“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I think you could have, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.”

“Definitely not as fun.”

I’d decided to take the leap and publish my book independently, rather than going through the process of finding a new agent and shopping the book around to the big publishers. It had been a daunting prospect, but Gavin had helped. We’d learned a lot together. The book had gone live yesterday, and so far, the reception had been amazing.

And doing everything myself was so empowering. I wasn’t at the mercy of a big company. The fate of this book, and all my future books, was in my hands.

“Time for a toast,” Gavin said and winked at me. He stepped forward and raised his glass. “Hey, everyone. Let’s all lift our glasses to our resident literary genius, and my future wife, Skylar Stanley. She’s not only a talented author, she’s a beautiful person inside and out. And she has great taste in husbands, since she picked me. Congratulations, Sky. I’m so proud of you, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us. Cheers!”

A chorus of, “Cheers,” went around the room. I raised my glass in thanks to everyone here and took a sip.

Gavin hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me close for a kiss.

The caterer served more food and the bartender was a hit. Sven, Cara’s massage therapist, showed up to give shoulder, neck, and foot massages. He looked like a huge Viking, with broad shoulders, a thick beard, and a blond man-bun. Cara said his hands were magic, and she wasn’t wrong.

After Sven’s massage and more champagne, I was relaxed and more than a little bit tipsy. Gram and my parents went home, leaving Gavin and Grace as the only sober people at the party. Everyone else made multiple trips to the bar. The noise level rose, but for once I didn’t mind. Gavin and I laughed, and danced, and celebrated, and laughed some more.

It was the best book launch party I’d ever had.

Of course, it was the only book launch party I’d ever had. But that didn’t diminish its importance to me. In fact, that made it even more special.

The night wore on and some of the guys started a poker game. There were mini cheesecakes and fancy chocolates, and more drinks. Cara gave me a cupcake she’d made herself. It was light and fluffy with delicious buttercream frosting on top. Gavin congratulated her on no longer sucking at baking. She laughed like that was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. Of course, by that point, she was pretty drunk.

Eventually, I started to get sleepy. I didn’t even have to ask Gavin if he minded leaving. He knew without me saying a word. He said goodbye to the guys at the poker table and grabbed my coat for me.

I’d lost track of who was still here and who’d left already. I didn’t see Ginny, but she’d probably gone home to finish packing. I was meeting her for brunch tomorrow, so we could say our goodbyes then.

I thanked everyone for coming and waved goodbye. Gavin put his hand on the small of my back and led me toward the door.

“Oh, wait. I wanted to thank Cara again.” I glanced over the people left, but didn’t see her. “I don’t know where she went.”

“I don’t know, either,” Gavin said. “She probably went upstairs to pass out.”

Still feeling tipsy myself, I leaned against him and giggled. “Probably. That’s okay, I’ll see her soon.”

Gavin led me out to his truck and helped me in. It had been the best night. I was pleasantly buzzed, enjoying the success of my book, and the company of friends and family. I was engaged to the most wonderful man I’d ever known. It was hard to imagine being any happier.

As bad as my life had been when I’d moved to Tilikum, now it was that much better, and more.

We left Cara’s but Gavin didn’t head back to his place. Instead, he drove toward Gram’s.

“Where are we going?”

He glanced at me with a little grin. “I have a surprise for you.”

We drove down the long private drive toward Gram’s house, but didn’t stop there. Instead, he parked outside the house next door, where Grace’s mom and stepdad, Jack and Naomi Cordero lived.

“I’ve been talking to Jack,” Gavin said. “He and Naomi are building their dream home. It’s actually not far from Cara’s. I went out there yesterday, it’s amazing. Great view. Anyway, they’re going to sell this place and I kind of thought maybe we could buy it.”

My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, they’ll give us a really good deal on it. It would give us a great place to start our life together. I grew up out here, it’s an awesome place for kids.”

“Kids?”

“Yeah. We’ll have our own Bailey cubs in a few years, don’t you think?”

I laughed, but not because it was funny. Because this was real. This was my life. I was marrying Gavin Bailey and we were going to have babies and raise them here in Tilikum, and I couldn’t imagine anything better.

“Yes, we definitely will.” My eyes filled with tears. “This is the best surprise.”

“Yeah? You like it? We can go inside and look around when it’s not the middle of the night. But I just thought this would be perfect for us.”

“It’s so perfect. Everything is so perfect.”

I laughed again and Gavin looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about the first time I saw you.”

“When you hit me with your car?”

“Yeah. You were lying in the road and I was freaking out, and I had no idea I’d just hit the man I was going to marry.”

He reached over and ran his fingers down my cheek. “It does make a great story. And that was just the beginning of the adventures of Gav and Sky.”

It was just the beginning. Knowing Gavin, we had a lot of adventures ahead of us. And I couldn’t wait. Because he made me brave. He made me better. And we were going to spend the rest of our lives loving each other.

Loving like crazy.

Epilogue

Logan

My head swam and the walls spun in a dizzying circle. I was so fucking drunk I could barely stand. But I really didn’t care. All that mattered was getting my fucking pants off.

Why was that so hard?

Too much alcohol. That was why.

She grabbed my shirt and yanked me toward her. Our mouths crashed together, tongues darting out. She tasted like bourbon. So fucking delicious.

I kept fumbling with my pants and finally got the button open. Zipper down. Good. Get them off. Gotta get naked. Was she naked? Didn’t know. Couldn’t see. Probably because my eyes were closed.

Her hand wrapped around my dick and I grunted hard. Apparently my pants were down around my ankles. Had I blacked out for a second? Maybe.

Fuck it. I didn’t care. Felt too good.

We stumbled a few steps and tipped over. I couldn’t quite remember where I was, but I was sure glad there was a bed here to catch me. I rolled over, pinning her on her back, and crawled on top of her.

I thrust between her legs, but my erection hit fabric. Damn it, what was in my way? I needed to fuck her, and I needed to do it now.

Bracing myself with one arm, I reached down between us. Panties. I hooked my finger beneath them and groaned. Silky wetness waited for me in there. I slid my finger up and down a few times.