by Ari Reavis
“No, actually. Stanley.”
“Oh.” I murmur as I look down.
My anger quickly turns to sadness at the mention of his name. I’m still not quite over the loss. I hate how the loss of him is now intertwined with everything else that happened because of it. I can’t think of one without the other, and I know Stanley deserves to just be remembered for what a great guy he was and not the hardships his murder brought to me. I hope I get to the point where I can just grieve him without the anger that comes along with it.
“They found his murderer,” Terry continues.
My eyes snap back to his at that. “What? Who?”
“Xavier, his sister’s—”
“His sister’s boyfriend.” I finish, shaking my head. “Are they sure it’s him?”
“Yes. They arrested him for it yesterday, and he confessed today.”
“Confessed? He didn’t strike me as someone who’d confess.”
“Well, when you’re arrested with the murder weapon on your hip, it’s pretty hard to refute that.”
“Wow. Did he say why?”
“He had convinced himself that Stanley had something to do with his arrest. Stanley’s sister got him out on bail, and when he confronted Stanley about it, he ended up killing him.”
“But Stanley had nothing to do with his arrest. Didn’t know he’d been arrested until the probation officer told him.”
“Yeah,” he says sadly. “Died for something he didn’t even do. It was always a shame, but even more so now. I’m sorry.”
His death was always senseless, but to know he died for that, because of someone else blaming him for their own crime, just makes it so much worse. Such a waste, of who Stanley was, could have become, and all he had to offer.
I take a deep breath. “Thanks for telling me. I’m glad to know he gets some kind of justice in the end.”
“Speaking of justice, we finally got a court date.”
“When?”
“Two months, from today, exactly.”
That makes me smile again, the thought of bringing Miller down. “I can’t wait.”
“I’d still like to see you move sooner than it’ll take to build a house though. Just in case Miller tries anything crazy at the last minute.”
“Mariah and I agreed to get an apartment out here until the house is built. Especially since I’ll be starting the new project here in a few months. We’re just looking around to find the right apartment now. We’ll probably see a few while we’re here. Once we move, I’m gonna go back on weekends to fix up the house so she can sell it.”
He nods. “Good, good. I’m happy to see you starting this new phase of your life. Fatherhood is going to suit you really good. You have a great example.”
“I do.” I smile.
“No one ever wins at Monopoly,” Liam shouts, making us both look into the living room where my mom is sitting up a boardgame.
“Really, then how did I beat you last time?” Mariah smirks.
“Because I’m pretty sure you had money hidden under the board.”
“Did you just call my fiancée a cheater?” I chuckle.
Mariah grins at me. “Oh my fiancée, I like that. And yes, he did just accuse me of cheating. Come win this game and avenge my honor. I demand it.”
Terry laughs. “You had better get over there.”
I begin to walk away, but stop and turn around to say, “Thank you, Terry. For everything. I literally couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Happy to help. Sorry to say that gratitude won’t save you from me whooping your butt in the game though.”
Two very long games and one win for me and the other for Liam later, everyone says their goodbyes. After Terry heads out for the ride home and Liam and Nia go back to the room they rented in town, Mariah and I go to the guestroom. The moment the door is closed, I walk closer to Mariah and her arms wrap around my neck. Mine go around her back as she brings her body tight to mine.
“Thank you for making this day everything good,” she whispers against my neck. “For including my brother. For that list. All of it.”
“It’s only the beginning.” I promise. “That’s the deal. You marry me, and I make you happy, right?”
She pulls back and smiles. “Right. But for now.” She steps back. “I need my fiancé to help me out of these clothes.”
My eyebrows raise as my lips pull into a grin. “That I can do right away.”
I step forward and undo the bow in the front before unclipping the closure on the side and opening her shirt. Sliding it down her arms, I look at her in her bra, black lace covering her breasts. I step closer and move my thumbs over her nipples, knowing how much that drives her crazy now, more than ever. I smirk when I feel that shiver I love travel through her.
Kissing along her collarbone and then her shoulder, I walk around her body until I’m behind her. Unsnapping her bra, I push the straps down her shoulders until it falls forward, and my hands can come around and cover her breasts as I kiss the tips of the butterfly wings. Her head falls back to my shoulder when I begin massaging her breasts.
“Do you still feel like you need to fly?” I ask her.
Her eyes open lazily and look up at me. “I flew. I spread my wings and found myself, then I made my way to you. Where I belong.”
She turns around in my arms and brings her lips to mine. I hold her as close as I can, needing every inch of her against me. An indescribable feeling fills me when I realize this kiss is only one of many I’ll share with this woman throughout the rest of our lives. That I get to be lucky enough to know I can hold this unbelievable woman every day until my last breath. That I get to not only love her, but have her love me back. That she’s promised to be mine forever and I can always be hers.
Epilogue
“This really was a beautiful wedding,” I say to Damir.
“Makes me think of ours.” I feel him smile against my neck from behind me. “Look at her go.”
My eyes are already on our daughter. Evelyn and Damien sit a few feet apart from each other in our backyard, Eva taking slow, clumsy steps back and forth between them. She took her first steps a few days after her first birthday a month ago and hasn’t stopped moving since. When she reaches Evelyn and gets the fanfare she’s looking for, I laugh at her little hands coming together in a clap like grandma’s. Damien uses the baby in his lap’s hands to clap along. Liam was wrong when he thought my baby was a boy, but he wasn’t wrong when he thought his baby was.
“We’re gonna cut the cake now.” Liam’s voice calls out over the music and people in attendance.
Damir and I walk across the backyard of that dream house he promised me and reach the table with the four tier cake. Liam sets his hand on top of Nia’s, and they slice through the cake. She’s such a beautiful bride, the best part about today that her hair is up in a bun. It’s the first time I’ve seen her hair away from her face, and I can tell how happy it makes Liam.
I never, ever saw my brother getting married. Sure, I thought love would strike him at some point, but to see him damn near with hearts in his eyes when he looks at Nia, it makes my heart clench like nothing else. I laugh as he smears some of the icing on Nia’s face and runs away.
“When I catch you,” Nia shouts, hiking her dress up to chase after him.
“Makes me want to get married again.” Damir voices from beside me.
I scoff. “Not me. You didn’t have to plan everything when you were seven months pregnant.”
“We’d get to have Eva as the flower girl this time.”
“Nice try, but no. Marrying me once wasn’t enough?”
He pulls me close, his lips almost touching mine. “Every single day with you won’t even ever be enough. I’d want even more after that. I fall asleep and wake up next to you, and still miss you throughout the day. I want you in my dreams so I don’t miss a moment with you when I’m sleeping. It’s never enough.”
Lord, his words still have the same effect on me
they always have, going straight to my heart and burrowing into it.
“You’re so good to me. You know that?” I smile.
“You promised to be mine, and I promised to make you happy. You held up your end of the deal, so.” He shrugs with a grin.
“Well I think I have something that will put a smile on your face.”
“What’s that?”
I move his hand from low on my waist to my front, settling it on my belly. It takes a moment before his eyes widen.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks, wonder in his voice.
“Yes,” I smile. “And this time you’re the first to know.”
He picks me up and spins me around, whooping loudly.
“Happy is an understatement,” he says, setting me back on my feet. “Let’s go tell Eva she’s gonna be a big sister.”
“One second. Something I have to do first.”
“What?”
I smile mischievously. “One last prank on Liam. And I’m pregnant now, so he won’t do anything back.”
“Oh God.” He groans. “What did you do?”
“Let’s just say that suit won’t be too pristine too much longer.”
“You’re horrible.”
“And you love it.”
“I do.”
I watch him walk over to Eva, scooping her up and tossing her way too high for my liking in the air. My mind goes back to the horrible date he saved me from, the date that brought us together. The best prank Liam ever played on me, only because it led to me getting everything my heart desired, needed, and more.
With that in mind, I turn around and head over to where I hid away the dyes for my prank. Because apparently pranks lead to unbelievable happiness. And imperfect beginnings lead to perfect endings.
About the Author
Ari Reavis is a wife and mother of six. Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, she enjoys staying in, devouring books and watching movies. Her kids are running around, her husband is trying to show her martial arts moves, and she's trying to write. Her day in a nutshell.
Find her on twitter as @kazy_arireavis.
Or on Instagram as @kazy_arireavis.
Or on her blog https://arireavis.wordpress.com.
Books By Ari Reavis
Be My Light
All the Pieces of You
Just Fake It
Never Leave Your Side
Afraid to Fall
It Was Always You
Girl Meets Boys
Unspoken