“Alright…”

“How big are your closets?”

EPILOGUE

ALECK

TEN MONTHS LATER…

Staring at Winter’s sleeping face, my mind wanders down every path that led me to this day. Every mistake I made and moment I truly believed I didn’t deserve her. Every laugh we’ve shared, every instance she let me into her life and her heart… Everything.

My mother once told me I didn’t deserve beautiful things. She told me love didn’t exist, and if it did, I wouldn’t be worthy of it. It took me a long time to understand that my soul was not wholly, inherently bad. And that what I had to offer Winter wasn’t the part of me that my parents damaged, but the part of me that healed when I realized I loved her.

I never want to think of where my life would have ended up had I not met her. How colorless and drab this world would have remained had she not lit the fuse and burned everything around me to the ground, until I saw only her, and us emerging from the ashes.

Now every moment with her, I cherish. Every smile she rewards me with and every giggle I pull from her is like fucking nirvana. Every kiss, and touch, and glance feeds my soul until the one my parents tried to ruin disappears, and the one I’ve fused to hers remains.

I move a piece of her caramel hair from her face, lean down, and kiss her lips softly. She stirs, then snuggles into the blanket with a snort. My lips curl into a wide smile. Fucking adorable.

“Baby…” I rub my fingertips over her cheeks, then forehead, then kiss her fluttering eyelids. “Winter, baby, wake up…”

She turns her face into her pillow with a quiet groan, then her eyes flicker open.

“Aleck?” She brings her hand to her face and rubs the sleep from her eyes.

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” I lean down and kiss her lips softly. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”

She stretches her arms out from under the blankets and arches her back. “What time is it?”

“It’s midnight.”

A lazy smile curls her lips and she peers at me, looking more awake now.

Our bed. I haven’t had a nightmare since the first night we slept in my apartment together. Just knowing that from that moment on I would be sharing my life with Winter was enough to keep my demons away. And I guess you could say, I’ve finally found peace.

“Come on,” I say, pulling the blankets back, then stand at her bedside.

She rises into a sitting position, turns, and drops her legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m exhausted. Sondra kept me on the phone past ten trying to decide on a baby name for Baby Girl Bell.”

When she stands, wearing only panties and a white cotton camisole, I want to throw her back onto our bed and pull her garments off with my teeth, but I refrain. She’ll get that after…