. "Okay," she muttered. "Okay."

"Hey, it's going to be okay," I said, doing my best to reassure her. "I'll break my back every day to make sure that it's okay, Keavy. While you don't need me to, it's my job to take care of you and however many children you give me, and I'll slit my own wrists before I let you guys down like you're expecting me to."

Honest to a fault, she said, "It's not personal."

My lips twitched at that. "I know, baby."

I watched her shake herself out of her doomsday mood, then present a pregnancy test box as she said, "Okay, we might as well get this over with."

"Your pillow talk makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside," I drawled out.

Keavy's eyes narrowed. "I have no problem raising this baby on my own, Declan O'Brien."

"One, maybe," I conceded. "But after the fifth one, you'll come running right back to me."

Her eyes widened again. "You want five kids?"

I grinned. "I want however many you're willing to give me."

After a few seconds of silence, she said, "Tell me that you love me."

"I think that's my line," I chuckled softly.

"Right now, it's mine," she replied seriously.

Taking her face in my hands again, I said, "I love you, Keavy Collins. More than my own life."

"It's sexier when you say it with your accent," she remarked disappointedly.

I stared at the crazy woman before barking out a laugh, because what else would I expect?

The End.