After the Epilogue

"Vincent!" I yelled, scowling as I looked through the fridge.

"Yes?" he replied, popping up in the archway of the kitchen.

"Where is that bottle I had in here?"

"You're not supposed to be drinking, princess."

I shut the door, rattling the content as I whirled on him. His forest eyes were alight as he watched me over the rim of his glass of scotch. I flicked my gaze over his shoulder, making sure no one was behind him. When I was certain our friends were still gathered in the living room, I made my way over to swat at him.

"It was sparkling cider, you idiot. Devyn is going to start asking why I'm not drinking."

He laughed and hooked an arm around my waist before towing me back to the fridge. He opened it, and it took him about twenty seconds to find the bottle at the back of the top shelf. My eyes narrowed because I knew I hadn't put it up there. I was too short to reach it. He moved to our cabinet of glasses and pulled down a flute before filling it for me.

"If someone saw that in there, namely Lucas or Devyn, they would've asked why we had it. So, I hid it."

"Remind me again why our best friends are so damn nosy?" I muttered, taking the glass when he offered it to me.

"It keeps things fun."

"What does?" Lucas asked, appearing way too close to my back for my liking.

I jumped, the cider sloshing over the side of the glass as I went to take a sip. My eyes slipped closed as I took a deep breath. "Lucas?"

"Hmm?"

"Four thirty-nine."

"I can't believe you're still keeping track," he grumbled. I looked at him over my shoulder, and he gave me that damned kicked puppy look he knew got me every time.

"It's not too hard when you give her a reason to add to it at least twice a week," Vincent threw in, slipping past the blonde to replace the bottle in the fridge.

"It's not that often," Lucas protested.

"Close enough," Vincent and I chorused. My husband turned to grin at me, and I couldn't help but return it.

"C'mon, everyone is waiting on you two to do presents." Lucas huffed, ruffling my hair as he walked past me. "You'd think after five years you two could stop with the love-bird routine," he muttered before heading back to the living room.

A laugh fell from my lips as I held my hand out for Vincent's. He came back to me in an instant to entwine our fingers together. He kissed the back of my hand before pulling me in close and cupping my cheek with the other. "He's going to lose it when we tell him."

"They all are," I said, watching the same joy flash in his eyes that had when I told him four months ago.

"You're still not going to tell me first?"

"Nope."

He groaned but didn't fight me anymore. He pulled me up on my tiptoes to be able to press a kiss to my lips, and then he led us into the living room.

My heart swelled at the sight of our loved ones gathered around the tree. The house had come a long way since we moved in before the wedding, and it felt more like home every year. Devyn and Brandon were sitting directly in front of the monstrosity Vincent had talked me into this year, and they were just as enraptured with each other as they had always been. Lucas sat down next to his cousin, shoving him over so that he fell into Devyn's lap. Brandon lightly punched Lucas in the shoulder before twisting and beginning to sort out the presents. Angelica was sprawled across the armchair by the fire, practically purring as she bathed in the heat. Dante wasn't far from her, sitting on the loveseat that shared an end table with her chair. Arkin noticed us enter, and he scooted to the end of the couch to make room for us.

I may not have had any family left, but this one made up for that tenfold.

"Took you two long enough," Dante grumbled.

"Don't be a grump," I said, picking the bow off one of my gifts and throwing it at him. It didn't even make it two feet before it fluttered back to the floor.

"He can't help it," Devyn said, a mischievous grin on her face as she glanced at him. "He's getting the cold shoulder."

"Sorry, I don't date old men," Angelica cooed, kicking her feet. Dante scowled at her back, and I wondered how long those two were going to dance around each other. Vincent and I shared a look, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

Arkin shook his head before pushing a small, red-wrapped present into my hands. "You start, Jules," he said, a wicked twinkle in his baby blues.

Unease twisted my gut as I narrowed my eyes. The rest of the room focused on me, and a flush crept up my neck to settle in my cheeks. I set Arkin's gift aside for the time being because I had a feeling it needed to be opened later in the night. Arkin was too observant for his own good. Instead, I grabbed the smallest off the top of the pile that had been pushed my way. The tag let me know it was from Devyn, and my eyes flicked to meet hers. Her smile was warm, and I took that as a good sign. It looked too small to be a vibrator like last year.

Hopefully.

As I opened it, Devyn crawled over so that she was right next to me on the floor. The box contained a three-tiered necklace with an engraved silver bar on each chain. My eyebrows raised, and Devyn pointed to the date on the first bar. "This is the day we met, the day you took over Tuxedo, and obviously you recognize your wedding date." She pointed to each bar in turn, and my eyes watered when she was finished.

"This is beautiful," I murmured, throwing my arms around her.

"I'm just glad you're not mad I included myself as an important date."

"Of course, you are," I said, pulling her in even tighter.

"Can't breathe."

I laughed, and we continued with everyone opening their gifts. Our tradition was getting everyone one thing, and you could always tell when someone left their buying until the last minute, hence the present from Devyn the previous year. But this go around, almost everything brought me to tears. I was blaming the hormones.

There were only a few exchanges left, and all attention shifted to the red head in the room. Angelica cut her gaze to Dante, eyeing the small box he had in his hand. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was fear in her sapphire eyes. Dante cleared his throat before leaning forward and placing the package on the arm of her chair. She picked it up daintily and blew out a breath before opening it. Her brows quirked, and she tilted her head to glare at my old boss. He just grinned, teeth gleaming in the fire light.

"The peanut gallery would like to know why Dante is getting murdered tonight," Lucas said, flipping the scarf I had gotten him over his shoulder.

"I think Jules needs to open her last gift," Angelica said, snapping the lid on the box closed before stuffing it in the bottom of one of her bags. "I want to know what Arkin got her."

Stifling a sigh, I set down my glass and took the package from Arkin again. The wrapping paper gave easily as I tore it open, and I was left with a box just a bit smaller than my lap. I removed the lid and gaped at the contents.

"How did you know?" I hissed, staring at the onesie nestled in tissue paper.

"I saw the list of names in your office a few weeks ago."

Because of course I had been stupid enough to leave that out, and now we had everyone's attention. Vincent glanced over my shoulder, and I felt the breath leave him as he stared at the little pink tiara adorning the onesie.

"We're having a girl?' he breathed, his words only meant for me.

But our friends caught it. Devyn was up off the floor in a blink, coming to get a good look at what was in my hands. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she flicked her gaze from the box to me.

"You're pregnant?" she asked, her voice catching. I nodded, and she squealed. She launched herself at me, and Vincent barely had time to move before we collided with the back of the couch.

"Devyn," Brandon scolded, peeling her off of me. "Take it easy."

"She's fine," I said, laughing as I sat back up. "But obviously, we had something we wanted to tell you all tonight."

Vincent's hand enclosed mine, and I watched as he took the onesie out of the box with his other. That was pure awe on his face, and when his eyes met mine, they were shining with unshed tears.

Everyone gave their congratulations, and I finally allowed my free hand to settle on my stomach. It was an urge I had been suppressing for weeks, and I was glad we didn't have to hide any more. Angelica was the last one to hug me, her hold lingering longer than I expected. She squeezed me tight and drew back just enough to meet my eyes. "I hope you know that I'm still an aunt, blood or not."

"Ditto!" Devyn pitched in.

"Gods help us all," Dante muttered. "Let me know if you need any help with these two."

"Put your chicken hat on," Angelica said, glancing over at him. Devyn cackled, obviously pleased with her gift for our old boss. "At least then you'll look like a mother-hen as well." He glowered at her, and she just gave him a sweet smile before turning back to me. "Have you picked out a name yet?"

"I have." Vincent twisted to face me; one eyebrow raised. "As long as Vincent likes it too. Genevieve Grace."

There was a beat of silence, and Vincent's whole face softened.

"Grace was Alana's middle name," Angelica murmured.

I didn't remove my gaze from my husband's. "I know."

He pulled me over to him and kissed me. It was soft, mindful of our company. But when he pulled away from me, there was storm of emotion flowing through those forest eyes. "I love you all, but I think it's time we called it a night."

Laughter trickled around us, and everyone said their goodbyes. Angelica and Devyn were already plotting the baby shower, and I was happy to leave them to it. Dante was the last to leave, hanging back as the rest of them trooped out.

"Don't forget your hat," I said, pushing the hideous thing into his hands. He let out a long-suffering sigh, and I fought not to laugh. Shaking his head, he pulled me into a tight hug.

"You have no idea how proud of you I am," he said, his voice low. "You deserve every ounce of the happiness you two have built here."

"I'm gonna cry again." My voice was muffled by his jacket as I held him tighter. His chest rumbled with laughter, and he ruffled my hair as he pulled away. "But you deserve to be happy too."

"Working on it." He gave me a wink, and pulled the door closed behind him when he left.

The silence of the house washed over me, and I basked in it for a moment. I could hear the fire crackling in the living room, and a floorboard creaked as someone approached me. Vincent wrapped his arms around my waist, hands splaying over my stomach, before setting his chin on my shoulder. I placed my own over hands his and turned my head to press a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you," I said.

"As I love you."

"You ready for this?"

He snorted. "I don't think anyone's ever truly ready to become a parent, but I can't wait to do this with you."

"We're going to have to delegate a lot for a while. With the gang and the club."

"I have some people in mind."

"They'll kill each other."

Vincent laughed, the sound rich and warm, as he drew me back towards the bedroom.

I went willingly, as I always had, and always would. I would love this man until the day I died, however slow or swift that may come.

____________________________________________

I got in a mood to write today, so I decided to give y'all a cute little shot into what's going on with our group. I am currently working on editing the first draft of this book, and well as starting the following story. However, the next book out of Valarian City will be a relatively similar timeline to the one pictured here. The other stories, namely the one I set up here ((hint hint)) will take place at different points (ie: before/after the epilogue.) The plan as of right now is for every book to be able to be read as a standalone.

No matter what, I hope you enjoyed this. I love you all.

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Thank you so much for reading!

-Erin