“Yes.”
The crowd below went wild. Jace’s face broke out into a wide grin. He leaned forward and kissed me, even as I felt the cool slide of the ring on my finger.
“Nice shirt,” he whispered.
“It is,” I agreed, equally quiet. “But I’d rather be wearing you.”
He groaned. “Angel, don’t tempt me. I’m a man on the edge. Literally.”
I laughed, aware that he was balanced on the sloped porch roof. “Get in here, my rock star Romeo.”
He somehow managed to squeeze his broad shoulders through the window. The moment his feet were on the floor, mine left it as he lifted me up and pulled me against him in a fierce embrace.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“I missed you too.”
“Don’t ever leave me again, Eva. I won’t survive it.”
My heart squeezed. “Don’t ever give me a reason to.”
“Never.”
He sealed that promise with a kiss that curled my toes ... and made me wet between the legs.
“You’re not married yet. I expect you both down here in two minutes,” my father yelled up.
The crowd outside laughed, as did we, realizing we still stood in front of the window and were putting on a show of our own.
“Guess we’d better head down, huh?”
Jace kissed the tip of my nose and then entwined his fingers with mine. “Yes. I don’t want to get on my future father-in-law’s bad side right out of the gate. He’s already offered to show me his commercial dough hooks if I don’t treat his daughter like the amazing woman she is.”
I grinned, feeling the warmth spreading throughout my body. “And you agreed to that?”
“Of course. How often does a man find his very own angel?”
Epilogue
Dear Ida,
I’m writing to tell you this will be my last email. No offense, but I don’t need your advice anymore. I’ve gotten everything I ever wanted. Thanks for always being there with a sympathetic ear and words of wisdom. – Deliriously Happy
* * *
Dear Deliriously Happy,
No problem, cousin. Stay in touch ☺
~ * ~
Eva
Fifteen Months Later, Willow Woods, New York
I pressed a kiss to my husband’s chest, right over an inked set of wings and my name, Evangelica. He’d liked my new tattoo so much, he decided to get one of his own when we visited Soraya and Graham.
I carefully extracted myself from his arms and slid from the cozy warmth of our bed. Donning an ankle-length robe of luxurious microfiber, I padded over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the dawn and lost my breath. The entire landscape was white, as far as the eye could see. Acres and acres of pristine, glistening powder, broken only by the patches of deep green from the pine forest surrounding our home, were made all that much more brilliant by the perfect, cloudless blue sky.
The scent of baking cinnamon rolls slipped beneath the door and filled the room, making me smile. Jace had flown my parents up for the holidays. Talk about Christmas miracles! Over the past year, Jace had somehow convinced them that they should work less and enjoy life more. I’d never thought they’d go for it, but then again, my husband was a silver-tongued devil with the charm to match. As a result, D’Agolino’s Bakery now had one full-time and two part-time employees, giving my parents a chance to go places and do things, like spend the holidays with us.
Even as a guest in our home, my mother felt the need to rise early and bake something. Chances were, Jace’s mom was right there beside her. The two women had become instant friends, sharing recipes and stories as if they had known each other forever.
Our fathers weren’t much different. The moment Jace had told his dad that my father was an avid fisherman, the two hadn’t stopped talking. Over the past year, they’d taken at least three float trips down the nearby river and were planning a serious trip up to Canada in the spring. That trip had somehow grown to now include all of Jace’s brothers, Eric, Brian and Tommy, and even Ross. They didn’t know it yet, but the women in the family were planning a little downtime of our own.
I glanced back at Jace, the peace of heavy slumber still upon him, and sighed. I would let him sleep in this morning. He’d devoted more than half the night to me after all. Between the crowded house and my raging hormones, the poor man hadn’t had a prayer. I grinned, wondering if he’d figured it out yet. I’d been insatiable the last time I was pregnant too.
“It’s my turn to hold her.” Brian’s voice, slightly muffled, sounded from the small digital baby monitor.
“Not yet,” Tommy replied.
“She’s my baby sister too, you know.”
“Yeah, but she likes me better. Now, stop whining and shut it before you wake up Mom.”
My grin grew. Brian and Tommy were ecstatic about being big brothers, and our little Angela absolutely adored them. I’d admit, I’d been worried at first, not knowing how they would react.
A lot had happened in a short amount of time. A week after Jace proposed, we got married in a small private ceremony, and I was pregnant a month after that.
That caught us all by surprise, me included. Being in my mid-thirties, I didn’t think I’d conceive right away, but I was thrilled. So was Jace. And, of course, my parents and his parents and ... well, let’s just say, everyone was happy.
Jace was especially ecstatic. He loved kids, and I had known he was going to be a great dad. Spoiler alert: I had been right, and he was.
I rubbed my slightly rounded belly, hoping he was ready for round two. I planned on telling Jace first thing Christmas morning. Then, we could share the news with our immediate families, who had gathered together to celebrate with us this year.
Brian and Tommy were on winter break from the university, as were Jackie’s girls. They’d bonded from the get-go. As far as we could tell, it wasn’t serious—at least, not yet—but it was impossible to deny the energy when the four of them got together. It could make for some interesting family dynamics in the future.
Both boys had decided that, while they liked music and might someday try their hand at making a career of it, college was more important. I suspected Jace had a lot to do with their decision, and I was profoundly grateful for it. He and the rest of the guys in Dark Wing said whenever the boys felt the road calling, they were more than welcome to take the stage with them, and in fact, Dark Wing had already brought them in on some studio recordings. Of course, they had their uncle Ross ready and willing to back them should they ever change their minds. Once they had their degrees, that was.
In truth, the short tour they’d had with Black Raven helped also. They had gotten to see firsthand the dangers of what could happen if they didn’t have their heads on straight, and they realized the importance of having an education to fall back on.
Things had been rougher on the tour than they’d let on. I hadn’t learned the extent of it until much later, and there was still probably a lot they weren’t telling me, but you know, I was okay with that. I didn’t need to know everything. As far as I was concerned, Brian and Tommy had already proven they had their priorities straight.
As for Ian, he’d successfully made it through rehab and was reportedly doing well. The premature cancellation of the Black Raven tour had been a wake-up call for him, though according to Ross, it was Brian and Tommy who’d had the greatest impact. Apparently, right before they left the tour, they thanked Ian and told him that they were glad they’d had the chance to know him before he wound up dead due to an overdose. Their raw, brutal honesty had finally cracked Ian’s shield of perceived immortality.