My tiger soul licked its lips. “That’s a great idea. But are you sure you want to go through all that work, Cobalt?”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “You and Ruby are family. And I would do anything for my family.”
Aurum groaned. “That’s nice and all, but we don’t have time to gush! If we’re throwing a BBQ, we have to prepare! Where’d we put the sheep-sized tongs again?”
Crimson and I shared a grin as his brothers raced around. This was turning out to be an exciting day, indeed.
Twenty-Four
Epilogue: Crimson
The scentof grilled meat and veggies filled the crisp evening air, and smoke danced upward towards the blue-black sky. Above the gentle sound of the ocean waves on the shore was my family’s voices, laughing and arguing and swooning over the newest addition.
Cobalt manned the helm—AKA, the barbeque. He was dressed in leather sandals and a simple grilling apron. Jade helped him cook by double-checking the internal temperatures of the meats. Eating raw meat wasn’t a problem for dragons—or tigers, honestly—but Jade wanted to be safe. Thystle argued with the twins over whether or not goat and sheep meat tasted the same. Viol was missing, but after our last mysterious encounter, I wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t lurking nearby on the fringe of our activities.
Meanwhile, I sat with Taylor on a double-seater beach chair with Ruby tucked snugly between us. Baby dragons spent a lot of time asleep, which was a nice break from the chaos to come as they grew older—and bitier.
Taylor sighed wistfully as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “This is nice.”
I smiled and touched my head to his. Itwasnice. It was too peaceful to even make a snarky remark about how Thystle had Aurum in a headlock, or how Jade chided Cobalt for slightly burning the meat. Everything just felt right.
Since Ruby spent so long sleeping and Taylor couldn’t sit still for two seconds, he pulled out a small sewing kit from his beach bag. Apparently since finding out about the barbecue, he’d whipped something up, but I hadn’t seen the final product yet.
“What is that?” I asked.
He put the final stitch into the fabric, then set the needles away. “There. Done.”
As he held it up to show me, I laughed. “It’s perfect.” I glanced over to the grill. “Hey, Cobalt! Come here for a second.”
Cobalt reluctantly handed control of the grill to Jade, then approached us. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Taylor has something for you,” I explained.
Cobalt’s brows raised. “For me? Why?”
Taylor got up from the chair, then pulled out the pile of fabric from behind his back. Cobalt took it with a look of confusion.
“Open it,” Taylor urged.
Cobalt let the fabric fall to its full length. It was a Cobalt-sized BBQ apron, complete with a “Kiss the Cook” inscription, and a blue dragon applique.
Cobalt was a quiet man, but I never thought I’d see him speechless from emotion like this. A full minute passed before he finally moved. Instead of speaking, he pulled Taylor into a bear hug. Or, dragon hug, I suppose.
Taylor laughed in relief, patting him on the back. “I’m glad you like it.”
Cobalt nodded. When he pulled away, I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He put on the apron immediately, and it fit him like a glove. I didn’t expect anything less from my mate. I shot a beaming, proud smile at him. The pride reflected back in Taylor’s eyes.
There was something else shining in his gaze, too—love.
Family love for my brothers.
Parental love for Ruby.
And deep, fated, soul-bound romantic love for me.
Holding Ruby in my arms, I stood up to give Taylor a kiss. With the sounds of the lively beach surrounding us, we kissed under the evening stars. Love swelled around us, enveloping us like the warmest quilt in the world.
“Hey, you two!” Aurum called, waving us over. His plate was already full to bursting. “Come eat before we take it all!”
