Nightfall (Devil's Night, #4)

by Penelope Douglas

“No way in hell. She’s not coming,” he said. I grabbed the keys out of his hand and walked around the front of the car. “She’s driving, actually.”

I should’ve gone to him years ago. I was going to show up for him once. At least once before this was over.

“Breaking me out of jail?” he taunted. “He’s going to hang you for this.” I kissed him again, panting, “He has to get through you first, right?” He smiled, his ego liking the sound of that. “Yeah, he does.” “Please, baby.” I pulled at the bars. “Please?” I kissed him again, moaning, and finally, he released me. “Fuck him. Let’s go.”

“Hell yeah, you love me,” he said, sucking my lips into his mouth. “You’re crazy about me, and you may not be blonde or eighteen or named Heidi, but you’re fucking mine, little trouble.”

“You’re never getting free of me.”

“I don’t need the Cove,” he said over the rain. “I need more memories with you.” I breathed hard, but I couldn’t move as tears filled my eyes. “Memories that aren’t tainted with all the years apart right afterward,” he explained.

all I wanted in the world was to stare at him forever.

“I build with you now,” he whispered to me, the heat of his mouth on my lips. “We make Thunder Bay together, Em. I love you.”

“You came for me,” he said. Yes. Yes, I did. I didn’t need to search for an excuse. I knew why. “I couldn’t lose you anymore,”

I fucking loved Will Grayson.

“Will you marry me?” I asked, breathing hard and my heart hammering.

“I love you,” I said, and I could see people filming us with their phones out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t care. “I’m wild crazy for you, and I’m sure I’ll kill you at some point, but… God, I love you so much, and I want you to marry me.” More tears streamed down my face as I choked out the words. “Marry me, Will Grayson.”

But then, he spun around, picked me up off my feet, and kissed me, pressing his lips to mine and backing me into a parked car.

“It’s very old,” Will said, slipping it onto my finger, his hand shaking. “It’s your family’s?” “It’s yours now.” He met my eyes. “It’s been yours for nearly ten years.”

“I’m marrying you,” I whispered. He nodded. “’Bout time you caught up.”

“Where are we going?” he called out. “Hiding us away.”

“I loved you last night,” I told him. “And I loved you this morning. I’ll still be here. I’ll still be me tomorrow and every day after.”

“I’m sorry about everything,” I said. “Me, too, baby.” He kissed me. “I should’ve stayed. I’m sorry I walked away. I’m sorry I left you that day in the hallway at school.”

“You and me against the world,” he whispered, picking up speed and going harder. “Always,” I said.

I looked down at my ring and couldn’t help the smile at how it suited me perfectly. Like I’d always worn it.

“He’s my life,” she said, “and I couldn’t be happier about that. Nothing is worth anything without him.”

How does someone so soft and gentle fall in love with Damon Torrance, for crying out loud. But…I guess after seeing him completely under her spell in the train kitchen, she was exactly his type.

I mean, what the fuck? I just got her back, and fear was nipping at the corner of my brain, worried that she’d change her mind about marrying me if I couldn’t periodically remind her of how hot I was.

“It gives you a chance to miss her.” “I’ve missed her long enough,” I retorted, watching Michael tie his shoes and then tip back the bottle of Kirin. “I’m done missing her.”

“I’m marrying little Rika Fane, motherfuckers!” Michael yelled, and we all followed, belting our battle cry into the night. “Whoo!” we all joined in. Michael slapped my back. “Let’s go get my girl.”

“We love the hell out of her,” I assured my guys. “We’d die for her and each other. Erika Fane is a lucky woman.”

God, I missed Emmy already. She was all over me night before last, and it was like a new world opened up, and I could see decades of that ahead of us. I knew she was the one for me.

I couldn’t wait to see Emmy. Rika always thought of everything, so I knew she’d handled a dress, but I kind of hoped they’d had fun, too. I wanted her to like my friends. They were family, and they were important to me.

She’d turned into a beautiful woman. The skin of her bare shoulders glowed in the lamp light, her long blonde hair cascading down her back in loose curls, and her red gown, layers of silk spilling over her waist and down her legs, making her look like the force she was.

Barely aware of anyone else as the world spun around, I held out my hand, helping her up the stairs.

And then Damon took Winter’s hand. “You look so beautiful, it fucking hurts,” he said.

She took hold of my chin and forced my eyes back up, trying desperately to hold back her laugh. “Are you up for this?” she asked again. I nodded. “Yeah, for like, ever now.”

“And William and Emory?” I looked down, holding Em’s eyes. I was going to lose it, I was so nervous. “Do you promise to believe in each other and stand together?” I gulped. Hell, yes. “We do,” we replied.

We all slipped the rings on the other’s hand, the band wrapping around me and my heart at the same fucking time.

I looked into Em’s eyes, whispering, “I love you, baby.”

But before I could leave, Will grabbed me, pulled me into his arms, and lifted my mask, kissing me hard and deep, his tongue making me moan. I love you. “Don’t get hurt,” I whispered against his mouth. I nodded. He gazed into my eyes. “I’m marrying you.”

No one—and I mean, no one—was coming between us again. Not ever again.

“I can’t lose you,” she said in my ear. “I need you.” And I buried my face in her neck, feeling everything start. My life. Our life. We won.

Happy people don’t fear death, because there’s nothing more they want out of life than what they have right now. I smiled, because I didn’t have any fear. Finally, I was free.

I was going to like being a Grayson.

“And William and Emory, I now pronounce you…husband and wife.” I dived in and kissed him deep, whimpering as he wrapped his arms around me, the ring on my finger solidifying what we should’ve known could never be stopped.

“Live for your love,” the judge said, “love your life, and raise hell.”

Bored, he’d said. No, Will Grayson. That was one problem you and I would never have.

“I’m not in a hurry to leave again if you want to wait.” I nestled into his warm body. “I just want you right now. The Eiffel Tower or the Mayan ruins or whatever you have planned would just go to waste on me when I only want this.”

He’d found my design and built it. The one I did after I lost my heart for the other gazebo and just forced the finish, instead of doing it right.

I laughed. “Just keep Winter close. He won’t hit you with a pregnant woman nearby.” He shook his head and kept walking. “He’ll just get her to hit me for him,” he grumbled.

Damon and I ran the construction business together now, him building and me designing, so I’d gotten used to his…brand of humor.

I couldn’t contain the excitement. “Are you ready?” He grabbed me and kissed me, laughing against my lips. “I am never not ready for anything with you.”

I kissed him, nothing clouding my happiness with him for another second ever again. This was always our story. We want what we want.

God, she was fun. Happy, unhappy, sad, and hot—I never stopped loving that she was in my life. Her strengths made me feel lucky to be a part of her, and her weaknesses brought out the best in me. I rose to every occasion with her like I never had with anyone else. And after ten years, and two daughters and a son—and the immense joy we had making them—I knew without a doubt that it was all worth it.