Page 127

Epilogue

Three weeks later

Frowning at my reflection in the mirror, I tugged at the sleeve of my dress.

Kaden stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His warm hands pressed my body, and he kissed me behind the ear.

“You’re thinking too much again,” he murmured. He let his fingers drift downward. I promptly removed them.

“Dawn and Scott will flip out when they see it.” I lifted my right arm and Kaden rolled up the sleeve to reveal my new tattoo.

Not broken, just bent.

He laughed and lifted my wrist to his lips. There he planted the first kiss, and worked his way up.

“In my opinion the whole world ought to see it,” he whispered against my skin; I caught my breath.

“They’re going to think we’re crazy, Kaden.”

“And they won’t be wrong,” he said, then nibbled on my neck.

“I got a damned tattoo. Because I am crazy. Because you’re crazy—we’re both out of our minds to move in together again!” I pulled down my sleeve. “If my parents found out, they’d lose it.”

He took a step back and let go of me. “It sounds like you’re looking for a reason for us to fail, Bubbles.”

“It’s the truth.”

Kaden lifted one eyebrow. “We lived together before. Why should we care what they think? It’s none of their business. It’s our business.”

Before I could respond, he bent down and kissed me. And I lost all resistance, flinging my arms around his shoulders. He moved his mouth slowly against mine but after a few seconds I pulled myself free. If we didn’t stop now, we’d never leave this room.

“You can’t just kiss me every time I turn around.”

He raised an eyebrow, but his eyes were still closed. “Why not? It works so well.”

I wanted to sock him but he pinned my arms back, laughing. Then he pulled me close again and rubbed his face in my hair.

“No regrets, right?”

I couldn’t look him in the eyes, he was holding me so close. So I just stroked his back. “I don’t regret a thing.”

And I meant it from the bottom of my heart. My heart was also telling me it didn’t matter what my parents thought. Not about our apartment. Not about my tattoo. Not about Kaden.

For the first time in my life I was truly happy. Just thinking about it almost brought me to tears.

“Good,” answered Kaden, with an ominous tone, and before I knew it he had hoisted me over his shoulder. I yelled in a most unladylike manner and pounded his back.

“I’m wearing a dress, Kaden! Put me down!” I cried.

“Yeah, well the others have been waiting for us forever. And if you keep on looking for signs of the coming apocalypse of our relationship we’ll never make it out of here. So… ” He concluded with a slap on my behind. I squealed and took my revenge by pinching his side. He drew in a breath, laughing, and almost banged into the doorframe. He didn’t put me down until he had closed the bedroom door behind us. Kaden’s smug grin had earned him a serious swat on the rear. But Dawn arrived just then, interrupting my intentions with a warm hug.

“Finally,” she sighed. Then she grabbed my arms and looked into my eyes, as if to check on the state of my soul. “Were you trying to hide from the world again?”

I looked around our decorated living room, saw the fancy garlands and colorful string lights, gifts from Dawn after my move. The table was loaded with tasty snacks. Scott was sitting on the couch laughing about something Micah had whispered in his ear. We’d only just met Micah today, but he already seemed like an old friend.

Spencer was in the kitchen, debating with Monica about how long his homemade pizza should stay in the oven. Ethan was listening in, shaking his head and smiling.

My eyes turned to Kaden, who had just grabbed a skewer with grapes from the table and was inspecting it, when I shot him a grin. With a soft meow, Spidey poked his head out from under the couch. Kaden bent down to scoop up the kitten, who by now was nearly twice as large as our TV remote. Kaden scratched him under the chin and smiled as Spidey started to purr. My heart felt both heavy and light and a familiar tingling spread from my scalp to the tips of my toes.

“I wasn’t hiding,” I answered, meeting Dawn’s gaze. “Not anymore.”

For so much of my life I had been hiding. Living behind a façade. All that had come to an end after I’d moved to Woodshill. I came here looking for freedom—but I’d found much more. Of course there would be dark days—there were always some of those. But at times like these, when my heart seemed so full, I knew the pain had been worth it. After all, it was through pain that I had learned to find true happiness.