The second we’re alone, I turn to her, brushing her hair off her shoulder. “How are you doing? Really. With all of it—moving here permanently, your relationship with your dad, living with me, staying with the Mayhem for another year?”
Because yeah, that happened. Bri turned down the chance to work for a pro baseball team in New York City and instead re-signed with theMayhem. Said she didn’t expect to love the sport this much. She’s going to give things one more year with theMayhembefore she decides long term what sport she wants to settle in. I couldn’t be happier that she’s staying with theMayhem,but she knows I’m going to support her no matter what.
She's been spending more time with her dad lately, and if I'm being honest, we've reached a truce of our own.
I wasn't exactly thrilled when he first started showing up for dinner. But somewhere along the way, the guy grew on me. He's good with Sawyer, for one. More importantly, I've realized he's not trying to earn forgiveness he hasn't earned. He knows exactly what he missed out on. Knows what it cost Bri and that he doesn’t deserve her forgiveness. And every day, he seems determined to show up anyway. That counts for something.
It also doesn't hurt that I casually mentioned Bri's mom's medical debt one day. The man didn't hesitate. A few days later, it was gone. Paid in full. Anonymous, of course. I'd planned to take care of it myself eventually, but I knew it meant more coming from him. Maybe because it wasn't really about the money. It was about showing up. He wasn't there for the hard years. He wasn't there when Bri needed a parent most. But he's here now. And I believe he's going to spend the rest of his life making sure she never has to carry that kind of weight alone again.
She lets out a soft sigh. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“Good.” I press a kiss to her lips. “Me too, baby. You make me so happy. I love that you see romance in everything. I love that you saw romance with me.”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, letting her heartbeat thump against mine in a steady rhythm I could get lost in. After a moment, she pulls back just enough to meet my gaze, her voice softer now.
“I think I’ve always romanticized things. Probably because everything with my career was so clinical—so… logical. I knew people were flawed, I knew heartbreak was inevitable, so I tried to create something beautiful out of the simple moments.”
She pauses and gives me a half-shy, half-dreamy smile.
“I found joy in the little things. A mug that made me smile. A themed dinner out with friends. Solo trips to places that looked like pages out of a novel. And then my job, physical therapy, let me help people find the version of themselves that was always buried beneath their pain. The softer, gentler version once they were fully healed. The one that believed in something again even if they’d been hurt before.”
I nod listening quietly. I love when she talks like this. It’s like poetry to me.
“That’s beautiful.”
She laughs softly; like maybe she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but relief crosses her face that she did. I’m glad she feels safe with me.
“In the past, men have told me I was too much. Too emotional. That I fantasized our relationship. That I expected too much.”
Her eyes glisten, but she’s smiling. “But you’ve never made me feel like I’m too much. You’ve shown me that if a man wants to, he will. And you always want to.”
I cup her face gently, my voice low and steady. “Baby, you’ll never be too much for me. I want forever with you and nothing less.”
Her smile widens, all light and love and everything I never thought I’d have.
“I want that too, Seth.”
Chapter 37 – Epilogue 2 – Brianna
Three years later…
***
“Is it ready?”
“No. Fuck. It’s filming the carpet. Hold on. Let me fix it.”
A laugh escapes me as Seth practically falls out of his bed trying to fix the camcorder. He fiddles with the buttons, completely naked and completely unbothered by it, until the little red light starts blinking.
“There.” He straightens with a satisfied nod and a smile. Or at least I think it’s a smile. It’s hard to tell with the sloth mask covering most of his face.
“Showtime.”
I laugh as he kneels back on the bed, his cock already hard. He grips his shaft and strokes it between my legs.
“Seth, I don’t think I can do this if you’re wearing that thing.”
“You said you wanted the Sloth. You’re getting the Sloth.”
