Beneath me, her legs lax at our sides, hands now trailing along my back.

“That was a hell of a yes, Beauty.”

She chuckles, her hands coming around to rub along my chest.

I lift until I can look her in her eyes.

My Beauty.

My girl.

My future.

Epilogue

Victoria

“Hey, ZoZo,” I whisper.

“What?” she attempts to whisper back, but there is no way she didn’t gain the attention of the entire car.

It’s confirmed when I’m not the only person who laughs.

“ZoZo, is Rora trying to get you to tell her our secret?” Captain asks from the driver seat.

I peek through my fingers, making eye contact with her and shake my head with a grin.

Her little jaw drops. “Rora! That’s bad! Daddy said no peeking!”

Her hands come up to cover my eyes for me.

“She can’t see, Daddy. I fixed it.”

Royce laughs at my side and the sound of a body shifting on leather lets me know Raven has turned in her seat to look back as well.

“Good job, Zo. Almost there, Beauty, keep those eyes closed a couple more minutes,” Captain says.

As Captain said we would be, only minutes later he announces we’re pulling off the highway, and then the ride grows a little bumpy.

“Keep them closed,” he says as the roar of the engine quiets, and the doors around me begin to open.

I listen as he unbuckles Zoey’s seat, hearing her little shouts as she tells her Uncle Bro to “wait up.”

Captain chuckles, his hand skating along my thigh until he reaches my seatbelt and unclips it. “She’s becoming a mini Royce. I’m kinda scared,” he jokes.

I laugh, pinching my eyes closed tighter as he drags me across the seat by my hips until my legs are hanging from the door, his body between them.

“Don’t open them yet, just listen,” he tells me as he grips my hands. “All your life you had what others gave you, did what others told you, and then you came here, and every move you made was for someone else. Never you.”

His forehead falls to mine, and I soak in the feeling, lacing my fingers with his. “Cap...”

“Today, I want you to look around and find what you love. What speaks to you, and I want you to have it.”

My mind begins to race as I try to imagine where we are and what exactly he’s talking about, and then he helps me step from the truck, the door softly closing behind me as he places himself at my back.

His lips find my ear, and at first, he teases, blowing hot air only to kiss me on the skin just beneath.

His airy chuckle tells me my soft moan and involuntary shiver is what he was after. “My baby, always needy.”

“You make me this way,” I rasp, my head falling to his shoulder.

“I’ll keep you this way.”

“Promise?”

“Open your eyes, Beauty.”

I don’t hesitate and as they fly open, I freeze.

And then the slightest bit of wind blows toward us, and with it an array of scents I couldn’t pinpoint if I tried.

Row after row after row, tower after tower... flowers as far as I can see.

Every shape, color, and kind and more.

Large greenhouses sit on each side, holding who knows what inside.

People walk all over, wheelbarrows in tow, picking the perfect florae.

Picking what speaks to them.

I swallow, and he spins me in his arms, his knuckles sliding under my chin to lift my eyes to his. “Purple was given to you, it’s been good to you, but if you got to choose, what color would you pick?”

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out, so I shake my head.

His smile is soft, as are his lips when they brush along mine. “Come on, baby. Let’s go find you.”

I nod, turning in his arms to find Raven, Maddoc, Royce, and Zoey now standing a few feet ahead of us, a wheelbarrow for us at their feet.

“Ready?” Raven grins, her belly almost full-grown now.

I nod, grab Captain’s hand and off we go.

We needed more than a wheelbarrow.

Thankfully, the nursery had delivery trucks, which we filled to the brim, but not just me.

I can say with complete certainty none of the boys have ever been to a nursery before, not that I had either. They went overboard.

Any and everything Raven, Zoey, or I stopped to look at for more than a second, they snapped their fingers and had someone load up. Eventually, me and Raven shared a look and stopped pausing completely.

Naturally, they noticed and got mad about it.

All we did was laugh, though.

Here we are, four days later, sitting on the back patio looking out at all the added life around the property.

“So, pink, huh?” Raven turns toward me. “I figured you for more of a... I don’t know, not girly.”

I laugh, my eyes moving to my garden.

A large white marble bench with plush black cushions sits in the center, matching stones that lead to the seat trail in front of it, all cased in by bright, florescent pink flowers of every kind.

“He went a little overboard, didn’t he?” I laugh.

But Raven only smiles. “Nah. He did good, Vee.”

I smile, stand, and walk over to the added ‘piece of me,’ as Cap called it.

He had it built just outside my window, said so I could look out at it anytime I wanted and see something that would forever be mine.

That’s the part that got me.

This is my home, my future.

My purpose.

All the bad shit along the way had to be to lead me here today. To them.

To him.

Any other time, be it sooner or later, and things wouldn’t have happened as they did, Zoey might not be here.

Everything went as it was supposed to.

“Hey.”

I smile, glancing at Captain over my shoulder.

He hides something behind his back.

“Hey.” I grin, spinning to him. “Whatcha got?”

“It’s not for you.” He tips his head, smiling at me as he brings a dozen white roses around for me to see. He leans in, kissing me softly, but as soon as the kiss deepens, he tugs away.

“Come with me,” he whispers.

“I mean, I’m trying, but...” I tease.

He laughs loudly, throwing his head back and grabs my hand, leading me to the truck. “Later, baby. Promise.”

I grin, following him. “I thought we were going swimming?”

“We are when we get home. Just a quick stop.” He opens the doors of his SUV.

Zoey already sits inside, buckled and ready to go, a small purple bouquet in her grasp. “Rora, look what I have.”

“Those are so pretty, ZoZo.”

She smiles, smelling the center of them and looks out the window.

Captain slides inside, and we’re on the road in seconds.

Not long into the drive, I realize where we’re going, and then we’re pulling into the Brayshaw cemetery.

Once we’re parked, the three of us climb out, and Zoey runs right for where she knows Connor Perkins was buried.

Captain and I catch up, and she waits for him to remove the other set that couldn’t be more than a week old, and quickly places the new ones inside the built-in vase.