Burn (Brothers of Ink and Steel #2) (30 page)

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Authors: Allie Juliette Mousseau

BOOK: Burn (Brothers of Ink and Steel #2)

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“So … you’re
not
engaged?” I ask slowly, not sure if I understand what I think she’s saying.

“No, Liam, I am not engaged. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

I let go of the breath I’ve been holding in relief. “You do now!”

The tension and pain is fully released as her sweet laughter echoes through my ears, and my heart, and my soul.

In a moment I’m laughing too.

“Oh God, I love you Liam!” she cries and smiles.

I hold her beautiful, happy face in my hands and quote Frost. “‘Was there ever a cause too lost? Ever a cause that was lost too long? Or that showed with the lapse of time to vain?’ Not ours, Quinn … we’re immortal.”

Epilogue

May 17, 2015

Liam

I’ve been waiting ten years for this moment.

I’m standing on what looks like the top of the earth on the polished wood deck at the Summit Chalet, overlooking the Lutsen Mountains. It’s spring, and the lush green mountains go on for as far as the eye can see.

The music begins and I feel myself begin to tremble.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Talon’s smile—as if he knew all along.

He was right

Jonah comes down the aisle first. He looks brilliant in his coal black tuxedo and yellow cummerbund. Poor guy’s so nervous, but he agreed to do it anyway. I couldn’t be more proud. His hands shake as he tries to keep the white silk pillow steady. And although I can’t see the two gleaming gold circular eternity bands Quinn and I picked out together, I know that they’re there and that they represent our forever.

Next comes Charlie, walking
very
slowly after Jonah. Everyone smiles at her and coos at how adorable she looks in her yellow frilly gown. Her little fist is wrapped around the stems of half a dozen daffodils. Sophie, who’s sitting up in the front row, kneels down on the side of the aisle to lure Charlie the rest of the way. And as soon as she gets up front to the podium and takes Josh’s hand, the music changes …

But I can’t hear it anymore—everything in my field of vision tunnels and every sense that I possess is fully consumed with Quinn as she reveals herself from behind the standing white cloth partitions that are set up on the other side of the massive deck.

Nothing else in the world matters except for her.

When her eyes find mine, she blushes, and I know I have never seen anything so incredibly beautiful in all of my life—not a colorfully hued sunset or sunrise, not a towering mountain peak, or the turquoise blue and white of the surf as it crashes to the shores—nothing could even begin compare to Quinn’s beauty and power as she is about to give herself to me for the rest of our lives.

Her strapless satin white gown hugs her breasts and hips and flatters her hourglass shape, accentuating her every delicious curve. She holds a bouquet of lily of the valleys—her birth flower—the same kind I picked for her that birthday night on top of Cade’s roof. She’s classic, timeless elegance …

And she’s
mine
—this is not a dream—
forever and always mine
.

She kept her hair down and flowing in full waves, just the way I like it, except for a comb in the back that keeps in place a sheer white veil that frames her.

I feel the heel of my foot start tapping up and down—I want to run down there and carry her away—and my patience is ebbing.

As if he senses my adrenaline, Cade smiles up at me as he escorts Quinn down the aisle.

I step down from the podium and wait for my dad to bring me the greatest gift I’ve ever known.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” the Justice asks.

“Her mother and I do,” Cade says with a look towards Debra, who stands from her seat in the front row, crying.

Cade puts Quinn’s hand in mine and squeezes my opposite shoulder with so much love in his eyes for the two of us.

Then all that exists is the touch of her soft hand and her radiant smile, the everlasting sky in her eyes and the eternal possibilities of our lives together.

*****

Quinn

Immense love and happiness fills me like helium in a balloon, and I swear I’m floating.

Liam takes my hand, and as we look into one another’s eyes, I think back to his MMA match over a month ago, and what he announced after his win. “Family, friends, and fans, this has been my last fight—I’m retiring to become a full time artist—and marry my best friend.”

I fall more deeply in love with him every day—and I didn’t think I could ever love him more than I already had.

I was so scared to come home, and now look where we are—Liam and I are getting married on top of a mountain, surrounded by a family that loves us. This is anything but a typical, traditional style wedding, and why would it be? We’ve had anything but a typical, traditional romance—and we’re anything but a typical, traditional family.

Liam and I share the same incredible mother and father who love us with the intensity many natural parents never know or forfeit.

And then there’s our wedding party, dressed in their designer charcoal tuxes with a yellow rose over each one of their hearts. There are no bridesmaids—only brothers. Behind Liam stands Talon, Josh and Reese; behind me are Ryder, Chase and Connor. They flank us on both sides, and I’ve never felt more protected. I know that they would give their lives for one another or for me in a heartbeat.

And I’m thoughtful that after
everything
my family has been through, and even though life dealt each one of us an unhappy, violent hand, a powerful force much stronger brought us all together and infused our lives with real love.

Oh, my amazing Liam, who never gave up on me.
He loved me through the seemingly ever-widening gap of time and distance. I have no doubt that it was his love that kept me going, that kept me alive, that helped me heal. The flame of hope that the two of us would eventually come back together never truly went out for either of us.

Some might say our love was or is impossible, or improbable, that it couldn’t have survived all that it has suffered—the overwhelming pain and grief and the years of separation. And I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences, all I know is that this amazing moment feels like salvation and tastes like the sweetest redemption.

And it’s mine to hold for eternity.

As the Justice talks about commitment, family and marriage, I am lost in the clear waters of Liam’s eyes, the strong angles of his face, and the way his jaw clenches as he stares emotionally back at me. I remember that our story began ten years ago, beneath a concrete angel, in a place where life seemingly ends.

It was there that we were joined together and where we each brought the other to life.

And I’m so very grateful.

“I do,” Liam says, his voice husky and deep.

I breathe deeply of the life-giving oxygen he is to me. And when I blink, I feel tears fall from my eyes—tears that are made of pure happiness.

I’m finally home.

The End

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Allie
Juliette Mousseau writes sexy, emotionally charged New Adult and Adult Romance.

She can always be found writing, playing in puddles with her children, hiking with her husband, or adventuring somewhere in the world. Allie’s home is in Montana where she lives with her loving husband, four out of her six children, and a golden retriever named Titan

Allie loves chatting to her readers through email and social media.

Other books by Allie Juliette:

“The True North Series” – A New Adult Contemporary Romance Series

“True North Book One Finding Home Livie and Jake”

“True North Book Two Finding Us Jules and Nate”

“True North Book Three Finding Now Kate and Sam”

“Brothers of Ink and Steel Series” – A New Adult Contemporary Romance Series

“Dare” Book Two

“Burn” Book Three

Music by Allie Juliette Mousseau

True North Soundtrack -
(purchase directly from alliejuliettemousseau @gmail,com)
Track 1 – Run With It

Track 2 – Promised Land