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I brush a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Of course it is, Ladybug. You deserve the best home. A place to let our family grow even more.”
Luca adds, “It really is the best, Letty. We’ve planned for everything, had renovations done to suit all of our needs. Added even more security features than the house has now.” He continues to explain to her as we stand on the porch, her fingers absently brushing over the name plaque while she listens to the features. The guard house, tunnel access from multiple points in the house, a new security room for us to work in that includes a separate section dedicated for our team meetings, the safe rooms in every bedroom, the hidden tunnels within the house. She laughs, and tears fill her eyes, and pride fills the rest of us as we watch her fall in love with the future she never dreamed of having. A future that looks past her revenge. That looks into the next chapter. There really is more for her on the next page.
“How the hell did you guys pull this off?”
Luca is smug as he shrugs. “Wasn’t my first time.”
She rolls her eyes. “So you used my plans for your house as a reference?”
Ryder wraps his arms around her waist and squeezes her until more laughter spills from her lips. “Obviously, boss lady. We’re all helpless without you. Don’t you know that by now?”
Declan smacks him upside the head. “We did expand on your plans,” he defends.
“You guys did amazing,” she soothes him. “I can’t believe you named it Everhart.”
Ryder kisses her cheek. “It’s our home, of course we had to name it after our family.”
Her brows draw up as silence balloons over our group once more. Noah clears his throat. “About that other surprise I mentioned.” At his cue, we all pull out our new IDs and hand them over to Scar. Confusion mars her features for only a moment before she throws her head back and cackles. She’s not getting it quite yet.
“You guys created new identities?”
“Wrong,” Ry taunts her and I can’t help but smirk. For some reason, this part doesn’t make me as anxious. The house had me worried, but she will love this. We did it the right way. The way she would have preferred if we did give her a choice.
“You legally changed your names? All to Everhart?” She sounds mystified.
“Getting hotter,” I tease.
She’s not going to get it on her own. I nod, and Noah grabs the papers to hand to her. Before he gets the chance to, Ryder sweeps Scar off her feet and cradles her in his arms bridal style.
“Welcome home, wife,” he declares as he pushes through the front door and carries her through the threshold.
I scoff. Should have expected him to go rogue. He’s been on cloud nine since we drew names out of a hat. Bastard saved up all his luck to be the one that got to be legally married to her.
Cheers of congratulations drown out anything she might have said in response, but we’re all quick to follow them into the house where everyone is waiting. Confetti rains over us but Scar’s brilliant smile as she laughs shines brighter than any of the glitter in the air.
She understands. She knows what we did. At least part of it.
It takes a few moments for everyone to calm down after Ryder steals a very thorough kiss in front of them all. But he finally releases her, putting her feet back down on the floor. Noah hands her a piece of paper to confirm what she already knows.
She snorts as she looks at the marriage license with her forged signature on the bottom. I wink at her. “It was an honor to be you for a day.”
“Oh, did you also put on a big, white dress and walk down an aisle?” She arches a brow. “Because I don’t recall doing that.”
“I mean,” Declan drawls, pulling her into his arms, “there’s still time to arrange that.”
“No,” she shouts, making everyone in the room laugh. D steals his kiss and all the nerves and anxiety were worth it. The months of work we put into this house and marriage. For that smile, the light shining in her eyes. Yeah, I would have done all this a hundred times over to see her like this.
Luca pulls her to him next, and I can’t even be mad. There’s a reason they say save the best for last. She smacks his chest after he whispers something in her ear I don’t quite catch. But she’s happy, and that’s all that matters.
Noah spins her in his arms before dipping her and kissing her. Everyone cheers, including me. The kids giggle and no moment has ever filled me with more peace and happiness. This really is our new home. Our new future.
When he pushes her into my arms, I don’t hesitate to pull her in for my own kiss. One so consuming, so enthralling, it erases every trace of every other kiss I’ve ever had until all that’s left is her. Years of filling the hole she left in my life vanish under the truth and hope and depth of the feelings shared between the two of us.
She’s breathless and grinning when I finally pull back, but I still don’t release her. She feels too good in my arms. Everyone else already had their turn, another reason why I was willing to wait. No one to pass her off to now. I get to keep her.
“Did you also say yes for me?” she teases. “There are a lot of steps of getting married I don’t seem to remember.”
I run my fingers down her arm, from her shoulder to her forearm. My fingers trace the ink permanently marked on her skin. “This was our proposal,” I explain. “It was also your yes.” Her smile dips, but not in anger or disappointment. No, it’s awe and understanding that fills her features. Of course she understands. There was never a doubt she would.
