EPILOGUE
BROOKE
Two months later . . .
I’d had plenty of help planning my wedding.
I talked to Jade every day by video conference, showing her samples of what I wanted for gowns, cakes, catering, flowers, and every other detail I hadn’t known existed for a bride.
In addition, I had every Sinclair wife helping me out. At least one of my half brothers’ wives had been around nearly every day, and more often than not, they were all with me at Liam’s house to help with planning.
I’d given up my apartment and moved in with him. We’d stopped trying to maintain separate residences since we were almost always together in the evenings, and every single night.
I’d become friends with every one of my half brothers’ wives, but the relationship I cherished the most was with my half sister, Hope.
She’d been the one to help me through a lot of the bad things that had happened to me. After I’d heard about her life as a storm chaser before she’d married Jason, and the horror she’d endured while she was in another country during a typhoon, my experiences had almost appeared tame. Not that Hope had ever made them seem like anything but a nightmare for me. She’d been patient and kind, empathetic since she’d been through her own trauma.
But my half sister was living proof that good things could come after tragedy.
Honestly, almost every one of the Sinclair wives had suffered her own private hell at one time, so bonding with them had been easy. They were so real, so easy to open up to that I felt like I’d known them all forever.
Yeah, there were times I missed my family in California, but having other family here in Amesport had taken the sting out of missing my sister and brothers.
But now they’re all here.
I sighed as I looked around the Amesport Youth Center, amazed that the large gathering place could serve so many purposes. My reception was in full swing, and the ballroom looked amazing. I had the Sinclair men in the town to thank for that. All of them had put a ton of money into the formerly dilapidated center, making sure it could accommodate a plethora of events, from youth basketball games to town parties.
It had been the best venue to have my wedding reception since there were so many guests that wanted to attend. Just the Sinclair family alone took up a lot of space, and I was pretty sure at least half the town was here. Liam and Tessa had grown up here, and they had a lot of friends.
My brothers, Evan, and Hope were all huddled at a large table in the far corner, and it appeared they were all getting along well. When I looked at them all together, the resemblance to each other was perfectly clear.
I wondered why I’d never suspected Evan. But I’d determined that it was difficult to see something that wasn’t even possible. Or at least, it hadn’t been remotely possible to me before I’d discovered the truth. I guessed when you weren’t looking for something, it remained hidden. The brain was funny like that.
I moved into the crush, returning to the ballroom after I’d spent a very long time trying to figure out how to pee in a bridal gown. It hadn’t been easy, but I’d finally gotten the deed accomplished.
Liam’s gaze was the first to find me in the crowd as I walked back toward the table. His head shot up and turned to look at me with the hot, possessive gaze I’d learned to love so damn much.
It was like he sensed my presence, just like I could feel him when he entered a room. We lost sight of each other as I worked my way through the crowd, but the feeling of awareness never went away.
Over the last few months, I’d slowly become more comfortable in my own skin, and I was learning to accept that I was ridiculously wealthy. Evan, after we’d patched up our argument, had been an amazing mentor to me as I started building my own personal wealth. He’d been there to calm me when I’d doubted myself and my investment sense. Hell, when a person was investing seven or eight figures in various opportunities, even though I’d researched and found them to be a good risk that would return well, it was pretty intimidating.
I’d decided against taking a work-for-wages job. Just handling my own wealth was more than enough to keep me busy. When I’d gone to college for my finance degree, I never imagined that I’d end up being my own investor. It was both freeing and daunting at the same time.
Evan helped. Having his advice was invaluable. Having him as a brother was even better.
I got a ton of advice from all of my half brothers. Every single one of them had amazing business minds, and so did Hope’s husband, Jason. I was like a sponge as I soaked up everything they shared with me. Someday, I hoped to be able to join the ranks of the business-wizard Sinclairs. But for now, I was happy to be an apprentice.
Surprisingly, I’d discovered how incredibly generous my half siblings were with their fortune, and how damn good it felt to give to worthy causes to help change the world. It was probably one of the most fulfilling parts of finding myself suddenly a billionaire.
Liam grinned at me as I finally reached the table, standing up so he could pull out the chair next to him.
He was breathtaking in a tuxedo, and I let myself absorb the pride I felt that he was now legally mine, before I took my seat.
I’d just married one incredible man, and I’d probably be pinching myself for weeks before I became accustomed to being his wife.
Liam had decided to hire a manager for Sullivan’s. It was almost the busy season, and he’d hired more staff, too. Not that he planned on being any less involved, but he wanted to focus more on growing the business than doing the day-to-day tasks.
I sat down carefully, and Liam settled next to me.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the honeymoon,” he grumbled near my ear in a voice meant only for me.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I turned to look at him. “The reception has barely started,” I reminded him. “And we aren’t leaving until tomorrow.”
We were going to be gone for a month. There had been so many places I’d wanted to honeymoon in that Liam had included every one of them. We’d do a crazy trip around the world to visit all of them, but I knew it would be perfectly comfortable since we were using Evan’s private jet.
“Yeah, so we need to get to bed early so we’re rested,” he said gruffly.
I did laugh this time. I couldn’t help myself. “Liam, it’s barely five o’clock, and I’m starving. Can we at least wait until we do dinner and the cake?”
“I can wait, then,” he said immediately, his eyes roaming over my face lovingly.
I kissed him, a slow, sweet kiss that left me yearning to have this man gloriously naked so I could embrace him the way I longed to right now. If I wanted something, he was always patient. It made my heart ache to know that he was so damn willing to put my wants and needs before his own. I didn’t take advantage of that, because I was willing to do the same thing for him. But there was something so damn sweet about a guy who’d give so much just to make me happy.
“Thank you for waiting,” I said breathlessly, my voice touched with humor.
“I’d wait forever for you, Brooke. I feel like I already have,” he said in a quiet voice as he put his arm around me.
I sighed as I felt the heat of his massive body next to mine. “Me too,” I murmured.
My sister, Jade, was making her way through the crowd, and she looked flustered as she sat down in her chair across from me.
Her cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato as she took a large sip of her drink.
I leaned across the table as I asked, “Are you okay? Your face is flushed.”
She lifted a hand to her cheek, like she was trying to brush away the heat of her skin. “I’m fine,” she snapped. “I didn’t know Eli Stone was coming.”
I’d met the eccentric billionaire right after the wedding. “He’s friends with most of the Sinclairs here in Amesport. I didn’t know he was coming, either. But he seems nice enough.”
One thing I’d discovered about filthy-rich people was that most of them knew each other, and quite often they were friends. Or else they hated each other. I was pretty sure that my half siblings knew so many rich people because that’s how they’d grown up. Maybe other people with money were the only ones they could trust.
“I hate him,” Jade said vehemently. “We can’t even be civil to one another.”
“Why?” I asked.
She shook her head, looking like she regretted her outburst. “It’s nothing. I don’t have to talk to him again,” she said in a calmer tone.
“Did he do something to offend you?” Liam asked, sounding annoyed that a guest at his wedding might have upset my sister.
Jade and Liam had gotten to know each other over the last couple of months, and they had a mutual respect and affection for each other. If somebody hurt my twin, he’d be determined to make it right.
“No. Really. I’m good,” Jade said. “He just annoys me. I’m not going to let some pompous, arrogant, filthy-rich guy piss me off.” She smiled a little too brightly. “It’s a special day.”
Her lips were smiling, but her eyes looked troubled. I was worried about Jade, but until she was ready to talk about whatever was bothering her, there wasn’t much I could do.
“You two lovebirds need to tell the caterer to bring on the food. I’m starving,” Aiden suggested in a loud, booming voice down the table from Liam and me.
“When are you not starving?” Liam said drily, but he motioned for the waiters to start the food service. “Does he ever stop eating?” Liam asked in a quieter tone.
I smiled. All of my brothers could eat like horses. “No. They’ve been that way for as long as I can remember.”
I didn’t mention that there had been so many times that my older brothers had sacrificed their food for me, Jade, and Owen. They were making up for lost time now that they’d never need to worry about having enough food for the whole family ever again.
“Glad I ordered extra food,” Liam said good-naturedly.
He’d ordered a ton of food—more than my brothers could eat. And I knew he’d done it because he knew how much they liked to eat.
“I love you,” I blurted out as I turned to look at him, my heart in my throat as I thought about how lucky I was to have a man who cared about my family.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Liam asked as he saw a tear roll down my cheek.
I shook my head and swiped the random tear away. “Nothing. I was just wondering what I’ve ever done in my life to deserve a man like you.”
He smiled at me as he tipped my chin up to look at my face. “Nothing. You didn’t have to do anything. You just had to be you. And for the record, I love you, too.”
I knew he loved me. He proved it with actions as well as words. I looked at his handsome face, thinking once again how damn attractive he looked in formal wear. “Maybe we can skip the cake,” I said, in a voice just loud enough for him to hear.
Suddenly, I didn’t really care if I ate or not. I wanted to get Liam home and strip off every item of his clothing until I could touch his heated skin. Words didn’t seem like enough right now. I wanted . . . him. I needed to show him that I loved him as well as saying it out loud.
He laughed. A loud, deep, and thoroughly amused sound that melted my heart. “Sweetheart, we can eat first.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I don’t think I can wait,” I whispered against his ear.
“You’re hungry—”
“I want you more,” I said, my mouth next to his ear.
“Fuck!” he said in a quiet, frustrated tone. “I saw a few vacant rooms as we were walking toward the ballroom, but that isn’t exactly what I had planned for our first time together as man and wife.”
“We could get back before our food is cold,” I said suggestively. I didn’t need a perfect honeymoon. All I needed was Liam.
I felt his shoulders tense beneath my arms. “Feeling adventurous?” he asked huskily.
“Very.”
He rose without any further prompting. I could see the playfulness in his eyes as he pulled me to my feet.
“We’re coming back so I can feed you,” he said insistently. “We can’t be gone long.”
“I guess I can wait,” I said, even though I still urgently wanted to be alone with him.
“Yeah, well, I can’t,” he said gruffly, tugging me gently toward the exit. “Consider this a preview for what’s going to happen later.”
I laughed as I looked at the wide-eyed stares my family was giving us as Liam single-mindedly hauled me away from our wedding reception.
“We’ll be back,” I called happily over my shoulder to the table full of siblings we’d just left.
Later, I’d remember it as the happiest, most beautiful reception I could have asked for, even though Liam and I had needed to have our dinner reheated.
But I wasn’t about to complain.
My new husband had made it more than worth the sacrifice.