Page 36

EPILOGUE

Late October

Emory

When I started planning my ten-year high school reunion, I never dreamed I’d walk in with a man I loved on my arm.

I hadn’t looked forward to revisiting my high school days when expectations had such a stranglehold on me.

But now?

I was the guy who broke expectations and set tongues wagging by falling in love with a man. And honestly, after facing my family, the town busybodies didn’t even faze me.

Allison waved to us from the table where she sat with Matteo. She was wearing an elegant, off-the-shoulder gown that was black and silver, and Matteo cleaned up pretty nice in a charcoal sport coat over a T-shirt.

Ezra Jenkins, a local doctor, was holding court with a swarm of women who never would have given him the time of day in high school. Marty escorted Sasha across the ballroom to join us, looking pretty dang suave in a nicely tailored navy blue suit. She wore a clingy red dress that hit her mid-thigh.

The Class of 2015 geeks were representing tonight, proving I wasn’t the only one who’d changed since high school.

Marcia Denning, one of the meanest girls to rule the halls, had shown up sans husband. Todd, still trying to relive his glory days in a too-tight football jersey, was hitting on her by the bar—so okay, maybe not everyone had changed.

But most of us were in a state of constant evolution.

“This is weird,” Gray muttered, gaze darting from face to face at the reunion.

Even though we’d been on a few dates around town since I came out, he looked like he wanted to disappear into a corner now.

Much as he’d done when we were in high school.

I nudged him. “You’re dating the class president. That makes you one of the popular kids now.”

“I guess I’ve come a long way from that outcast with a crush on the golden boy in town,” he said. “You sure you want to tarnish your reputation with a bad boy like me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. You’re a big softy, and you know it.”

He pulled out my chair for me, demonstrating he was a gentleman, not some bad boy—despite his edgier vibe in dark jeans, a black T-shirt, and a leather jacket. With the rings on his fingers and the few tattoos peeking out of his sleeves, he would never totally blend into any crowd, and I liked him that way.

I took my seat, smiling as he sat so close to me our thighs rubbed.

I was used to Gray always being my rock—it was nice to be the one he leaned on for a change. I still carried my brother’s loss with me, but I’d recently started therapy at Gray’s suggestion, and I was learning how to make peace with it.

My brother wouldn’t want me to torture myself over what happened that day. If anything, I owed it to him to make the most of the life I had.

Which was why I’d decided I was going to apprentice at Anarchy Ink. I’d talked to Dad about going down to part time at the bank and training Shayla to transition into my place.

He wasn’t happy, exactly, but he was accepting—which was probably the best I could have hoped for. It was still hard, disappointing him, but my family had shown that they genuinely wanted me to make choices for myself, so that helped.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever entirely walk away from the bank. I liked spending time with my father and grandfather. Liked the way I’d been able to work with Allison to help people. But making space for the things that made me happy was important too.

Like my art.

And my new boyfriend.

Marty took a swig of the beer that was free at the bar. “You did a great job with the decorations,” he told Allison.

Each table had a floral centerpiece, a dish full of dainty candies, and a small votive candle. There was an arch covered in balloons in Riverton’s blue-and-yellow colors for photos. Next to it, a table was covered in props like pom-poms, sparkly tiaras, and letter jackets.

Last night, we’d sponsored a float in the parade, and Sasha had rounded up some volunteers to cruise through downtown to represent our class.

“Thanks,” Allison said. “Gold Community Bank was generous with our budget.”

I smiled faintly. “I may not have that pull in the future, so enjoy it.”

Allison scoffed. “Please, you’re still their favorite person ever.”

I hoped so, but it was nice to hear, anyway.

“Maybe Anarchy Ink will sponsor the next event Emory is involved in,” Gray said, nudging me. “Soon, he’ll be a crazy-talented tattoo artist.”

Sasha’s eyes lit up. “Can I get a friend discount? I’ve been wanting new ink.”

“Slow down, I’m just an apprentice. It’ll be like two years before I can do my own tats.”

“Bummer.” She shrugged. “It’ll probably be two years before I can afford it.”

We all laughed and continued to drink and chat. I realized—to my surprise—I was having a good time. Gray looked like he was tolerating the trip down memory lane relatively well too. I’d dragged him along to the last couple of reunion planning sessions so he’d get more comfortable with my friends and wouldn’t feel like a loner.

It must have worked because he seemed at ease as Allison and Sasha reminisced about their cheerleading days.

Marty leaned in toward me. “Dude, I can’t believe I’m dating a cheerleader.”

“Told you that you were selling yourself short,” I said.

He wrinkled his nose. “You also called me cute.”

Sasha overheard. “You are cute. How do you think you won me over?”

“With my very masculine sexiness?” he suggested.

“Well, that too.” She batted her eyes playfully. “I found it very sexy when you carried my groceries for me.”

“Hell yeah,” Gray said, raising his hand for a high-five. “That’s a real man right there.”

Music poured out from the speaker system, a Maroon 5 hit from our senior year in high school.

“Ooh, this is a good one,” Allison said, shimmying in her seat.

Matteo looked at her with the kind of sappy, adoring gaze that was utterly embarrassing.

Probably the same look I was giving Gray right now.

“Want to dance?” I asked, unsure if he’d be the type to prefer sitting it out. We hadn’t ever gone clubbing, both of us preferring quiet dinners, movie nights, drinks with his brothers, and long rides through the countryside on his bike.

“Anytime, golden boy.” He held out his hand, and my gaze landed on his Bro Code tattoo. Maybe one day, he’d wear a tattoo that symbolized our bond too.

Maybe we both would.

I took his hand, and we crossed to the dance floor. Allison and Matteo followed close behind while Marty and Sasha lingered at the table, content to talk. I wasn’t surprised. Marty had sat out every dance at prom too. But Sasha didn’t look as if she minded.

I slid my arms around Gray’s neck, and he put his big hands on my waist. We weren’t the only same-sex couple at the reunion. Lacy Harding had brought her wife.

But Lacy had been openly gay in high school. She hadn’t surprised our whole class the way I had.

All eyes turned toward us as we began to sway to the music.

“Still the golden boy, drawing every eye in the room,” Gray murmured.

“I think that’s you,” I said. “They’re all jealous of me for landing such a gorgeous man.”

“Agree to disagree.”

I pressed my forehead against his. “I don’t really care why they’re looking. I don’t care what they’re saying.” My eyes locked on his. “As long as you’re with me, I know everything is right in my world. That’s all I’ll ever need.”

He put his hand to my jaw, tilting my face up much as he had that first night we met. It seemed so long ago—and also like it had been just last night. I’d gone to a fancy gala then too, worn a nice suit, and danced.

That night, I’d been miserable, stuffing down the parts of me that didn’t fit the picture everyone expected to see.

So much had changed, and I didn’t know if it could have happened if Gray hadn’t rescued me that night. If he hadn’t shown me what I was missing and given me something to fight for.

I should have fought for myself, but let’s be real, I was in my people-pleaser era, and I might never have done it. So, I was grateful for Gray’s timing, for his patience, and for the love and support he gave me as I wrestled with old demons and figured out what I really wanted out of life.

“You’ll always have me,” Gray said seriously. “In fact…”

“Yes?”

“I want you to move in. Now that you’re going part-time at the bank, and the apprenticeship doesn’t pay anything?—”

“I don’t want to annoy your brothers.”

“They’ll get headphones,” he said. “Besides, they love you. So what do you say, Em? Will you live with me? Wait, let me rephrase. Do you want to live with me?”

My heart skipped happily. I didn’t even have to think about this one.

“There’s nothing I want more.”

I kissed him in the center of a ballroom, all my classmates around me, breaking every expectation any of them had ever had for me.

Including my own.

* * *

Axel is the wild brother.

He courts chaos, trusts no one, and pours his love into fostering strays abandoned like him. But can he open his heart to the lawman who’s been consuming his thoughts for months?

Find out in Wild Card!

* * *

Did you know that Gray first appeared in my Swallow Cove series? Read Cash and Declan’s romance—and Gray’s small part in it—in Resting Beach Face!