Page 92 of Phantom
Chief leaned over, giving Evelyn a sweet forehead kiss. “Thank you,” he choked out.
“You’re welcome, Pops,” Evelyn said with a smile as she handed the swaddled baby to Chief. Chief looked down at Emery with adoration and an intensity that only a proud grandparent could have.
Out of all our friends, the funniest reaction to Emery was Machine, who no doubt had never held an infant in his life. His face went green at the horrific smell of Emery’s poop.
While still supporting her neck and body he handed off the bundle to me. “Please, god, take her.” He let out a gag. “I think that smell will haunt me for the rest of my life!”
This was the life, laughing with loved ones and being with thefamily we made.
EPILOGUE
EVELYN
“Are you excited for the party?” I was just finishing getting Emery’s shirt on when Kade walked into the nursery with Alfredo hot on his heels. He pressed a kiss to my temple before giving our wiggle-worm a tickle on her tummy. Alfredo made his presence known as he jumped up onto the changing station, meowed, and then licked Emery’s face. Emery gave Alfredo a gummy grin before tugging on his fur. How the cat still had fur after the death grip my mini me hadwas beyond me.
“Yes, then Chief can stop grumbling about it.” I picked Emery up and handed her to her dad who slowly rocked her to sleep while I got ready for Chief’s 50thbirthday celebration.
Kade nodded his head and laughed. “What was he grumbling about this time?”
“That I asked him to wear a dress shirt and slacks.”
The man hated formal wear and being told what to do.
Kade let out a chuckle. “He will get over it. How long do you need to finish getting ready?”
“Half-hour please.”
Kade nodded before pressing a kiss to my lips and walking out of the nursery with Emery in his arms fast asleep.
Sitting at the vanity in our room, I fluffed my hair over my shoulders and took a deep breath assessing myself in the mirror. Motherhood wasn’t the only big change in my life recently. I had become an official partner for RSS and was working on liquidating all of Ricci Enterprise with the help of the Hive and my Elite Squad.
The new headquarters and gym would be opening in a couple more weeks which had Buddha, Badger, Monte, and Chief extremely busy. I had helped name one particular wing that was designated for our training, specifically the mock-missions training. The wing was named, “Eye of Arrow,” with a looped arrow symbol next to it to signify overcoming obstacles and finding solutions.
I gave myself one last glance at the mirror and ran my hands down my sides.Good enough.I thought to myself. Time to go see everyone.
The party was bustling with friends and longtime gym patrons, all there to celebrate Chief. I wasn’t fully comfortable with my postpartum body yet, so I was wearing a black A-line cocktail dress to hide my tummy. As I said my hellos, I noticed that everyone was giving me weird looks or acting awkward around me. I got a drink at the bar and felt Kade’s presence behind me before I heard him whisper into my ear, “Can I show you something?”
I turned around and took a sip of my Shirley Temple,not wanting to deal with drinking alcohol and breastfeeding.
I tipped my head. “Okay?”
Kade laced his fingers with my free hand before leading me the way through a door that brought us to an elevator. We took the elevator up to the rooftop deck and as Kade led me out the door, I gasped.
Rose petals and lit candles were everywhere. In the center of the deck was a table with champagne chilling on ice and two glasses. As I got closer, I noticed rose petals arranged in the shape of a heart withWill you marry me?spelled out inside of it.
I placed both of my hands over my mouth as a sob escaped. When I turned around Kade was already on one knee. “Evelyn, baby… you are the light to my dark. The Phantom to my Ghost. You are beautiful inside and out. You are my partner in every sense of the word. Please give me the honor to call you my wife. Will you marry me?”
Kade opened a black velvet box that contained a four-carat princess-cut diamond on an intricate white gold band. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the ring and then to the man who had stolen my heart the day I met him. “Yes, yes, yes!” I cried.
Kade quickly slid the ring on my finger before crashing his lips to mine. I let out a moan as our tongues tangled. Kade pulled away to rest his forehead on mine. “I love you so much,” he whispered.
“And I love you, Kaden Romano.” I paused, a lightbulb turning on in my brain. “Did you use Chief’s birthday as a cover for you to do this?”
Kade looked down at me with a cheeky smile. I couldn’t help but laugh and then pressed a kiss to his perfect lips.
Although a storm was brewing, I wouldn’t think of it now. Instead, I would enjoy this moment with the man of my dreams. We had been through so much since we first met. We loved, we lost, and we found peace within one another. Everything that happened next would be the beginning of a new story for us and I couldn’t wait to see what was in store.
The End
