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Epilogue – Lilah
Four months later
Julia cackles, head thrown back as Parker, the owner of Sorry, I’m Booked, reaches over and tops up her glass of wine, grinning at my sister’s reaction. When the sign went up in the building across the street six months ago, Olive nearly exploded with glee. The romance-only bookstore seemed specifically designed to drain our bank accounts and supply us with unending amounts of smut, but the real win was meeting the proprietor, Parker.
She uses our coffee and places catering orders for her events, and in exchange, she hosts our monthly book club in her shop. Our book club may be a thinly veiled excuse to drink and talk about sex but it’s my new favorite night. Mostly because being away from Ben for a couple hours gets both of us so worked up that he goes full Alpha on me afterwards. Tonight is going to be even better because I have a surprise for my possessive fiancé.
I reach into my purse and look at my phone, covertly texting Ben:
Me: Anytime now…
Ben: If you want to keep those panties in one piece you better take them off before I get there.
Heat spreads across my cheeks and my core clenches at the thought of Ben ripping my panties off of me. This is why I never wear the good stuff anymore. He can destroy as many pairs of cheap lace panties as he wants. I sigh out loud at the thought.
Olive squints at me and I pull my hand out of my purse, giving her an innocent expression. She smirks as she leans back in her chair, crossing her legs, taking a sip of wine and checking the time on her watch. Busted. I’ve started a countdown and Julia’s going to be pissed when she finds out.
"…But why don’t they just talk to each other?!" Julia yells at Chelsea. "It makes no sense! He’s a grown-ass man. She’s a grown-ass woman! Why does the entire story hinge on the fact that they’re too chickenshit to say how they feel?"
"It’s about vulnerability and overcoming their fear of rejection!" Chelsea argues back, tapping her hand on the book aggressively.
"Here we go," Olive mutters as Chelsea and Julia square off.
"I’m just saying, it’s not realistic! He’s all macho and Alpha on his motorcycle but-"
Parker is staring off out the window, her cherubic face dreamy as my sisters argue about this month’s book, which was her pick. I have to say, I adore her. You’d never suspect someone who looks so innocent would sell such an impressive array of dirty books. Last month, I bought an entire series of filthy space westerns to read with Ben. I may have to keep his new-found love of romance novels a secret, but nothing turns me on like Ben reading a romance novel out loud while I lean against his chest, his voice vibrating through me… I shiver a little, shifting in my seat.
"Well, that’s no excuse for his behavior! A hero has to be more than just be good in bed!" Julia argues as the bell over the door chimes, echoing through the shop as my very own hero wedges his broad shoulders through the small door frame, followed by a grinning Brooks, and a dejected-looking Lukas. Okay, I might feel a little bad that my text broke up their night out too. I know Lukas was really excited to hang out with Ben and Brooks, even if he would never admit it out loud.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Who caved?!" Julia asks, eyeing Olive and I exasperatedly.
Ben winks at me and my already pink cheeks ignite as desire pools somewhere much farther south. Julia doesn’t miss the guilty expression on my face or the thumb Olive throws in my direction.
"Omg you are so weak!" Julia huffs. I throw back the last inch of seltzer in my cup and grab my purse. Julia borderline pouts as she smooths the hem of her dress but I’m more interested in Parker. She’s eyeing my brother like he’s the second coming of Christ bringing her a chocolate cake.
Lukas is slouched against the wall but the sulky expression he walked in here with has morphed into a smolder as he looks Parker up and down. It’s adorable but also, because it’s my brother, yuck. The two of them seem oblivious to the rest of the room and everyone watching them until Julia scoots her chair back, the feet screeching against the floor.
"I’m going to move before someone drools on me," she snarks as she gets to her feet. Parker’s cheeks flush until they almost match her strawberry blonde hair.
"What?" she asks Julia, her eyes wide.
"Oh, nothing. I’m just going to leave the splash zone before things get icky."
Chelsea chokes on her wine and sputters. Far from looking ashamed of himself, Lukas is smirking at Parker and probably thinking thoughts that would make me yak. Oh, hell no. No way is he going to inflict his serial-dater ways on sweet Parker.
"OUT!" I bark, pointing at my little brother. He doesn’t move until I get within poking distance, and even then, it’s at a snail's pace. He winks over my head at Parker and pushes his back away from the wall, arms still folded across his chest. I know for a fact that he’s trying to make his arms look as muscular as possible, so I smack him and push him out the door.
Ben follows me, trying, and failing, to muffle his laughter.
"Lukas, you leave Parker alone," I hiss, pointing at him as he climbs onto his motorcycle. He smooths his hair back and puts on his helmet. No way am I letting him repeat the Sadie debacle. He broke my high school best friend’s heart and she never spoke to me again.
"Calm your ass, Ladybug. She’s not my type anyway," he says with a half-hearted shrug. He cranks up the bike and roars away into the night.
When we turn to leave, I see Parker standing behind us, her hazel eyes wide. Oh, shit. How much of that did she hear?
"Parker," say. "I’m so sorry. Lukas is a dick. He just says that kind of shit to rile people up."
She laughs, the tension easing from her eyes. "It’s cool. For what it’s worth, my daddy would hate him."
