toward where Langston and I are lying on the beach.
They jump on me, ignoring their father.
“Why are you all jumping on me?” I ask as I laugh.
“Because Dad will say no,” Rose says.
I laugh. She’s probably right, but I have to hear this.
“Stop tickling me and tell me what you all want,” I say, sitting up.
Langton is still lying still on the towel next to me; his cap draped over his eyes.
“The answer is no,” Langston says without moving.
The kids jump at his voice.
Rose pouts.
Atlas smiles. “I told you he’d say no.”
Declan rolls his eyes.
I look to each of my kids, one by one, seeing what it is they want. As much as Langston pretends he can be a firm dad who tells his kids no, he can’t. He’ll cave. The kids know it; they just like to rile him up.
“Yes,” I say.
“You don’t even know what we are going to ask,” Rose says.
“I’m your mother, so I already know what you’re going to ask.”
“We were going to ask to only ever eat ice cream for every meal for the rest of our lives,” Atlas jokes.
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“We were going to ask for millions and millions of dollars.”
“Nope.”
“You want to go visit Uncle Enzo, Aunt Kai, and the twins and go to Disney World with them,” Langston groans.
“They did know,” Rose says, her eyes bugging out that we would guess what our kids want.
I laugh.
“The answer is no,” Langston says.
I bite back a smile. He knows I’m going to say yes, and he doesn’t have a choice in the matter.
I know this.
The kids know this.
Langston knows this.
“How about you go get Dad a bowl of his favorite ice cream and see if it changes his mind?” I tell the kids.
All of their eyes light up. They run off, but not before I hear Rose say, “Mom’s going to convince Dad to let us go. This is just a diversion, so we don’t hear them argue. But just in case, we should bribe Dad with ice cream.”
I lift Langston’s hat off his face and am met with a scowl. Somehow I find him more attractive when he’s angry than when he’s smiling.
“Do we really have to take them to Disney World? That’s the least safe place in the world.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, they’re kids. They want to go to Disney World with their cousins.”
“They live on a private island with their cousins; why do they need to go to Disney World?”
“We’re going.”
He frowns. “No, we’re not. It’s not safe.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “We aren’t in danger. And even if we were, we aren’t denying our kids the joys of the world.”
“Disney World isn’t a joy. It’s a crowded, disease-infested, capitalistic hell.”
“We’re going.”
“No—”
“I didn’t survive a year longer than I should to not take our kids to Disney World with their cousins.”
He frowns and grabs my hips, yanking me toward him so he can kiss me. “Fine, but you can’t use the cancer card for another year.”
I smile into his lips, knowing very well that I can and I will. Langston would do anything for our kids and me. We’ve built the perfect world here for them on this island, but that doesn’t mean we are afraid to venture out into the real world.
Siren and Zeke finished their house here. Phoenix and Corbin live here as well. Rose and Atlas still call Phoenix ‘Mom,’ and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I’m happy they can have two moms, a dad, and plenty of aunts and uncles who love them and would be willing to die to protect them.
Enzo and Kai live with their kids on their yacht and spend time between Miami and here, still leading their empire like the badasses they are.
Beckett stays with them a lot, but he’s found a new girl in Seattle who he’s been spending a lot of time with. We’re pretty sure he’s in love, but we don’t tell him that. We don’t want to jinx his relationship. After all, all of our love stories put us through hell before we got to the happily ever after part.
Second Epilogue
Liesel
Ten Years Later
My heart freezes when we get letters in the mail addressed to each of the kids.
My father.
I recognize the handwriting—the same handwriting that was on the letter that Langston and I tore in half.
I show the letters to Langston.
He immediately tosses them all in the fireplace, burning them all.
My father’s empire is dead.
We’ve ensured it.
The decent people who used to work for him now work for Kai and Enzo. The rest we either killed or they found their way to new crime organizations.
We’re safe.
Our kids have grown up only knowing love and safety. Even Declan has forgotten about the horrors of his past. We’ve protected them well, and they are all ready to fly the nest. I can’t wait to see what adventures the world holds for them.
I pour myself a cup of coffee, needing an afternoon pick me up.
“You know what today is?” Langston asks after he gets over his grumpiness at seeing the letters.
“What?”
“Ten years exactly since we made our bet. Do you admit that I was right yet?”
I’ve been cancer-free for eight of the ten. Langston took me to every doctor in the world until we found something that worked.
“Would I ever admit that you’re right? I would never lose a bet so easily. You said forever. Ten years isn’t forever,” I tease.
He wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck. “I’m going to enjoy the next fifty years proving how right I am.”
Third Epilogue
Liesel
Fifty Years Later
Langston holds my hand as we sit on the sand, staring out at the sunset.
“I win our bet, right?” he asks.
I grin.
“Yes, you win. So what do I have to do to pay my debt?”
He kisses me. “You already have, by giving me our forever.”
The End
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Also by Ella Miles
LIES SERIES:
Lies We Share: A Prologue
Vicious Lies
Desperate Lies
Fated Lies
Cruel Lies
Dangerous Lies
Endless Lies
SINFUL TRUTHS:
Sinful Truth #1
Twisted Vow #2
Reckless Fall #3
Tangled Promise #4
Fallen Love #5
Broken Anchor #6
TRUTH OR LIES:
Taken by Lies #1
Betrayed by Truths #2
Trapped by Lies #3
Stolen by Truths #4
Possessed by Lies #5
Consumed by Truths #6
DIRTY SERIES:
Dirty Obsession
Dirty Addiction
Dirty Revenge
Dirty: The Complete Series
ALIGNED SERIES:
Aligned: Volume 1
Aligned: Volume 2
Aligned: Volume 3
Aligned: Volume 4
Aligned: The Complete Series Boxset
UNFORGIVABLE SERIES:
Heart of a Thief
Heart of a Liar
Heart of a Prick
Unforgivable: The Complete Series Boxset
MAYBE, DEFINITELY SERIES:
Maybe Yes
Maybe Never
Maybe Always
Definitely Yes
Definitely No
Definitely Forever
STANDALONES:
Pretend I’m Yours
Pretend We’re Over
Finding Perfect
Savage Love
Too Much
Not Sorry
Hate Me or Love Me: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Collection
About the Author
Ella Miles writes steamy romance, including everything from dark suspense romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat to contemporary romance that will leave you laughing out loud or crying. Most importantly, she wants you to feel everything her characters feel as you read.
Ella is currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy five year old black lab who is scared of everything, including her own shadow.
Ella is a USA Today Bestselling Author & Top 50 Bestselling Author.
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