Was I even alive?
Maybe I died in my sleep last night and this was my little slice of heaven—getting Avery to stay and for us to live out our happy, merry lives together.
It certainly sounded like something I’d manifest in the afterlife.
“What are we?” I croaked.
“Whatever you want us to be,” came his soft reply.
“I...” I wanted everything. I wanted more than he could probably ever possibly give me. I wanted it all. I wanted... “I want you.”
He smiled. “Then you shall have me. Forever. Or until you get sick of me.”
Yeah, that was so not happening. Not in this lifetime, at least.
There wasn’t a day in my life that ever went by where I thought to myself how ecstatic I’d felt with Avery out of my life. Quite the opposite, in fact. So, it was safe to say that he’d never be leaving.
My stomach tightened at the thought, a pleasant warmth sinking deep down into my bones.
“Come to my sister’s wedding with me?” I pressed the question to his lips, reveling in the smile that upticked against mine.
“I’d be honored.”
EPILOGUE
Avery
Weddings were never reallymy thing, least of all for people I hardly knew.
However, seeing Brandon dressed up in a suit?
Wow.
I’d been sporting a half hard on since leaving Ellington Heights with him earlier this evening. The sight of him wrapped in a fitted black tux that hugged every part of his solid frame was downright punishing for my poor libido.
With this being his sister’s wedding and with plenty of kids around, I was forced to keep my hands to myself and behave.
For now, at least.
The ceremony had been beautifully done with barely a dry eye in the church. Seeing Brandon’s new family for the first time had been a little jarring, especially after having not been a part of the Anders (now Carmichael) family for so long.
I’d been welcomed by his sister, though, when she’d come over after the ceremony to do her rounds with her new husband.Witnessing her and Brandon go toe-to-toe was a sight to behold and one I readily looked forward to come holiday season.
“Avery!” A glass of champagne was set down in front of me, sloshing dangerously inside of the drinkware. “Long time no see! When Brandon told me he was bringing you, I thought he was pulling my leg.”
The man who settled into the chair next to me had a familiar head of curly red hair, styled off to the side in an artistic way that framed his handsome face well.
Jonah.
“Look who the cat dragged in. How’ve you been?”
He grinned at my words. As soon as he thrust his hand out to shake mine, I took it.
He threw back half of his glass of champagne. “Could ask you the same damn thing,” he bellowed, his voice drowning out the music playing from the dance floor. “Bran told us he was bringing someone special but he was tight-lipped about who. If I knew you were coming, I would’ve brought my hacky-sack.”
Wow, that certainly brought back some memories. Out of all of Brandon’s brothers, Jonah had always been my favorite. His laidback and happy-go-lucky attitude melded perfectly with everyone around him, no matter the circumstances.
“He told me you were some bigwig in the city now,” Jonah went on.
