Reality || L.H.

Epilogue

Five years later...

Almost as soon as I kick our apartment door shut behind me, someone comes rushing up to me.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" my two year old daughter says excitedly, pulling on my shirt. "Look what Uncle Mikey and Daddy did!"

My eyes widen as I notice that her blonde hair is now dyed a bright purple. Throwing my keys down on the counter, I pick Stella up in my arms and start down the hallway. "Lucas Robert Hemmings!" I shout as I turn the corner into our bedroom.

"Shit, run!" Luke whisper-yells to Michael and they try to run past me, but I block their way. "Baby, please, why don't we talk this out," he pleads, putting the bed between us. "Stella just wanted to dye her hair and we couldn't say no-"

I set Stella down. "Stell, why don't you go color in your room? Mommy is going teach Daddy and Uncle Mikey a lesson."

She giggles as she runs down the hallway and I whirl to face Michael and Luke once again, raising an eyebrow at each of them.

They glance sideways at each other, yelling as they point to the other, "It was all his fault!"

"Dammit, Michael!" Luke says as I walk around the bed. Putting his hands out in front of him to protect himself, he says, "Kat, come on, you can't be that mad. If you kill me, who's going to help you with the baby?" His eyes widen as soon as he says it and claps his hand over his mouth.

"Kat, you're pregnant?" Michael says excitedly.

"Luke!" I exclaim, slapping his shoulder. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone!"

"My bad!" Luke looks at me sidelong. "Please don't kill me now."

Rolling my eyes, I step forward and stretch up onto my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I'm not going to kill you," I murmur and he relaxes in relief. "Although I'm seriously considering it," I add.

He sticks his lower lip out in a pout. "But you won't end up going through with it because you love me?"

"Something like that," I tease.

"You're terrible," Luke whines, but he's smiling as he sets his hands on my hips and pulls me closer to him.

"Mommy can't attack Daddy!" Stella says as she runs back into the room, jumping up onto the bed to be taller.

Michael laughs as he scoops Stella up off the bed, throwing her over his shoulder. She giggles as he holds her upside down like that. Luke grins as he picks her up off Mikey's back, gently swinging her around. He sets her back down and Stella throws her arms around one of his legs, clinging on tightly and giggling when he tries to walk around with her holding onto him like that.

Luke's blue eyes are soft when he glances back up at me. It's moments like these when I feel exactly like I did the night he kissed me for the very first time, two best friends not quite sure where their feelings for each other were taking them.

"I still hate the purple hair," I mouth to him and he just grins back as Stella keeps laughing.