EPILOGUE

Two years later

With her arm linked around his elbow, Michael strolled with Annalise’s mother along the pathway by the fountains at the Bellagio. They stopped at the thick, stone railing that surrounded the manmade lake, gazing at the placid waters and the crowds waiting for the aqua ballet.

“In about five minutes, the water show will begin,” he said to her in French.

Marie narrowed her eyes, shooting him a sharp stare. “English, young man.”

He laughed deeply, then repeated himself as per her request.

“I cannot wait to see the water show,” she said slowly, answering him in English, too.

“You’ll love it. It’s spectacular.”

Marie was learning the local language. She’d insisted on a crash course in all things American, since she was living here now five months a year. Michael had bought her a condo in a nearby building, and he spent time with her a few days a week, helping her around the city, and working on her language skills. Marie saw her daughter nearly every day, since that was the point of this arrangement. Marie’s health was improving, but she still needed assistance from her family, so Michael had devised a solution.

He’d moved her to America five months a year, and Annalise stayed in his home—now theirs—during those five months. They’d spend the next five months in Paris, and while there he worked remotely as much as he could, but mostly he enjoyed his days wandering around the city, eating the occasional coffee éclair and apricot tarte, and spending as much time as he could with his beautiful wife.

The other two months? Sometimes they travelled together. Sometimes they lived apart. But they always came back together, and truth be told, the time apart made some things even hotter.

With the new schedule, his workload had lessened, and that was fine with everyone involved. He’d once thought he couldn’t give up work, but it turned out nearly dying changed your perspective. Work didn’t matter as much as family. He had two families now—his own and his wife’s—and he loved them both dearly. Besides, Sloan Protection Resources had a new partner. Mindy was a part owner, and she and Ryan had become the main forces at the company. Seemed to work well, since Ryan and Mindy had both married into the same family. Mindy was Mindy Winston now.

Colin and Elle had tied the knot a year ago. They’d decided to make it official since they found themselves—rather quickly—adopting a two-year-old girl from foster care who’d lost both her parents. She was one of Michael’s truly adorable nieces. Shannon had a baby boy, and then a girl joined them soon after. Another girl would be coming into the family soon, since Sophie was ready to pop any day.

As for Michael and Annalise, well, maybe someday they’d have kids. For now, he was happy with the way things were. He’d be happy, too, if they changed. As long as he had her, it was all good.

“How was your visit to Hawthorne?” Marie asked.

He didn’t answer right away. He inhaled deeply, lingering on the question. Seeing his mother was hard. It was tough. It challenged him like nothing else had. But he’d made the decision two years ago to let go of his all-or-nothing attitude toward her. He didn’t call it forgiveness. Though he understood more of why she’d made her choices, he could never abide by them.

He didn’t have to, though. He could choose to be the man his father had raised. A man who lived a life full of love, compassion, and hope.

And that was why he’d decided to visit her, now and then. To honor the lessons his father had taught him—lessons in mercy. Lessons in grace.

Today his mother had been chatty, talking about a new soap opera she’d started watching. When she was through, he’d updated her on everyone, telling her about how cute Shannon’s babies were and showing her pictures. Then he told her about Marcus. Turned out the kid was a chip off the old block. He’d kept up the long-distance relationship with the dancer and that devotion had paid off. Cassidy had moved to Tampa recently, having landed a ballet gig there, near his college. He’d graduate with his business degree in one more year.

On prior visits Michael had updated his mother on the other news over the last few years. Luke Carlton had been sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder, as well as multiple counts of racketeering. Curtis Paul Wollinsky had received forty years on RICO charges, and T.J. Nelson was in the big house for life, too. There had been no rumblings, nor even any whispers, of gang activity in a long time. And White Box had been shut down. The four Sloan siblings bought the shuttered property and donated it to the city to turn into something else—the Thomas Paige Library.

“It was a good visit,” he said to Marie, shooting her a smile as the sun dipped lower and the music began, signaling the start of the show. “It was good to have Annalise with me.”

A few minutes later, he felt Annalise’s breath on his neck, then a kiss from her lips. “Hi, handsome,” she said softly. She was freshly showered after the long drive back.

She gave her mother cheek kisses, and wedged herself between them, an arm around each. “My two favorite people,” she said, and then they watched the fountains at the Bellagio spray water high into the sunset sky.

“We finally made it to the Bellagio,” she whispered, for him only.

“We finally made it.”

* * *

Later that night, they gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows in their Las Vegas home, watching the lights of the city, one of her favorite pastimes. It was something they also loved to do from their home in Paris. Her flat had become his home as well, and was now full of pictures of the two of them.

She pressed her hand on his torso. “You’re still the sexiest guy I know, even if you don’t have a spleen.”

He laughed. “Amazing that I work without it.”

“You have all the parts that matter,” she said, tapping his head then dropping her hand to the front of his jeans, squeezing him. She travelled up his chest and stopped at his heart. “But this one works best of all.”

“Yes. It works pretty damn well, if I do say so myself,” he said and then took her to bed.

Both outside their home and between these walls, there was peace, and hope, and so much love that she knew it would carry them far into happily-ever after, and then some.

THE END