EPILOGUE
DILLON – 18 MONTHS LATER
“Are you crying?” Vivien whispers, leaning into my side as she scrutinizes my face.
“Yes,” I readily admit, circling my arm around her slender shoulders. “I’m so fucking proud of our boys and secure enough in my manhood that I can cry in public and own up to it.”
“God, I love the hell out of you, Dillon Lancaster O’Donoghue.” She stretches up and smacks a loud kiss on my lips. When she pulls back, she’s grinning. “I’m secure enough in our love and proud of the husband and father you are to kiss you in public and not give a flying fuckity-fuck who saw or what they think about it.”
“That’s my girl.” I slap her ass.
I feel disapproving, disbelieving eyes around us, and I’m tempted to flip them the bird, but that would be immature. Considering I’ll be forty in eight months, I figure I should probably try to act my age. Besides, it’s our sons high-school graduation, and nothing should steal their thunder.
The long ceremony ends, thank fuck, and our boys make their way over to us.
“I’m so proud of you,” Vivien squeals, flinging her arms around both boys and hugging them to death. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” She peppers their faces with kisses, and both boys wear similar amused adoring grins. They love their mother, and it makes me happy to know it and see it.
“Control your woman,” Easton teases, eyeballing me over Viv’s shoulder when she shows no sign of stopping.
“Women should never be controlled, son.” I reel Viv back into my arms. “You should only ever want to free their wings and give them room to fly.”
“Spoken like a true poet,” Bodhi says, grinning at me.
“Takes one to know one.” I waggle my brows as another surge of pride swells in my chest. “I won’t be the only fool in our house writing love songs for a living. Come Monday, that accolade will be passed to you.”
“Now, I feel left out,” Easton pouts.
“Don’t talk stupid.” Bodhi wraps his arm around East’s neck, grinning. “You’re going to play ball for the Bears. I’m proud of you little brother.”
“Hey. I’m not the little one in this combo.” East wrangles out of his hold, straightening up and puffing out his chest as he wags his finger in Bodhi’s face. He has a couple of inches in height over Bodhi, and he’s much broader and more muscular too. He loves to tease his brother over it any chance he gets. “And we’re both eighteen now.”
“I’m still six months older than you. Last I checked that makes me the eldest and you the little brother.”
“You two would fight over air,” Viv says, fiddling with the settings on her Nikon. She insisted on bringing the big guns out today.
“Are we going to the restaurant yet?” Fleur asks, looking bored. She turned ten on her last birthday, and she’s already entered the tween phase. God help us all.
“I want to get some photos of the boys with their friends and then we’ll leave.”
“Auntie Ash is outside,” I say, mussing up my eldest daughter’s hair. Predictably, she scowls at me, before rushing to fix it. “You can join her and wait there for us,” I suggest.
“I’ll come too,” Melody says, instantly threading her fingers in her sister’s.
“We’ll walk them out,” Lauren offers, beaming at her granddaughters. “Just give me one second to congratulate your brothers.” She moves over to hug Easton and Bodhi.
Fleur grumbles, deepening the sound when Jonathon musses up her hair again.
We share a chuckle and a knowing look. My father-in-law and I have grown very close over the years, and he’s a man I admire a hell of a lot. Lauren and Jon now spend half the year in Italy, at the home Reeve bequeathed them in his will. We joined them for a few months last summer, and it did wonders for Bodhi’s mood.
Our boy has tried hard to deal with the ghosts of his past this last eighteen months. It hasn’t been plain sailing. He relapsed at the start of senior year, but he came and told us, allowing us to get him the support he needed. We discussed him going into rehab, but Bodhi didn’t want to defer senior year, so he attended an outpatient program for a couple of months around school, and he managed to get through it and graduate on time with his brother. Something which was important to him.
Bodhi is itching to leave school behind him and come work with me at the label. He has no desire to be front and center stage, but he wants to learn the industry from the ground up and he wants to be a songwriter and producer. He certainly has the talent, and I couldn’t be more excited he is joining the CD label next week.
Lauren and Jonathon leave with our girls while Viv gets the boys to pose for her.
“Why is Ash outside, or do I want to know?” she asks as she snaps some pics.
“Did you really expect my sister to wait patiently at the restaurant for us to arrive? You know she adores these guys. Hell if I know why,” I joke, flashing them a grin. I’m deflecting on purpose. The whole O’Donoghue clan is outside, having flown in from Ireland to be here to celebrate with us. I wanted to surprise everyone, so I made my sister and Jamie keep it a secret.