Epilogue

"Ican't believe I'm really having an exhibit dedicated to my artwork." I turned in a full circle, staring in awe at the walls of the small gallery. My drawings hung in beautiful frames with lights shining on each piece.

"They were lucky to snap you up. You're fucking amazing."

I beamed a smile at my husband. Keegan, our youngest at only two months old, was strapped to his chest. Carrying our babies like that didn't take away from his masculinity at all. If anything, it had the opposite effect of making my ovaries spontaneously combust…which was probably why we'd had three children in only five years. Kaylee and Kennedy were a few doors down from the art gallery, having a scoop at the ice cream shop with Molly—Mac and Bridget's eldest daughter. With two in diapers and one almost ready for kindergarten, I'd learned that people were right when they said it took a village to raise children. And I had the best one—the Silver Saints.

Leaning closer, I brushed a kiss against the top of our son's head. "Was that your pitch when you talked to them?"

He flashed me a sexy grin. "I toned down my language some because I didn't want to scare the fuck outta the owner, but yeah."

"Thank you for believing in me."

I'd been stunned when Shane had told me a few months ago that he'd brought his favorite pieces of mine to a gallery, and they were interested in them. I was even more shocked when we met with the owner, who offered me a solo exhibit. That was unusual for an unknown artist, but he insisted that my work didn't need to hang with other artists to bring people into the gallery.

"How could I not, baby? I've hiked my prices five times since you've been helping me with the designs, and my waitlist is still fucking ridiculous."

I rolled my eyes at his compliment. "Only because you're the best swordsmith out there."

"Not gonna deny that"—he swayed side to side as Keegan started to fuss—"but the number of clients I have waiting for shit has more than doubled since you started drawing for me. Your art combined with my forging skills is a killer combo, baby."

"Well, hopefully my work does as well on its own." I padded over to the nearest drawing and traced my fingers over the card beneath it. "I still can't believe he's charging so much."

"And I still think he could have upped the price," Shane muttered.

I rolled my eyes with a giggle. "Only because you're biased."

"Hell yeah, I am," he agreed with a grin. "But that doesn't mean I'm wrong."

I smoothed my hands down the skirt of my dress. "I just want this show to be a success."

"I have no doubt it will be, but you're already a success, baby." He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and lifted my left hand to kiss my knuckle above where his rings rested. "The best wife and mother a man could ask for. A fucking amazing artist who not only has done a shit ton of kick-ass designs for me but also has a bunch of people walking around with her art on their bodies. Including me."

I loved how much faith Shane had in me and how he always gave me his unconditional support. When we first got together, he'd even offered to move to my college town until I was ready to graduate. It would've meant three and a half years away from his club, but he hadn't even hesitated.

That he was so willing to make a sacrifice like that meant the world to me, but dropping out had been an easy decision for me to make, with or without the pregnancy. I'd only gone to college in the first place because I hadn't wanted to disappoint my dad. But after everything he'd done, I had refused to allow his expectations to dictate my future. My art was my passion, and I didn't need a degree to pursue it. Not when I had two thriving businesses vying to use my designs.

It had taken some finagling to get Shane to agree to my drawing for Silver Ink too. He was greedy for my time and attention and didn't like to share me with anyone, but he caved when he realized how excited I was to do some tattoo designs…as long as he got first dibs on anything that wasn't a special request. The man went from having no ink to proudly showing off the ten he'd gotten over the nearly six years we'd been together.

Stroking my fingers down his back, I beamed a soft smile at him as I traced the lines I could see beneath his shirt. I knew them by heart. His first tattoo, one I'd drawn especially for him…a visual representation of how much I loved him. "Don't be surprised if I hit the studio when we get home tonight."

My warning wasn't really needed since I spent a lot of my free time in the large studio Shane had built on the property we'd bought after buying our home. "Feeling inspired by seeing your artwork displayed like this?"

"Nope." I went up on my toes to brush my lips against his, careful not to disturb Keegan. "Just like every day since we met, my love for you is my biggest and best inspiration."