Hearing this, Joker wondered if there was a copy left in Denver, considering any women remotely associated with Chaos were hoarding them. Stacy had bought ten (and made the brothers sign them). Elvira had bought twenty (and bossed the brothers into signing them).

“Proud,” Linus whispered.

Joker lifted his beer and took a swallow, but didn’t look at him.

“All I’m gonna say but that runs deep, Car,” Linus kept at it. “And not just because you’re famous.”

With all he was feeling, the only thing Joker had to give he gave.

He nodded.

Linus, as always, took what he had to give happily and clapped him on the back.

Joker felt that light in his chest as he felt something else.

His eyes moved to the couch and he saw his girl sitting close to Mrs. Heely, Indy Nightingale, and Gwen Delgado, all of them gabbing like they weren’t being crawled on by kids or casually dodging toys flying.

But Carissa’s eyes were over the back of the couch and she was looking at Candy.

Her gaze shifted to him.

“Soon,” he mouthed.

She smiled.

The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

She pursed her lips and blew him a kiss in a way, with their house chock with people, he’d accept.

And then that was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

She turned away quickly when Suki Nightingale landed in her lap.

He heard her laughter as he watched her do it.

His chest got even lighter.

Because that was when that was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and he knew he’d get that again and again and again.

Easy.

Steady.

Beauty.

She gave him what she’d promised he’d have.

A beautiful life.

The best part?

He got to give it back.

EPILOGUE

Oh Yeah

THERE WERE MILES of cream, pink, and peach streamers twisted and stretched from Ride the store to Ride the garage.

There were tents set up. At their corners, ribbons were waving from under big, shimmering peach and pink butterflies.

There were tables under the tents covered in cream plastic cloths that glinted with sprayed on glitter. On top were pink plastic cake plates and peach plastic forks, and down the middle, bouquets of cream, pink, and peach roses with scrolled and twisted bits of green spiraling around the blossoms, little glittery butterflies sticking out.

Suddenly, when the background music of Godsmack doing their cover of “Rocky Mountain Way” ended, a rough voice sounded over a loudspeaker, saying, “Carrie, your biker wants your ass on the dance floor.”

That was when a woman in a strapless lace dress with what looked like diamonds sparkling all over walked toward the dance floor. The full, poofy skirt that went almost to her ankles swayed against her legs over high-heeled peach sandals.