The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 176: EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

"Michaelangelo Vaillant!" Mina ran after the running toddler. He’d just made off with one of the makeup brushes she was using to do Avery’s makeup. She managed to catch up to him and snatch the brush from him, moments before he grabbed another. She sighed. "Seriously?"

Avery laughed at her plight. "Welcome to being the mother of a toddler."

Mina massaged her temples. "I swear, he’s everywhere! Yet when it’s time to feed him, somehow he’s nowhere."

They laughed at the irony. Mina was tired of following the boy around the dressing room, so she simply put the makeup brushes on a higher surface and let him have the one he was playing with. He would lose interest in it after some time.

"You look so beautiful." She said to her friend. "I mean, every bride looks beautiful on her wedding day but you are the most perfect."

"Thank you." Avery smiled gently, even though she knew her best friend was exaggerating it.

She and Damon had gotten married at the courthouse over a year ago but they had decided to renew their vows when Sophie was older and she could finally wear a wedding gown without feeling like she was the size of a house.

Mina was done just as the alarm buzzed to remind them it was time.

Avery and Damon exchanged their vows under the moonlight, which was quite fitting for them.

The garden was decorated with little lamps lined in sync with the flowers, providing a beautiful glow that complimented the moon and stars.

There was no officiant, just the couple declaring their love for each other under the moonlight with their closest family and friends as witnesses.

Damon went first. "Before I met you, I didn’t know what I was missing. Then you came into my life and I realized I couldn’t live without you. I love you more than anything, Avery D’Aboville. Your smile when you look at me, your laughter, your smarts, your body, and I love that you’ve made me a father and a better man. I fucking love you." He chuckled. "I wasn’t going to curse."

Everyone laughed.

He held her hands and looked into her eyes, his glistening. "I promise to love you for the rest of our lives. And when we’re gray and old, I’ll still hold your hand like this and tell you how much I love you."

She had tried to hold back her tears but they came dropping out anyway, so she let them flow. "Damon D’Aboville, our life together is the hugest roller coaster I have ever seen. We have been through so much together, some challenges worse than others, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world because they led us here." She squeezed his hand. "I love you, Damon. Yes, I love your dirty mouth too. And I will never tire of hearing you say...how much you love me."

Damon leaned his face closer and whispered his love to her, then used it as permission to kiss his beautiful bride.

"Get a room!" Chloe yelled in the audience, making everyone burst into giggles and snorts.

Since it was so late at night, the reception consisted of both dinner and drinks, but the wedding couple was way too impatient. After sharing a dance, they decided to ditch their guests and leave for their honeymoon.

Avery carefully pulled a rose from her bouquet and then gave the remaining bunch to Mabella, winking at Chloe as she did. While the ladies shared a moment, she walked over to Mina with the white rose.

"For marriage luck," she whispered.

Mina flushed, uncertain how to respond.

"Don’t pretend you don’t have time to meet someone. With you and Gabe sharing fifty percent custody, you have three to four days every week to stay out all night if you need to." She teased.

That would only work if one wanted to meet someone other than the father of her child, Mina thought.

Avery nudged her. "I know you’re thinking about someone. Go for it!"

Damon wrapped an arm around her waist. "May I steal my wife for a few days? Mabella and Chloe just happen to have agreed to watch our babies."

Avery answered on Mina’s behalf. "You’re right. Let’s go."

They would leave in the morning. Tonight, they were staying in the honeymoon suite of a nearby hotel.

As soon as they arrived, Damon didn’t waste a heartbeat before turning her around and pulling down the zipper of her wedding gown. "I’ve wanted to fuck you since I saw you walk down the aisle."

"You want to fuck me no matter what I wear." She teased, but she was not kidding. Even the most modest clothes elicited a raging boner from him.

He responded by sucking on her neck. "That’s true," he pressed his body against her. "But feel what this wedding gown does to me."

"Well, let’s renew our vows every year then." She suggested.

"Mmh," he grunted in agreement, but he wasn’t thinking of celebrating the anniversaries of their vow renewal with their friends and family. It would be just the two of them in different honeymoon suites all over the world, with her in a wedding gown. It would always end in orgasms. Multiple climaxes in different parts of their suite.

__________

A SECOND CHANCE

"Go for it," Mina whispered Avery’s words from the day before.

When her son’s godmother suggested she tell the man she was thinking about how she felt, she probably didn’t know she was talking about her brother.

Or maybe she knew. There was no telling with Avery.

Regardless, she decided to try her luck. What was the worst that could happen?

Just as she grabbed the dress she was planning to wear, she remembered the kind of dynamic they’d had in the past year. She had Angelo on Mondays to Thursdays, and Gabe would pick him up on Thursday evenings. It was the best arrangement with their schedules, but it didn’t mean they wouldn’t take the little boy on each other’s days if the other needed it.

Avery was right, it was perfect. They could both have relationships. What if she told him how she felt and it ruined the peace? After all, what she had done wasn’t easy to get over.

After going back and forth thinking about it, she decided not to say anything—but she would do something.

It was Saturday evening but Gabe was bringing Angelo over so he’d go out, which made her panic. What if it was a date?

Thinking about the possibility of losing him forever, she decided she would not go down without at least trying. So she slipped into a sexy black dress and a pair of high heels. Soon after, she heard Gabe arrive. She nervously walked out of her room.

"Where’s Angelo?" she asked, noticing he was alone.

He raked his eyes down her body. "I left him with the sitter."

She nodded, trying not to let herself think that meant anything. "Oh."

"Going somewhere?" he asked, nodding at her dress.

She bit her lip. "No. You were dropping Angelo off."

His smile widened. "So you wore that dress...to seduce me?"

She swallowed. She didn’t know what to think of his tone. If she said yes, would he be angry? But again, he’d come here without Angelo. She reminded herself not to think too much of it. Maybe he just wanted to talk.

Her heart was racing as she cautiously said, "What if I said yes?"

His response was to cross the room to her and wrap his arms around her, his lips clashing with hers. She gasped in surprise but she couldn’t say her body hadn’t been preparing for his onslaught. Holding her, he pushed her onto the nearest couch, hovering over her as he snaked his hand under her dress. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I was going to talk to you and tell you I want you back, that we can talk things through," he muttered between their lips.

She guided his hand to her center where she wanted him the most. "Later. Fuck me, Gabe."

"Gladly." He took her lips in a passionate kiss, letting go of all the restraint he’d had for months. It was going to be a long night.