Epilogue

Amy

Six Months Later

I ’m sitting on the back porch of Meli’s home. She has a big two-story Victorian that’s adjacent to her quaint little restaurant. It has the same fairytale style landscaping to make a seamless transition between the home and restaurant. This whole area is so picturesque that when I was looking for a venue for our wedding there was nowhere else I wanted.

The more I get to know Ven’s mom, the more I love her. She’s a very sweet, generous woman, who has not only welcomed us into her beautiful outdoor space for our wedding ceremony, but she also insisted upon catering the entire wedding reception herself. I’m the luckiest woman alive to be marrying Ven and gaining such an awesome mother-in-law.

I hear a voice coming from the sidewalk. “Today’s the big day.”

I watch Dan walking up with a large package in his hand. It’s wrapped in white paper and tied up with silver bow. I can’t imagine what’s inside. I wave for him to come to me and watch him tromp up the footpath, come onto the porch and set the gift down at my feet.

“You didn’t have to get me a gift, Uncle Dan.”

He waves away my comment with one hand. “Of course I did. It’s a wedding and I’m your uncle.”

I had finally warmed up to Dan after my mom told me how he took such good care of her when she was being held at the farm. My mother is really quite fond of him and sees him as family, so I try to see him that way too, especially when I heard how his brothers had left him at the clubhouse to his fate.

“You’re looking pretty sharp in that suit. It looks custom made.”

He fidgets, clearly uncomfortable with my compliment. Smoothing his hand down his suit jacket, he grumbles, “I have a strangely shaped body. Normal suits don’t fit me right. Carol found someone who makes custom suits, only she calls them bespoke. I don’t care about all that. I just want a suit that fits.”

“Well, Miss Stephanie is going to be all kinds of impressed.”

He blushes so hard I think his head is going to explode. “She’s been real nice to me.”

Yeah, since my mom wanted nothing to do with the ranch, Smoke split it so that she got more cash assets and Dan got the land the farm was sitting on. Dan’s now a rich ranch owner who can afford bespoke suits. He wasn’t sure what to do with all the land, but the Savage Legion bought a couple of hundred acres to use for weapons training, so as a result Dan has been hanging out at the Legion clubhouse on the regular. Of course, the club girls have been all over him as his new money has made him immeasurably attractive—despite the fact he’s not a club brother or prospect. He only has eyes for one woman, though. And I honestly believe Stephanie truly likes him too. He treats her a like a lady and always brings flowers and chocolates when he visits her at the clubhouse.

Before I can respond, Stephanie pops around the corner and waves at him. I like the way she lights up when he smiles at her and I can see that it’s the man she wants and not his bank account. Who said club girls can’t make good partners?

“Sorry, gotta run, Amy. See you at the wedding.” I give him an indulgent smile as he rushes to join his woman.

Strong arms slip around me from behind and Ven pulls me back against chest. “Your uncle sure wrapped a nice wedding present.”

I glance down at the big box. “I’d bet the farm that Stephanie wrapped it for him. You know that Dan is all thumbs at fine motor skills.”

“Aren’t we all,” Ven replies.

I turn around in his arms and run my hands up his ripped torso. He’s wearing only the silk pajama bottoms I got for him. His pajamas match my long, white silk robe. Together we look like a perfectly matched wedding couple. Today is our big day and having friends and family gathered feels like having the best of everything, far more than I deserve in fact.

He asks, “Do you think we’re rushing things just a bit?”

My eyebrows shoot up, “Hell no!” I tell him as I run my hands over his chest again. Because, God, that never gets old. “I think that when you know, you know. You’re the one thing in this world that I’m a hundred percent sure about. Nothing in this world could make me call off the wedding at this point.”

“Glad to hear it, sweetheart. I never doubted you, but some of my club brothers thought you might be doing too much.”

My hand went down to my stomach, I’m not showing yet as it’s too early, but Ven and I are having a baby. “You mean because I’m pregnant, we’re in the process of building a house on your mother’s land, and I’m struggling to get my photography studio back up and running?”

He nods.

“I’m guessing it’s the single club brothers who think I should be spending the next eight months sitting around on my ass? Seriously, having a baby is the biggest incentive to get my life sorted that there is,” my eyes are wide with indignation.

Ven shrugs, “I see their point, I’m worried that you’re taking on too much and how that’s going to affect our baby.”

Now both of my hands are anxiously touching my belly, as I ponder his words. “Even though the doc says everything is fine, maybe I should slow down a bit.”

Ven excitedly shouts back to someone in the house. “You owe me a hundred bucks, Rage.”

Rage stomps out, slaps a hundred bucks into Ven’s hand and heads straight to the restaurant without a word.

Ven is positively gleeful and shouts after him, “That’s what you get for betting against my fiancée.” He holds his hundred dollar bill up to the sunshine and then hands it to me. Grinning at me he adds, “Easiest fucking money we ever made.”

“What was that all about?”

“Rage said you were headstrong and would never listen to a word I had to say. Don’t worry, I made him eat his words.”

I narrow my eyes, “Don’t be too sure, sunshine. If you think I’m gonna be barefoot and pregnant you’ve got another thing coming. When I said slow down, I just meant delegate the work, not call off—”

“Shush,” Ven says with a wicked glint in his eyes, “I know what you’re like. I know you’d never do anything just because I asked. But we’re one hundred dollars richer now, how many bottles of photographic developer is that gonna buy?”

I give him a playful shove, “You two are turning out to be more competitive than I imagined you would be when you became blood brothers. Careful you don’t push him too far, babe.”

“Are you fucking kidding me. That man has the skin of a rhino. Trust me, he’ll be okay.”

Suddenly, Meli is at the door, wearing a lovely red silk dress. She looks amazing with her hair piled up on the top of her head. “It is time to get dressed for zee ceremony and you are both sitting here shooting zee breeze. This will not do. Allons y !”

***

Today felt like I was caught in a whirlwind of activity. We got dressed together. Despite the traditions against it, Ven zipped me into my long white gown. It was plain satin with no beading or fuss. I loved the streamlined simplicity and the way it hugged my curves.

Once we’re ready, Ven falls to his knees before me, cups my belly with his large hands and begins to talk to our baby. He whispers all things a baby would care about, like that they were being born into a family with a lot of love to give, a family who would never take him or her for granted. His voice drops and all I hear is whispering after that. I stand there in my wedding gown while he has this very important talk with our child.

After that he kisses me, presses his forehead to mine and whispers, “I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. You’ve brought joy and happiness into my life. Thank you for agreeing to be my wife. I’m going to work hard every single day to ensure you never regret marrying me.”

I cup his face in my hands and tug him down for a kiss. “You’ve become my whole world, Ven. As long as you continue to be the man I fell in love with, I’ll be the happiest woman on planet earth.”

Just when I think this man can’t surprise me anymore, he pulls me into his arms, cups my ass cheeks in both hands, and lifts me up. Something about his kisses this time were hotter and more needy than before. He only sets me down when Siege comes to take him away to his spot for the wedding ceremony.

I check my makeup one last time and head out to the backyard. There are chairs set up, huge bouquets of roses with baby’s breath, and lots of smiling faces. My mother and Meli are sitting in the front row, each in their respective sections.

Since I don’t have a father to walk me down the aisle, Dan does the honors. I can tell that he’s practiced his pacing because during the rehearsal, he let his anxiety get the better of him and was rushing me down the aisle. Now, we’re in a dignified lock step, with Ven beaming from the groom’s position up front, beside Rigs who’s performing the ceremony.

My hands are shaking but the huge bouquet of roses hides that fact pretty well. When I walk past all the club brothers who worked so hard to help me rescue my mom, they are beaming. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for these men. They are good people, down to the very last brother.

We decided to forego attendants, which streamlined the procession. Something buzzes above my head, and I realize that Evan is capturing video footage from overhead with one of Ven’s drones. Having a video of everything will become a cherished family heirloom, enabling me to relive this special day over and over again as the years march on.

Standing in front of all our friends and what little family we have, drives home how found and created family are just as important as biological ones. When Ven and I turn to each other, I realize that every single thing I ever dreamed about was coming true because Ven is the perfect, protective partner whose big heart and handsome face are all I need to find my personal happily ever after.

We say our vows and mean them from the bottom of our hearts. When he kisses me for the first time as my husband, it’s too perfect for words. When he pulls back, the look of love on his face blows my mind.

He cups my face in his hands and asks, “How does it feel being married to a member of the Savage Legion MC? It is as scary as you though it would be when you first met me?”

“It feels amazing, Ven. How about you?”

“I’ve never been fucking happier. I’ve got a beautiful, loving wife and a child on the way. My life is looking up.”

When we walk back down the aisle as a newly married couple, I can’t get over how thrilled I am to start our new life together. With one hand firmly in his and the other still grasping my bouquet all is right with my world.

Intent upon ringing every ounce of pleasure from this day, I stop at the end of the grass and toss the bouquet over my shoulder. The fact that Stephanie is the one to catch the bouquet seems fair in some convoluted kind of way. She’s all smiles and so am I.

As first days of the rest of our lives go, this is shaping up to be wonderful one, filled with laughter, righteous friends, and mothers who get along. Who could ask for more?

THE END