Epilogue

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER

" W hat do you think?" Rowan asked, rubbing her cheek and leaving a smear of grass green paint behind. "Is it too bright?"

Leith adjusted the stack of boxes he was carrying as he paused to admire the mural of wildflowers and grasses his mate painted on the side of their garage. "No. All that color is going to be a perfect backdrop for the garden we have planned."

"Little bro," Draig bellowed from inside their new house, "where do you want these boxes?"

He rolled his eyes, wedging his own box on top of a stack in the garage.

Rowan snickered as she tamped down the tops of her paint cans, her flower mural mostly complete. Maybe. She might decide to change it up later. Artistic license and all that. "I mean, it's sweet of him to help us move in." She grimaced at the loud crash that came from inside the old Victorian they'd recently purchased. Boy, she hoped that wasn't anything important.

"All he has to do is read what it says on the box." Leith scrubbed his hand through his hair, tugging at his horn. "We have what room things go in written on every single side."

"As long as everything gets out of the moving truck and into the house or the storage pod, we can shift things around later." She grabbed his jaw and gave him a hard kiss. "Besides, we've only renovated our bedroom and the kitchen so far. Everything's going to have to move around, anyway. So let him do his chaotic big brother thing and don't worry about it."

Eloise breezed past them, a single box in hand. "I'll corral him for you. Better, I'll take him off your hands for a bit," she said with a wink.

"You're a lifesaver," Rowan said, making a shooing motion. "We'll finish up here. But come back around six. We're grilling out. Granny's all excited about the fancy cake she's bringing from Sir Bakes-A-Lot."

"Excellent," Eloise said. "I'll make sure we work up an appetite."

"Gah, don't traumatize me in your sex life, especially if my brother is involved." Leith covered his ears and chanted. "La-la-la."

Eloise giggled and ran into the house, quickly reemerging with a grinning Draig in tow.

"See ya soon, you two lovebirds," the big demon bellowed.

"Does he have to shout like that every time?" Leith asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're trying to make a good impression on the neighbors. I really don't want to be known as that neighbor." He pulled down the garage door, securing the boxes within.

Together, they moved the rest of the boxes from the truck to the red storage pod on the driveway in front of the garage.

"He's harmless," she said, setting down a particularly heavy box with a thud.

Sort of. Personally, she hadn't totally forgiven him for what he put her grandmother through. Granny had, though. Unsurprisingly, the feisty old lady made him cry first, but after a cathartic sob-fest and a box of tissues, all was forgiven. Draig even got the go-ahead to call her Granny. An honor, indeed.

With the truck empty and the storage pod full, they secured both before collapsing on the wicker loveseat they'd placed on the Victorian's wraparound porch.

Rowan laced her fingers with Leith's. "Love this house," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze. "I've loved it from the first time I saw it."

"So I wasn't your first?" she teased, poking his side. "I'm crushed that an old, neglected house captured your heart before I could."

He lifted her hand to his lips. "Don't be jealous. I love you almost as much as I love this porch."

She snickered. "I'm not sure you can compete with my gorgeous new kitchen. Have you seen those countertops? Chef's kiss," she said, making the gesture.

"You know," he said, giving her a sly look, "I don't think we've properly tested out those countertops."

She lifted a brow. "The refinished wide oak flooring wasn't enough for you?"

"Never enough. A homeowner should be familiar with every square inch of their home."

"I've never been a homeowner before. Is this a hard and fast rule?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Yes. Hard and fast. Exactly that."

She giggled. "Race you." Before he could blink, she sprang up and disappeared into the house.

He caught her in the kitchen. "Such a cheater, love," he said, scooping her up and depositing her on the cool surface of their shiny, new countertops.

She stroked the sides of his face, then cracked his glamour and wrapped her hands around his sensitive horns. "Pfft. You love the chase." She kissed him, her fingers dancing over the twisting curves. "I love you, Leith."

"I love you, Rowan, always and forever," he said, his hands sliding under her shirt, his fingers skating over the soft skin of her back. "My gorgeous, amazing mate."