Rinse [manxman]

Epilogue

Twenty years later...

"No," I said, staring down at the countertop, chopping up carrots for the soup. "We're going to have a house full of people any time now, and the kids were supposed to be here half an hour ago, so it's only a matter of time until—"

"Blake, come on," Dakota whined, sounding too much like our son. "We haven't done anything the past few days because of all this wedding stuff, and we aren't going to be able to do anything tonight either."

He didn't know it, but I'd been suffering just as much as he had, if not a little more. Dakota would come into my office the last few days in his tight military uniform and... It was very difficult to get work done with him popping in and out of my office asking me questions for Elizabeth, Wyatt, Holly, and whoever else wanted to know something about the wedding. And they were never simple questions that only one of us could answer either. Instead, every question asked was something that left Dakota and I equally confused and just begging someone else to deal with it.

After everything we'd gone through in the last forty years, the seating arrangement for the guests at mine and Dakota's wedding wasn't something I found myself overly concerned with. Honestly, if we could just make it through the day without any meltdowns or panic attacks, I'd be thrilled.

Dakota's groin pressed against my backside, grinding against me lightly as he placed his hands on my hips, searching for my belt loops. I sighed, putting the knife down and turning to face him. His hair had gotten longer over the last few months. I was convinced he and Farley were attempting to see who could escape Lila's wrath about their needing haircuts the longest, but she had yet to snap at either of them.

I nudged Dakota back, edging him away from the counter with the carrots and celery and all the utensils, to the other counter where the bowls and plates were set. His back hit the counter, and he lifted a brow at me. I leaned in, settling my lips on his and parting them swiftly. I gently ground against him, slipping my hand between us and—"

Dakota pulled back, kissing behind my ear. "What's your rush?"

"Everyone will be here any minute now. If you want to do this, it's going to have to be quick."

"They've kept us waiting. There's no reason we can't make them wait," Dakota said.

I shook my head and kissed his cheek before turning back to the other counter. "Look, as much as I really want to, I'm not about to make our children wait because we have to get a quick fuck out of our systems so we can bear to spend the night apart."

"That's why I'm marrying you: you're such a romantic."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know what you're bitching about my rushing for anyway. We didn't get anything but quick ones until a little while ago."

"Farley's been moved out for almost two years."

"I thought we agreed we still weren't going to phrase it like that."

Dakota sighed, chuckling a bit. "Blake, you're eventually going to have to accept the fact that Farley does not live here. You didn't react this badly when Lila and Soph moved out."

"But Lila only lives a mile away from Lizzy, and there is no reason whatsoever to worry about Sophia. She's intelligent and actually has some common sense. It also doesn't hurt that she can cast illusions on anyone with the blink of an eye. Farley gets into everything. I'm telling you, he's going to get arrested for some of the stuff he keeps trying to street test with Lebeaux."

"Blake, we both rank high enough to bail him out. Besides, he's one of the realm's top scientists. We couldn't justify leaving him in prison based on that alone," Dakota said.