“For this week. For not running. For choosing me.”
I pull back enough to look at him. This man who’s lived for centuries, who’s loved and lost and shut himself away from the world.
This man who opened the door for me.
“You chose me first,” I say. “You took a job from a desperate influencer with a terrible plan, and you stayed. You told me the truth when you could have lied. You fought for me. You came back.”
“I’ll always come back.”
“I know. That’s why I chose you.”
The music plays on. Lights glow overhead. Through the windows, the turquoise sea stretches out dark and endless.
My family is safe. My sister is married. The monster who hunted us is gone.
And I am dancing with a vampire.
A vampire who looks at me like I was worth waiting for. Who holds me like I matter. Who loves me with everything he has.
“Julian?”
“Yes?” His eyes find mine.
“I love you.”
Julian pulls me closer, his touch gentle but certain. A kiss lands softly at my hairline, another at my cheekbone, the last hovering at the edge of my lips.
“I know,” he whispers. “I love you, too.”
The song plays on. We sway together in the golden light, surrounded by people who have no idea what we’ve survived to get here.
But we know.
And that’s enough.
EPILOGUE
POPPY
Six months later
Sage grips me by the shoulders. “You’re hyperventilating.” She looks me in the eyes, voice steady and professional.
“I’m not hyperventilating,” I gasp between shallow breaths, forcing out a smile. “I’m breathing with enthusiasm.”
Sage adjusts my veil. “Poppy. You’ve done dozens of videos in front of millions of people. You once did a sponsored post while skydiving. This is a wedding, not a firing squad.”
“A firing squad would be easier. Firing squads don’t have seating charts.”
She laughs. I’ve missed that laugh—we’ve both been busy these past few months, our friendship existing mostly throughtexts. But the moment I asked her to plan this wedding, she cleared her calendar.
“The seating chart is perfect,” she says. “Your mother is nowhere near Julian’s family. The vampires are at tables with good sightlines but minimal human interaction. And I’ve placed Elena next to your Aunt Dorothy.”
“You put a 200-year-old Russian vampire next to my aunt who collects porcelain cats?”
“They’re both blunt, judgmental, and appreciate quality craftsmanship. It’ll be fine.” Sage declares with a dismissive wave of her hand. She steps back, examining me. “You look incredible.”
I turn toward the mirror.
