The applause starts again, and I rise from my seat, clapping like a maniac and wolf-whistling as my girl walks to the front to receive her Associate’s Degree. She’s dressed in her long gown and Oxford cap, her smile radiant.

Octavia. My girl. My wife.

My life.

“Go girl!” I holler, and don’t give a damn if people around me start and give me the stink-eye. “You’ve got this!”

“Tati!” Cole yells from beside me, and Mary rolls her eyes at both of us. At eight, she’s a little lady, while at six Cole is still every bit the little boy he was when we first met Octavia.

“Boys,” she sighs, and flips a lock of blond hair over her shoulder. In her blue dress, with tiny gold earrings dangling from her ears, lip gloss on her lips… God damn, my daughter is turning into a woman. When did that happen?

“Is Tati coming down here?” Cole asks, eyes turning up on me.

I ruffle his dark hair and pull him so that we both sit back down. “Soon. When the ceremony ends.”

“And she will never go back to classes again?”

“No, she’s done with them. She will look for a job now.”

“But she’s sick!”

“She’s not sick, she’s—”

“Shh.” Mary glares at me. Well, mock-glares. I think. “Quiet.”

I nod, because she’s right, and yet my heart feels too big inside my chest. I want to jump and shout and tell everyone just how fucking happy I am. Everything’s perfect in my life right now.

I’m so happy, and so fucking scared it won’t last, that something bad will happen and tear it all down, like it did last time I felt this way—right after Cole was born and my wife was diagnosed with cancer. It killed Emma and crushed me until I thought I’d died along with her.

Until Octavia came along and pulled me out of that dark hole I’d fallen into, helped me get my feet under me and find my way. She healed me, gave me my family back. My kids, who barely knew me. This joy in life. And now she’s about to give me even more.

Thankfully, the ceremony is almost at its end. As I glance around, I see Octavia’s mom waving at us from two rows behind us. Gigi and Merc, Octavia’s siblings, are there as well. Gigi makes faces at me—or maybe it’s at Cole who’s also turned to look. He’s bored out of his mind, sitting here for so long.

Worry hits me when I don’t see Kaden and Hailey anywhere. They said they’d be here, and my mom is babysitting their little son, Shawn, and baby Ashley for this very reason.

Relax, I tell myself. They probably came late and got seats in the back. Kaden’s fine. I’m only worried because the concussion he got a few years back—the one that made him amnesic for a week and made us all fucking sick with fear—led to post-concussive syndrome. That means he’s suffered from headaches and some dizziness since then, but truth is, he’s been doing much better this past year.

He’s better, I repeat to myself. He’s fine. Nothing happened. Stop trying to jinx yourself for no good reason other than for being happy and at peace.

Mary tugs on my arm, arching her brows at me and pursing her lips. Code for ‘turn around and pay attention to the ceremony,’ I guess. The dean of the college or some such guy is droning on about education and hard work and the future of the state. I force myself to sit still and pretend to be paying attention, seeking out Octavia with my gaze.

She’s standing off to the side, together with her class, staring right back at me. I grin at her, and she smiles back, her face bright. She’s all I can see, and it’s all I can do not to jump up and run to her, take her in my arms, kiss her senseless.

I’m so fucking proud of her. So fucking in love with her.

Again my chest tightens, and my lungs won’t get enough air. Dammit. My breathing does this funny thing sometimes whenever I get anxious. It started when Emma died, though it got better when Octavia entered my life. Tonight is a joyful night, goddammit.

Calm the hell down, Matt.

I wish Kaden were here to tell me that. Easier to listen when it’s your brother telling you to relax than the stupid little voice in your head, the same one that whispers all your fears and doubts to you in the night, getting you in this damn sorry state in the first place.

The speaker who’s been monopolizing the mike says something that has everyone clapping like crazy, and I blink.

“It’s over,” Mary says, in that haughty voice she has been using all night. I wonder what’s up with that. “You can go to her now.”

“What?”

“To Octavia. You’ve been acting like a stupid boy with her lately.”

Ow. Shit, okay, I really need to talk to my daughter, see what’s bothering her so much. I know for a fact that she loves Octavia to bits, and she’s never been jealous of my love for her, so what’s going on, huh?

But Cole is already on his feet and running toward his favorite person in the world, and I scramble up to follow him. Yeah, first things first. This is Octavia’s night.

We’re about to celebrate.

* * *

“It’s done,” she squeals the moment I put my arms around her and spin her a little, Cole hanging to her gown. “It’s over.”

“You’re amazing,” I tell her, my chest filled to bursting with all the love for her, and slide my hand down to her slightly rounded stomach. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, her eyes shining. She pulls Cole to her side. “Where’s Mary?”

I glance at the front row where my daughter is sitting primly, legs crossed, the cell phone Kaden gave her in her hands. She’s typing something, a frown on her pretty little face.

“Wow, who is she texting like that?” Octavia’s eyes narrow. “A boyfriend?”

The fuck. “I’m confiscating that damn phone tonight.”

Octavia laughs, wraps her arm around my back, leans her head on my shoulder. “Relax. Probably just a friend from school.”

Her scent wraps around me like a hug, and I sag a little as the tension leaves me. Having Tay pressed to my side is the best thing in the world—ranked up there with having my kids in my arms, and my brother by my side.

Best feeling ever, this certainty they are well, and right here, with me. Everything’s fine with my world right now.

I squeeze Octavia against me. “Will you ask her about it?”

“I can try.” She shrugs. “She’s been avoiding me lately.”

Shit. “Any idea why?”

“Maybe it’s just an age thing? I kinda think my sis went through a similar phase. But you should talk to Mary, make sure nothing’s the matter.”

I will.

I vow that’s exactly what I’m gonna do tomorrow. It hurts to think my daughter is upset about something and won’t tell me, but I’m getting to the bottom of this. I’ll fix the problem, although Octavia is right, it has to be a phase.

And I’m damn well gonna check the messages on Mary’s phone. If she has a boyfriend, he’ll have to go through me before he as much as speaks her name again, and that’s a fact.

Tomorrow.

“You feeling up to dinner?” I dip my head, and she looks up, her lips parting. I kiss her, sweeping my tongue over her lips, to taste her sweetness. When I break the kiss, we’re both panting.

“I’m starving.” She smiles, her eyes going heavy-lidded. She licks her lips and damn, I want to keep kissing her all night. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

* * *

We collect a strangely quiet Mary on our way out, and then Gigi, Merc and Octavia’s mom join us. Gigi hugs her sister and starts to chatter about the dean and the students and the weather and just about anything one could possibly talk about. I swear, the girl doesn’t need to breathe.

Merc shoots me a long-suffering look, and I grin back at him. Boy has grown into a fine man over the past few years, his white-blond hair falling in those blue eyes the whole Watson family shares, although Octavia’s are the prettiest by far.

Not that I’m biased or anything.

“Have you guys seen Kaden and Hailey?” I ask them, but they shake their heads. That nagging worry is back in my chest, and even as I shove it ruthlessly back down, my heart starts pounding, my breathing coming too fast.

Shit. I lift my phone to call, see what held them up, and find the battery dead. That’s probably it, I think. Kaden tried to call and tell me that something came up, but my phone’s dead.

And then I see them as we head toward our car. They wave and smile, and my racing heart finally slows down.

“Where have you been?” I grumble when Kaden grabs my arm in a bro-shake and pats my back. “You missed the ceremony.”

“We caught the tail end of it. Not sorry about missing all the speeches, though.” He winks at me and I deflate, all my anger and worry going out like a candle. I can never stay mad at my brother for long.

“Shawn and Ashley okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. Watching a Disney movie with Mom.”

“Good, good. Let’s go eat.” I haul Octavia to my side, my arm wrapped around her slender shoulders. “See you there.”

“Hey, Matt.”

I stop, turn to shoot him a questioning look, something in his voice bringing me up short. “What?”

Kaden rubs the back of his neck, and fuck, that nervous gesture isn’t promising anything good. “Just something I need to talk to you about. Later.”

“What? Kade, come on, don’t leave me hanging like this, you know I hate it.” That’s an understatement. “Is it family-related? Is it the Mancave?”

Octavia burrows closer to my side, taking off her Oxford cap, her blue eyes wide. “Is everything okay?”

Dammit. Last thing I want is for her to worry.

“It’s nothing that bad, I swear. Let’s go.” Kaden flashes us a quick smile, the bastard, and reaches for Hailey’s hand. “See you at the restaurant.”

I want to call him back, have him tell me then and there what the problem is, but Octavia in my arms is the deciding factor against. I feel the warm press of her belly in my side, of our baby. She doesn’t need more stress. She’s had enough of that between the morning sickness she suffered with for months and finishing her Associate’s Degree.

Yeah, fuck that. I’d better talk to him alone, later.

Find out what happened, and fix it, so our lives can go on as they have for these past couple of years—peaceful, bright and happy.

It’s all I want. This second chance at happiness, with Octavia, my kids, and my brother by my side. This happy ending.

I’d do fucking anything it takes to keep it.

* * *

As we arrive at Trevi’s, Octavia squeals like a little girl, and I laugh, pleased at her reaction.

“This is where you proposed to me,” she says breathlessly.

“I know. You seemed to like it.”

“The food?”

“Getting married to me.” I wink at her, and she leans in to kiss my cheek, cupping my face.

“I loved it,” she murmurs. “I love being married to you even more.”

The three rings on her right hand are cool on my skin. She never takes them off. There’s the engagement ring with the blue stone that matches her eyes—the one I gave her right here, when I asked her to marry me—then her golden wedding band, and finally the first ring I gave her back in Destiny: a slender golden ring with no markings.

My first promise to her. A promise I kept.

“Good.” I turn my face to kiss her mouth. “Get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere.”

Cole makes a vaguely disgusted noise from the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, I see Mary frowning at something outside the window.

I wonder what’s up with her.

Trevi’s is an expensive place. Back when I proposed to her, it was way over the top, but now I have more money than I did then. I put money aside, Kaden moved here to St. Louis, and we opened a shop together. Hansen Brothers Workshop officially.

We call it the Mancave between us.

Octavia started it. She was always saying, “You going over to the mancave now? Is Kaden at the mancave?” She said it so many times it stuck.

And it fits. Where else is a caveman to go but into his mancave?

Although to be honest, I’m happiest at home, with her and our little family. She tamed me, turned me from a beast back into a man, and this man is so in love with her, there are no fucking words to describe the feeling.

We stop at the restaurant entrance, and I jump out to go around and help Octavia. She insists she doesn’t need help, but I’m fucking protective of her, especially now. She smiles up at me as I hold her in my arms, while the kids climb out as well and come to join us. I ruffle Cole’s hair, try to do the same to Mary, but she sidesteps me neatly with a small eye roll.

The valet approaches us, a young guy with a flop of blond hair, like Merc’s. I give him the keys and we step inside the restaurant.

Our table is in the back, and Octavia’s family is already there, seated and perusing the menu. Her mom gets up to hug her daughter again, telling her how proud she is, and then they sit down and start that whispered conversation they’ve been having ever since Octavia got pregnant.

Women, baby and pregnancy matters, I assume, and I leave them to it, suppressing my burning curiosity, hoping one day Octavia will tell me all about it.

Not that she doesn’t talk to me. She does, and lets me help her. It makes me fucking glad, and hey, I’ve been a father before. I know a thing or two about all that.

My kids go directly to sit beside Gigi, Octavia’s sister, because they’re both in love with her, I swear. I think Mary wants to be like her when she grows up, and Cole wants to marry her.

I suppress a sigh. My kids are growing up way too fast.

As for myself, I sit on Octavia’s other side, beside her brother Merc, and clap him on the shoulder. “What’s up, buddy?”

He grins at me, his clear blue eyes half-closing. “Hungry. Is the food any good here?”

“It’s edible,” I inform him. I know he’s seen the prices. “You’ll survive.”

Even if he eats like a truck driver. Maybe we should stop by a McDonald’s afterward, grab him a couple of burgers, just in case.

“Ah-huh. I’ll take your word for that.” He’s wearing a black T-shirt over black jeans, and it only makes his pale skin and blond hair stand out more.

I’ve watched Mercury—Merc for friends and family—turn into a man over these past few years here in St. Louis. He’s been working part-time with us at the Mancave and taking some college classes. Says he isn’t sure yet what he wants to do.

“Hey, Matt!” Gigi lifts a brow at me, looking up from her menu, cheeks flushed, her long blond hair twisted up in a messy bun. “You should have told us this was a classy place. I’m so underdressed.”

I meet her blue-gray eyes and lift my brows. “You’re fine.”

Very fine, in fact. Where Merc turned into a quiet, strong young man, Gigi—Augusta on paper—has transformed from a pretty girl into a bombshell.

It worries me a little. I’m too young to be her dad, but I’ve always felt the urge to protect Octavia’s siblings as if they were my own kids.

Just to be clear: Octavia is the prettiest woman in the world. Gigi doesn’t hold a candle to her, but I can see the appeal for the young men buzzing around her like bees on a drop of honey. Girl has curves, and long legs, and a sweet face. A nice little package all around.

“Hey, guys.” Hailey sits down across from me, tucking chestnut hair behind her ears, flashing us a happy smile. “Nice place.”

Kaden nods at us and takes his seat beside his wife. What did he want to talk to me about? I pin him with my gaze, but he pretends not to notice, turning to talk to Octavia’s mom, all charming and shit.

And Octavia distracts me, turning to me and taking my hand. “All right?”

“Yeah.” I squeeze her small hand in mine. “You?” I avoid looking at her mom, avoid thinking about the whispered conversations. “Anything I should know about?”

“No. We were just…” A flush rises to her cheeks, and leaning in, I kiss her soft mouth. How can I not, when she’s so damn pretty?

“Just what?”

“Just talking. About the past.”

That catches me off guard. “About when she was pregnant with you, or…?”

“Oh no. Not that. About Jasper, and Ross, and…” She bites her lower lip, looking down at our clasped hands. “And relationships.”

“About your father? And that bully Ross?”

“My half-brother.”

“Who bullied you as a kid. And Jasper was shit as a father, and never told you even though he knew all along.” I take her chin in my hand, tip her face up. “So why?”

Her expressive eyes fill up. “Nobody deserves to be tortured forever, Matt.”

I frown. “What…?”

What brought this on? Why should she care? Is she talking about Jasper or Ross? Why is she concerned?

But I have to leave my questions for later, because the waitress arrives to take our order, and with all the laughter and everyone talking over each other and teasing, I forget all about this little exchange for a while.

We open a bottle of champagne and toast to Octavia’s future, and then exchange her glass for orange juice, and drink. The food arrives soon after, loads of pasta and steaks, and everyone falls silent as they dig in. I take the moment to look at them all, gathered here. I wish my mom was with us, but she’s happy babysitting. I wish my dad were here, too, but I hope he’s watching us from above, glad for us.

Look how far we’ve come. We all suffered through so many losses, and illnesses, and accidents, and made it here. One happy family.

Dessert and coffee follow, and I glance at Octavia who’s laughing at something Merc is saying, grinning at her, when Kaden catches my eye. He gets up and motions for me to follow him.

My grin fades as I remember our earlier conversation. Pushing back my chair, throwing my napkin on my plate, I hurry after him.

We step outside into the cool June evening.

“Spit it out,” I mutter, my pulse kicking up. “What is it, Kade?”

Kaden rubs a hand over his mouth, then shoves his hands into his pants pockets. “Before you start hyperventilating, everyone’s fine. But Evan, Evan Morales? He called looking for you.”

“Evan?” It takes me a few long seconds to place the name. Evan, right. We used to work together in Jasper’s garage, back when I lived in Destiny, when I met Octavia. “What happened?”

“He called your cell phone, but couldn’t reach you, and called home, Mom’s phone that you gave him when you first moved here. I answered.”

I put a hand on Kaden’s arm, fighting the urge to shake him. “To Evan. What happened to him?”

“Accident. He didn’t say what. He has no family, apparently. He needs your help.”