The Love Hater: EPILOGUE

The morning after…

“Come again, Baby. That’s it. Good girl. Just like that.”

Sullivan’s voice is like velvet being dragged over stone as he murmurs against my lips, emotion passing between us with every scorching and tender kiss we’ve shared throughout the night.

I shudder inside his arms, coming in deep, pulsing waves as I slide up and down his cock.

He grips my hips as I use my arms around his shoulders to support myself.

“Tate,” he grunts, pulling me down roughly and coming inside me.

I kiss him through it, then break into a smile against his mouth.

“Hottest night ever,” I muse, my voice hoarse from the number of times he’s made me cry out his name.

I lost count of how many times we fucked. Made love. Kissed. Came.

They all melded into one another.

I just know I haven’t slept. The rare moments when Sullivan wasn’t inside my body, he was inside my heart, and head. Talking to me. Telling me all the things he wants to do together when we get home. All the places he wants us to go together with Molly.

As a family.

The happiness in his voice is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. I’m loving it.

There was no way I was ever going to leave New York after that day he came and played on the sidewalk to me.

I knew from the moment I heard the first notes of that song, “Unstoppable”, that nothing would keep me from them again.

Sullivan didn’t want me to give up my dream job. He asked me to consider flying back from LA each weekend. To make it work long-distance. And maybe we could have. But despite him pretending that would be enough for him. It wasn’t enough for me.

I want to be with him and Molly every day.

I knew the moment I walked into that meeting about my contract that I was going to be working from New York. So, I took a page out of Sullivan’s book and negotiated like a shark, doing everything I could think of to get them to agree.

My song, “Blue Eyes”, was the deciding factor.

I was prepared to let that song go. People already heard it when I was touring. I figured the new company would want fresh songs. And they do. But they want “Blue Eyes”. They said it’s the song that made them notice me in the first place and make me the offer of a job.

So I agreed.

It’s as if Sullivan and Molly were in that meeting with me. And they’re the reason it went the way that it did.

“Molly will be awake soon,” Sullivan says, kissing me with a groan as he guides me off his lap and back against the soft pillows. I sink into them as he sits up.

“Take your time. We’ll meet you downstairs in the kitchen.”

I nod, happy to steal a few moments in his luxurious bed before I get up.

And happy to watch his muscular round ass saunter away across the room.

I didn’t get to take in the décor last night. The bathroom is inside the bedroom, partitioned with a giant glass wall. There’s a round tub with a floor to ceiling window beside it, showcasing an incredible view of the ocean. And a huge rainfall shower that Sullivan’s turned on.

There’s a door to one side which I assume is the toilet, but my attention glues back to the magnificent man inside the shower, head tipped back beneath the spray, eyes closed.

His biceps bulge as he slicks his dark hair back, then grabs a bottle of something.

It’s like hot billionaire shower porn as he soaps up his toned, broad body.

Bubbles catch in the smattering of dark hair on his chest, and he drops his hand to his dick, soaping up the semi-hard length with skilled ease.

“How did I get so lucky?” I murmur.

I look up. His eyes are glittering, and his lips are tilted into a self-assured smirk. He totally busted me staring. But I don’t care.

“You okay, Baby?” he calls in a rich, satisfied voice that seems to give away the fact he’s been screwing all night.

“Yeah. Just watching,” I muse. “I figure if I’m yours like you say, then you’re mine too. And I can perve on you and your billionaire dick should I wish.”

He chuckles. “Look all you want, Baby. It’s all yours.”

He closes his eyes and tips his head back, rinsing away the suds.

My mouth waters as he shuts off the shower and smirks as he wraps a towel around his waist and walks over to the bed.

He leans down and kisses me, water droplets running down his tanned chest.

“I know that look. And believe me, I’d love to sit that pretty little pussy back on my face and make you come again before breakfast. But I have something to do with Molly.”

“You don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine here in this ridiculously comfortable bed.” I press a kiss to his lips. “But I am getting up in five minutes because I miss Molly and need to see her. We didn’t get long together last night.”

Sullivan’s eyes soften at the corners, and he lifts my hand, kissing my fingers.

“She’ll be so excited you’re here, Tate. See you downstairs.”

I take my time showering after he leaves, admiring the sunrise over the ocean from the balcony as I dress in a white sundress from my luggage that Sullivan brought up from downstairs for me last night. I smile to myself about him ripping off my blue one last night as I leave the room and pad quietly down the hallway toward the staircase.

It feels weird to be tiptoeing around one of his father’s vacation homes when I haven’t even spoken to Sterling since arriving. Sullivan said the immediate family are staying here, with the rest of the guests in a nearby hotel.

I’m hoping it’s too early for anyone else to be up, because doing the walk of no-shame from Sullivan’s suite isn’t how I’d like to run into them again.

I need coffee before that.

Heading down the stairs, I follow the faint sound of a familiar sweet little voice that pulls at my heartstrings.

Molly’s sitting eating at a long, gleaming marble table when I walk into the expansive kitchen. Sullivan looks up from where he’s making coffee and catches my eye. The warmth in his gaze as he looks at me makes bubbles fizz in my stomach.

The glass wall behind him that shows the ocean stretching off to the horizon barely registers. Instead, with pure happiness guiding me, I make my way over to Molly.

“Good morning. Can I join you?”

She looks up and grins as she notices me, before nodding eagerly.

I slide into the seat beside her, feeling Sullivan’s eyes on us.

“What you eating?” I ask, resting my chin on one hand.

“Pancakes,” she replies, her bottom lip poking out in concentration as she collects a piece of pre-cut pancake onto her fork and puts it in her mouth.

“You ready for another, Sweetheart?” Sullivan asks, walking over with a large plate in one hand.

“Aww, you made bear pancakes? Are these ones yours?” I ask Molly, pointing to the messier attempts at bears on the plate.

She shakes her head. “Those Daddy’s.”

I look up at Sullivan, biting back my grin.

“It’s the oven,” he grumbles. “The ones I make at home come out better.”

“You’ve been making bear pancakes at home?”

He nods and places the plate on the table. “Molly missed yours.”

He walks back over to the counter and picks up two mugs. I know he doesn’t mean anything by that. But knowing Molly missed me when we were apart makes my heart heavy.

Sullivan comes back, placing a coffee on the table for me.

“Thanks.” I smile up at him gratefully and he leans down to kiss me.

I motion with my eyes to Molly who’s too busy eating her pancake to notice. Sullivan’s eyes twinkle and he pulls out the chair beside me and sits down.

“Sweetheart?” he says to Molly, keeping his eyes on mine. “Shall we show Tate that thing we talked about?”

“Yeah!” Molly bounces down from her chair and runs over to the counter, coming back, holding a book.

Sullivan’s eyes are on my face as Molly thrusts it into my lap proudly.

“What’s this?”

“Open,” she instructs.

I look at the plain blue cover, then open it.

“What are these?” I frown as I turn the first three pages, staring at the small pieces of card stuck to each one.

“I think you know what they are,” Sullivan says softly.

I glance up at him, my breath hitching. “You were there?”

“At every one.”

My throat clogs as I trace a fingertip over one of the many ticket stubs. “Oh… wow.”

They’re all here. Every concert I ever played as a support act. All the different cities. All the venues in each one. Glued inside the book in chronological order, marking every moment we spent apart.

“I never saw you.”

“You weren’t supposed to. But I heard you. All of your songs. And I heard every lyric of that one.”

I swallow. I know exactly which song he’s referring to.

“Blue Eyes?” I whisper.

“Blue Eyes,” he repeats, taking my hands inside his.

“I wrote that song before I left New York. It was about falling in love for the first time.”

“I know,” he rasps.

I look up at him, searching his eyes, a confession dangling from the tip of my tongue. “It wasn’t⁠—”

“About me?” He arches a brow. “I know.” His eyes move to Molly, and they soften with adoration. “It was about Molly.”

“It was,” I whisper, the emotion in my voice turning into a giggle as Molly beams brightly at me.

“You were singing about her. And every time I heard that song I prayed that things could be different.”

“Sullivan…” I give him a soft smile. “We don’t need to go over this anymore. What’s done is done. It’s all in the past now.”

“Let me finish, Tate.” He strokes my hands inside his. “You love her the way she deserves to be loved. You love her like I do. You love her unconditionally, like a mother should.”

I blink away tears at the tenderness in his voice.

“She deserves a mother like you.”

He holds my eyes, his signature intensity burning brighter than I’ve ever seen it before.

“What are you doing?” I falter as he pushes back his chair and drops to one knee.

“Molly?” he instructs in a soft voice, his eyes staying on me. “You know the next part we spoke about?”

“Yes, Daddy,” she says seriously as she comes to stand beside him.

He holds his hand out and she places a signature blue, Beaufort Diamonds box into his palm.

“Good job, Sweetheart.” He kisses her on the head.

“Tate?” he says, his voice catching with emotion as he flicks open the box to reveal a ring inside. “Will you marry me?”

My heart stops. The platinum band has two giant stones set side by side so that they look like one giant gemstone.

Both are blue.

“A diamond from each of us, hoping you’ll say yes to our proposal. Because we come as a package deal.” He searches my eyes, an uncharacteristic vulnerability in his as he waits for me to say something.

I stare at him, then at Molly, who’s looking up at me, all innocent eyes and round, rosy cheeks.

My coffee cup is beside her. I reach for it in a daze and dip my finger into the cocoa-dusted foam.

I draw a semi-circle and finish it off with two dots.

Sullivan’s brow is pulled taut as he watches.

I rotate the mug so they can both see.

A face smiles up at them from the foam.

“Is that a yes?” Sullivan asks, the uncertainty in his voice making me want to grab him and kiss him.

“It’s a yes.” I smile at Molly, before turning to him. “Yes. To both of you, my answer is yes.”

“Yes?” His brows shoot up and he lets out a shaky breath. “Yes?”

I nod. “An absolutely-one hundred percent-yes!”

My throat burns, and I can’t stop the fat tears from bursting out as Sullivan pulls Molly into a hug with us and brings his mouth to mine in a crushing kiss.

Molly giggles as she’s squashed in our embrace, and it makes me laugh too, breaking the kiss.

“You knew all about this?” I ask.

The proud smile on her face makes my heart melt.

I’m looking at her, soaking in the sound of her giggle as something is slid onto my left finger.

Sullivan’s eyes heat as I turn to him.

I look down at the giant glittering ring on my finger and suck in a sharp breath. Seeing it there makes it so real.

“Me go now?” Molly asks, seriously.

“You can go now,” Sullivan replies.

“We were only interesting for a moment,” I joke, ripping my eyes away from the ring to watch her leave the kitchen quickly, probably off to get her baby dolls.

“Are you sure about this?” I turn back to Sullivan. He’s still on one knee in front of me, his gaze locked on my face.

“Are you?” he asks.

“Yes. If you really mean it.”

“We mean it,” he says with conviction. “You have no idea just how much we both love you, do you?”

I shake my head, smiling, as more tears threaten to soak my cheeks.

He cups my face in his hands.

“Your voice is the melody to my heart, Tate. I told you once, and I’ll say it again and again until you understand it. You are more perfect than any song. Molly’s always seen that too. But she knew how to love you properly from that very first day. I didn’t. And I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting the terrible job I did of showing you in the beginning.”

I sniff, overcome with emotion that makes my chest tight. “It’s okay. I understand why. You were protecting Molly. And besides, that was in the beginning. You didn’t love me then.”

He sighs and his lips lift into a soft smile.

“I’ve loved you a long time, Tate. Before I ever knew how to show it, I loved you.”

He lifts my hand like he’s admiring how the ring looks on me.

“Why do you have an engagement ring here? You didn’t know I was coming.”

“I had it in my pocket the day Cliff and I dragged that old piano into the street.”

“You did?”

“I’d have married you right there on the sidewalk if you’d let me.”

He looks up at me.

“I was going to ask you then, if you’d forgiven me. But things went differently, and I’ve kept it with me ever since so I can look at it and manifest you coming back to me. Or something like that. Halliday told me it would help. But mostly, I looked at it and told myself what an idiot I was for losing you in the first place.”

A small, shocked laugh pushes past my lips. “You’re unfairly hard on yourself.”

“I love you and knew that I’d lost someone really special.”

I reach up and cup his cheek.

“You haven’t. I’m right here.”

He leans in to kiss me, but a loud bark makes me jump back from him.

Two dogs race into the kitchen, barking wildly, their tails flying about in wild circles. They’re followed by a squealing Sinclair.

“Molly said you did it!”

“Did what?” Sullivan asks, moving back on to his feet.

“Oh my God, just move, please.” She laughs and breezes past him, making a beeline for the empty seat beside mine.

Denver enters the room, carrying a grinning Molly. “It wasn’t me,” he rumbles.

Molly giggles in his arms as Sinclair reaches for my hand and takes it, studying the engagement ring.

“Don’t blame Molly,” she says. “Like I don’t know you well enough, Sull. I knew you were up to something days ago. And you were all uptight about anyone touching your luggage on the flight over. And I can see why!” She squeals with delight. “You did well. It’s gorgeous. I approve.”

She meets my eyes and the pure, unbridled joy in them that she has for us threatens to set off my tears again.

“You know I helped Halliday plan this wedding. I still have loads of ideas. Just in case you were bored one day and⁠—”

“Let my fiancée breathe, huh, Sis?”

I giggle at the face Sinclair pulls in response, but then beam at her as Sullivan’s words sink in.

Fiancée.

Oh my God, this is real.

“I should call my dad, he⁠—”

“He’s due to land in a few hours.”

“What?” I stare at Sullivan.

“I asked for his permission the day after I saw you back in the city. He’s the only one who was supposed to know about any of this,” Sullivan says.

Sinclair rolls her eyes, waving a hand in the air. “Yeah, whatever. I’ve known since those cat cookies that this day would come. I’m going to have a sister-in-law!”

Her excitement is infectious, and she pulls me into a hug and squeezes. Denver’s shaking hands with Sullivan, congratulating him. And Sinclair’s two dogs have calmed down and are sitting side by side at Denver’s feet.

“They’re so cute,” I exclaim, spotting the small bowtie on the larger one, and white ribbon around the smaller one’s neck.

“Don’t let looks deceive you. They’re high maintenance,” Denver says. But the fondness in his eyes tells me he’d protect Sinclair’s two dogs with his giant body as savagely as he would her.

“High maintenance must be your weakness,” Sullivan quips, his eyes darting to Sinclair, who scoffs in mock outrage.

I soak it all in. I’ve never seen Sullivan joke with his family before. He’s like a new man, growing happier by the day.

As hard as it was being apart, I can see now. We needed it. He needed it. He finally looks like a man who’s healing.

His eyes soften as he catches me studying him, and he walks over and pulls me to my feet, wrapping me in his arms.

Sinclair rushes from the room and I widen my eyes at Sullivan as she yells so loud I swear they can probably hear her out at sea.

“Everyone, get down here! Sullivan has news!”

He chuckles, his chest rumbling against mine as he embraces me.

It’s not long before the kitchen is full. His father and Halliday, Mal and Trudy, and Killian and Jenson from their security team, are all looking at us.

It’s his father who speaks first.

“Molly? What’s going on?” he asks gently, like he doesn’t already know. I can see in his sparkling blue eyes that are so like Sullivan’s that he knows exactly why Sinclair gathered us all down here.

He’s standing beside Halliday, one arm wrapped around her, stroking the underside of her baby bump protectively.

She smiles at me, glowing like a woman who just married the love of her life, and I smile back, beaming, like a woman who just agreed to marry hers.

“Daddy and Tate get married,” Molly says seriously.

Sterling nods. “Ah. In that case, congratulations, Son. Tate.”

He comes to me first, pulling me into a hug, before doing the same to Sullivan, saying something to him in a low voice that has Sullivan nodding and gripping him tighter.

The room fills with upbeat chatter, and I drink it all in.

Molly’s giggling. Sullivan’s smiling. And I’m floating.

It can’t get any better.

“Will you let me help my fiancée?”

I narrow my eyes at Sullivan before laughing. “You can’t use that word to get your own way, you know?”

“What? Help?”

“Fiancée.” I snort, poking him in the stomach as we walk along the beach.

It’s been the most perfect day. My father arrived, and the rest of the guests from last night came to the house for a huge lunch. I met Sterling’s brothers and their kids and grandkids. They’re all so alike. Warm. Welcoming.

“Think of it as a wedding present to my wife,” Sullivan continues.

“I’m not your wife yet,” I tease.

“But you will be. We can have whatever kind of ceremony and reception you want. Just as long as it happens soon.”

I love how eager he is, like he’s on a mission now that we’re back together. But I still can’t resist toying with him.

“I don’t know. Sinclair has so many ideas. It might take us months to come up with a plan for how to do it all.”

A muscle in Sullivan’s cheek clenches and I kiss it, drawing a small smile out of him.

“Can we serve cocoa-dusted drinks after we eat?”

“We can serve nectar collected by diamond encrusted bees as long as you marry me as soon as possible.”

I snort out a giggle. I’m loving this lighter, happier Sullivan. Even if he does say such things with the same dry sarcasm he’s always had.

He’s adamant he wants to buy an office space in Midtown that he can then lease to the record label who’ve offered me a job as a songwriter. He said their company reports indicate they want to expand their offices to the East Coast, and that it makes good business sense for them to begin with New York. He said it’s another investment opportunity like my apartment block was.

I rolled my eyes when he pulled that explanation out. We both know my shrunken uniform is responsible for that purchase.

“Fine,” I concede. “Buy the building. Be their landlord. But that’s it. I can’t have you coming into work all the time. You’re too hot, you’ll be a distraction.”

His lips stretch into a satisfied smile. “I’ll tell Jones to draw up contracts.”

“You do that.” I giggle. “Now, can we enjoy the view without talking about work? It’s so beautiful here.”

Sullivan stops, pulling me closer beneath his arm as we gaze out at the sparkling ocean.

“Being back here has been…” He blows out a breath. “There are so many memories here, Tate. I haven’t been back in years. But now I’m here, it feels like their loss is right in my face again. I see my brother everywhere I look. I don’t get that feeling with Mom, only Slade. Maybe because we were twins, I don’t know.”

“It must be so hard. What can I do?” I ask, my chest aching for him.

He kisses the top of my head.

“Nothing. Just being here with you and Molly makes it easier. You know, I spent so long not able to accept what happened that day. Things didn’t add up about the fire. About how fast it spread. And there was a big payment made to the Port manager’s wife, like someone was buying his silence and paying it to her so it wouldn’t be traced as easily. Just…” He sighs. “But we’ve searched for answers for almost three years. And got nothing. I need to move forward, Tate. I can’t allow my past to dictate my life anymore. Not when I almost lost you.”

I hold him tight. I love that he can finally open up to me. But it doesn’t stop me from wishing that what he had to open up about wasn’t so heartbreaking. I’d do anything to take his pain away.

“Halliday told me she saw him earlier. If she wasn’t pregnant, I’d have questioned her sobriety.” Sullivan chuckles softly, but there’s no humor in it.

“Slade?” I look up at him in surprise.

“Yeah. When she was walking toward the aisle. She says she thought it was me.”

“Do you think it could have been? I mean, does she see people who’ve passed on?”

“No. She’s not psychic. She didn’t see a ghost, Tate. I think it was the emotions of the day. She knew it was hard for my father coming here, but that he wanted their wedding here anyway. She saw what she hoped to see. Because if by some miracle Slade was alive, then it would make my father happy. It would make the whole family happy. But he isn’t. I saw them both taken in front of me that day. They’re gone. Dead people don’t come back.”

The finality in his voice makes my throat burn.

We stand in silence, soaking in the sounds of the waves lapping the shore. There’s a couple in the distance, further along the beach. They’re walking together with a little boy, who looks a similar age to Molly. He scouts the sand, stopping every few steps to inspect something. The man is tall with dark hair, and I narrow my eyes, trying to imagine what it would have been like for Halliday to see someone she thought looked so much like Sullivan that it made her question who it could be.

They move further away until they’re out of focus.

“You okay?” I ask Sullivan, tilting my face up to him.

“I’m okay.” He kisses my forehead. “Just thinking about how my family changed that day. And now it’s changing again. Growing this time.”

I give him a soft smile. “I’m honored to be joining it. Beauforts stick together. And that’s what I want. To be here for you and Molly.”

“They do. And we’ll do the same for you, Tate. You’ll always have us. I love you so much… The most beautiful song ever played,” he murmurs.

“The most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“That makes me both angry and happy at the same time.”

I laugh at the deep crease that’s appeared between his brows. “Now isn’t the time to dream about murdering my exes.”

“No, it’s not.” His face softens. “It’s the time to tell my fiancée that not only is she the most beautiful song, but that she’s mine to sing.”

“I’m fine with that.” I grin.

He studies me for a moment.

“There’s one more thing I want to ask you. It’s something for me… and for Molly.”

“Whatever it is, my answer’s yes. Anything you need from me that’ll make you and Molly happy I’ll do it. If you’re both happy, I’ll be happy.”

I smile up at him. His eyes are on mine and it’s a little scary just how intense they’ve suddenly turned.

“So it’s a yes?”

“Y-yes,” I say, sounding unsure as his gaze penetrates me until my bones heat.

He blinks, knocking his laser-focus down a notch, and brushes a strand of hair back from my forehead with painstaking gentleness.

“I want you to adopt Molly.”

“You do?”

“I meant it when I said she deserves a mother like you. You love her. More than you love me. And all it does is make me love you even more. I want my girls together, Tate.”

I blink back happy tears.

“I love you just as much as Molly.”

“You don’t have to tell me that to make me happy.”

“Don’t I?” I bite my lip, my eyes misting.

Sullivan cups my face tenderly. “No, Baby. But you need to answer my question.”

My breath catches in my throat as I choke out a muffled sound of happiness and nod.

“Say it, Tate. Please.”

His voice has an edge to it. Like he has to hear the exact word. Like it has to be said in the correct way. Played at the perfect pitch and tone, like the opening note of the world’s most beautiful song.

I smile at him as tears race down my cheeks and onto his hands.

He doesn’t brush them away. He just holds my eyes with his own.

Blue Eyes.

Just like the song I wrote about his daughter, that’s changed my life. My next word is going to change it again.

And I couldn’t be happier about it.

“Yes!”

“Yes?” He arches a brow like he’s still not sure I mean it.

I pull his mouth down to mine.

“It’s a yes, Sullivan. A billion times. YES.”