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“I think we’re gonna be really good parents,” I told him.

“You think?”

“Yeah.” I traced a circle on his chest. “I mean, we’re fucked up in the head, but it’s fine. It’ll work out.”

“That might be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He laughed. I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat, remembering that inside me a smaller heart was beating too. Twelve weeks old and already part of a little family that didn’t make sense on paper but made perfect sense in the ways that mattered.

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

LA’BELLE MONTAGUE

I was back in Catalina Cove, but this time, with my husband and son.⁠1

Cardez booked the entire Royal Poinciana resort for the week for us and the people in our lives who mattered.

Our villa was the biggest, with three rooms and a wraparound deck. I was standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom while Siani fussed with my hair. My bridal look was much simpler than the first time around. My hair was in loose body waves, and I wore a satin slip dress with a low back. It skimmed over a body that wasn’t the same one I had a year ago. My hips were wider, my breasts were fuller, and my stomach hadn’t gone all the way back down after Cassian.

“Girl, stop fidgeting,” Siani said as she pinned a small white flower behind my ear.

“I don’t want a stupid flower in my hair, Si.”

“You’re getting married on a beach, it fits the aesthetic.” She grinned and stepped back to look at me. “Perfect. Dez is gonna lose his mind. Again.”

Jody came in from the deck holding Cassian on her hip. My son had a head full of dark curls, with his father’s amber eyes, and my complexion. He wore a little white linen outfit that my mother bought him and was currently trying to eat his own fist.

“He had his whole bottle,” Jody said.

“Give me my baby.” He gurgled happily as I reached for him. I kissed his fat little cheeks and held him against my chest.

“He’s gonna drool on your dress,” Siani warned.

I made a silly face at Cassian. “It’s fine.”

I never got tired of looking at him. He was the perfect combination of Dez and me. I still couldn’t believe he existed. Ten hours of labor, months of no sleep, and sore nipples—I’d do it all over again.

“Lala, you look good,” Jody said, putting on her earrings. She looked relaxed in a burnt orange sundress that complemented the golden tan she’d gotten from two days on the beach.

“Marco picked your dress?” I asked.

She shrugged. “He has good taste.”

“It’s giving obsessed.”

“Pot, meet kettle.”

I rolled my eyes and bounced Cassian on my hip when I heard a knock at the door. I expected Lorelei, since she’d flown down early to coordinate, but it was Orlando.

He was in a cream linen suit, looking healthier than he had in a long time. He’d ditched the cane before the new year, though he still moved gingerly at times, especially when it rained. There was a small velvet box in his hand.

“Can an old man come in?”

“You’re not old, Mr. Montague. You’re seasoned,” Siani said.

“Is that so?” He laughed and opened the box. Inside was a thin gold necklace with a small charm—a B and C intertwined. “This is for you.”

“Belle and Cardez?” I asked.