Page 129 of Sterling Heat

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.” She mocks my rough voice while her face glows with happiness. My flame burns even brighter.

“I don’t have a ring, but I’ll get you one. Whatever you want.”

“I only want you.”

With my arms suddenly around her waist, I stand and tug her upward with me. Her legs wrap around my hips.

“No brothers,” I tease, pressing kisses to her lips as I set her on a clear space of the island countertop. “Boys are trouble. Only girls. Lots of girls.”

Enya giggles as I press her backward and climb over her. Her hands smooth down my chest. “Girls can be trouble, too.”

“So much trouble,” I mutter, leaning down to kiss her. But I’ve never wanted to cause trouble more than with her. “Now, how soon before we start working on that sibling thing?”

She laughs harder, until I’ve stopped the sound with a kiss. Then we make other noises.

And through it all are whispers of words I never thought would apply to me.

I love her and she loves me.

Epilogue

May – 10 months later

[Sebastian]

The late spring’s rainstorms were something fierce, and I was getting worried as Enya was meeting a client. She works hard and I was grateful tax season was over although accounting was never ending.

As I stand inside the bakery, working on custom orders in the quiet of an empty shop, my mind drifts.

Rodger O’Neil spends his days and nights in prison for what he did to Enya. Rena was also caught as an accomplice to his master plan to recover mystery money, but she was released on probation. I don’t know where she is. I don’t care either.

As for that money. . . Knox, Clay and I spent a weekend digging potholes in the partial dirt flooring of the cellar until I decided it didn’t matter if money was buried beneath the house or not. It wasn’t mine. It only brought trouble. Then I hired a cement company to pour a full slab floor across the cellar. I can’t stand upright down there but it doesn’t matter. The space only holds mechanicals and storage.

Suddenly, “Imagine” plays through the overhead speakers forcing me to look up at that old quote on the wall. The one I’m so accustomed to that I hardly pay it any attention.

There are no holes in kindness.

I really thought it meant don’t be an asshole, but with Enya in my life, I’ve learned the value of being kind. Or maybe I’ve always known the trait, I’d just warped the way it should work. I’d done bad things with good intentions because I loved my family.

And I’ve come to learn how much they love me.

Vale was ecstatic when I married Enya last fall, but it was Stone who fought back tears when I said I was officially adopting Adara.

No more fake daddy. Let all the rumors say what they want to say. I am Adara’s father. The birth certificate now states the truth. I’m her dad.

The tinkle of the bell above the door signals someone has entered, and I glance up with relief to see my beautiful wife shaking out an umbrella inside the bakery. She gives me a warm smile that says so many things.

I love you.

You’re mine.

Forever.

The giant rock on her finger, sparkling in the low light of the bakery says the same thing. We married in a beautiful outdoor setting where it appropriately rained. Enya said it meant good luck.

I am definitely the luckiest man I know.

“Hey, sugar.” I wipe my hands on a towel and round the counter. She meets me halfway for a kiss that puts other kisses to shame. Enya loves to kiss me. She doesn’t accept a simple swipe of lips, either. She likes my tongue, my lips, and my teeth, and I give her everything in every meeting of our mouths.