Neon & Nets (Venom Next Gen #1)

Epilogue

Sofia

“We could have had this party at Serenity Shores,” I say, watching as Mom rushes around the backyard to double-check everything. I’m not sure why she’s bothering. For one thing, Layla has everything under control. Besides, this is roughly the fifteenth cookout of the season. Who’s going to complain if something’s a little bit off?

“Oh, let her fuss.” Dad offers me a sad smile. “This is our little girl’s engagement party. You are our only daughter. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

From my other side, Knova snorts. “You sure about that? I’m still convinced that Knight is going to screw it all up before the wedding. And even if he doesn’t, the divorce rates these days don’t bode well for my dumbass brother.”

I gasp and press both hands to my chest. “Did you just hex my engagement party?”

Knova points to Knight, who is currently wearing a tuxedo-print romper. He has Viktor in a headlock near the pool deck. Tristan is laughing his ass off, and my brothers are counting at the top of their lungs. Just before they reach fifteen, Viktor flips Knight over his shoulders and charges toward the pool. They hit the water with a splash.

“Dumbasses,” she repeats. “Both of them. As one of your long-time friends, Sofia, I fucking love you. But how could you find that attractive?”

The rest of the guests are supposed to be here in half an hour, but the Hales came over early. Cash has been extra suspicious today, and I’ve been working to keep Dad distracted while our plan is set in motion. That might be what Knight’s up to, too, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.

Cash emerges from the house with a beer in one hand. He catches my eye and nods. Perfect. All systems are go. I nod in return. Perfect timing.

“Hey, Marco,” Cash calls. “Why don’t you show me your tortoise habitat?”

“You want to see?” Dad leaves us on the porch to jog over to his friend. “I have only made a few improvements since last time, but I think it is looking very good.”

“You don’t seem as excited as usual,” Cash observes.

“Oh, it is nothing. It has just been so long, and no tortoise has come, and now my principessa is leaving home, and…” Dad stops at the edge of the tortoise habitat. His body goes rigid.

I try to pretend I’m surprised when Dad leans over the low stone wall. “Madison!” he cries. “Arturo! Enzo! Sofia! Come see! It is a miracle!”

Knova looks over at me. “What’s going on?”

“Gosh, I don’t know.” I bat my eyes and do my best to look innocent. “I guess we better go find out.”

Dad is practically dancing in place as we all hurry over. He points a shaking finger into the tortoise habitat, among the stones and the cacti and the insulation.

A large desert tortoise looks up at us with polite interest.

“Oh, sweetie.” Mom wraps one arm around Dad’s waist. “This is amazing.”

“You see?” Dad crows. “What did I say? If you built it, they are coming. And here he is!”

“She,” I correct.

Dad stops dancing and turns to look at me. “She? How do you know?”

“Well, just look at her,” Cash says. “She’s gorgeous. Those big brown eyes…”

Dad seems to accept that, somehow, we have all become overnight tortoise experts. He turns back to his new neighbor, cooing to her in Italian and running through a list of possible names.

Cash lifts one fist in my direction. I bump my knuckles against his. We put in the application to the desert tortoise adoption group ages ago, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Mom agreed, of course, and I’ve signed on as a future tortoise guardian in the event that this slow-moving lady outlives everyone else… entirely possible, given their lifespan.

“My tesoro is leaving me,” Dad explains as he leans down and reverently pets his new girl on her scaly head. She kind of looks like a dinosaur. “She is going off to live her life. From now on, you will be my minuscola principessa .”

“I’m getting married, not moving to Mars,” I protest.

“Hush now.” Dad holds one finger to his lips. “You are in the presence of royalty.”

Knova shakes her head and smiles at her father. “Nice,” she whispers. “You did good, Pops.”

The guests start to arrive soon after. Emily arrives around the same time as Tristan, close enough that I wonder if I’m misreading the… coincidence. Everyone else trickles over at their convenience, although the folks who have moved to Serenity Shores show up in clusters.

Partway through the festivities, Viktor heads back out front to the driveway. When he returns, he’s carrying a giant, flat object wrapped in butcher paper.

“A present,” he explains. “For the happy couple.”

Knight and I exchange a suspicious glance. Viktor is not to be trusted.

“Speaking of presents…” Cash picks up the guitar case he brought along with him. “Kingsley and I have something we’d like to share with you.”

Kingsley nods to him. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

A few people are still talking near the grill, but they fall silent when Cash strums the first few chords of a song I don’t recognize. It’s a bittersweet melody, and I find myself reaching for Knight automatically. He folds me into his arms without question. We sway together as Kingsley joins in with the lyrics, while Cash sings harmony in a lower register. It’s a love song they wrote just for us.

When things are uncertain, when the path is overgrown

Come find me, come find me.

When the sky is dark with storms and your compass loses North,

Come find me, I’m waiting.

When you can’t tell up from down, and your troubles gather round,

When the things you thought you needed are nowhere to be found,

When your senses are obscured and your cries don’t make a sound,

I’ll be there, come find me.

I’ll be waiting, love…

“No tears at the engagement party,” Knight whispers, and I laugh into his shirt.

“Don’t worry,” I whisper back. “This mascara is waterproof. I came prepared.”

Everyone at the party is emotional by the end of the song. Well, everyone but Viktor. As soon as we finish applauding, he drags his giant monstrosity toward us. “Now open mine!”

Knight tears into the paper. When he sees what’s inside, however, he tries to do a body block on it so that none of the other guests can see.

“What is it?” I ask, peering around him.

“Nothing,” he growls. “Just Viktor being a prick.”

My eyes widen at the sight of the giclee. I can’t tell if it’s a doctored photograph or if it’s a digital painting, but I can tell that it includes two naked figures in a whirlpool tub that I know all too well.

“Is that… us?” I choke.

“Curtains,” Knight says. “We need curtains.”

“Wow, Viktor, that’s so classy,” Knova deadpans. She turns to me, since Knight’s still trying to keep our parents from seeing the photo. Ugh, and my brothers are here.

Knova hands me a card. It’s a gift card. From a local home goods store.

“So you knew about this plan,” I say.

“Yup,” she says. “And I couldn’t talk him out of it. Weird that he’s still single, right?”

“Maybe I’m just picky,” Viktor shoots back.

“I have a whole degree that would beg to differ,” I tell him. “Here, Knight, let’s lean it against the side of the house for now.”

Noah glares at Viktor while we wrestle his tacky gift out of the way, but Molly is doing her best to hide her laughter. I don’t know how we’re going to get Viktor back for this, but when we do, it’s going to be epic.

“This is so beautiful,” Dad says, wiping a tear from his eye.

“The painting of our private patio time?” Knight mutters under his breath .

“Yeah,” Viktor says to my father. “I thought so, too. Telephoto is my favorite lens.”

“This moment means the world to me.” Dad’s bottom lip wobbles, and I realize that we’re in for a Sentimental Rossi Speech, which is inevitable in moments of high emotion like this. “Today, Cash Denaro is not just my found family anymore, but he is my real family. We will be forever united by our grandchildren. Hopefully, there will be many.”

“Judging by that?” Knova nods to the back of the giclee. “You guys are getting a head start.”

“I propose a toast.” Dad lifts his beer. “To my only daughter and best friend’s son.”

“Only your neighbor,” Cash protests, even as he joins the rest of the guests in raising their drinks.

Dad laughs. “So modest. So humble. So lucky to be joining our families forever.”

I lean toward Knight and whisper, “So much pressure.”

“Deep breaths,” he whispers back. “Don’t let it get to you.”

Dad continues, “When Dante brought me to Vegas, I never imagined I would move here for the rest of my life.”

“He tried to send you back…” Latham points out.

Dad ignores him. “And then I met Madison. I never knew such a love was possible. Now I look at our children, and I cannot imagine any better life. We have so much to look forward to… like cookouts, parties, and holiday celebrations…”

Cash gives us all stink-eye. It’s an impressive feat, given how many guests are here. “For the record, the only people still allowed on my lawn are our grandchildren.”

Knova laughs. “That’s right. All others will be shot with the hose.”

“Or the bean bag gun,” Knight adds.

Viktor grimaces. “And that shit hurts. ”

At the back of the crowd, Emily and Tristan exchange a worried glance, as if wondering if we’ve gone completely off-topic. But I can’t help it. This is our moment, and there’s nothing off-topic about being real with the people you love.

“The hose stings,” I admit to the assembly, chuckling, “but what hurts more are all the things we almost never said to one another. Communication is key.”

Knight pulls me closer, his arm snug around my waist, anchoring me to this perfect moment. “That’s right. We’re never going to make that mistake again. Trust me. We’re young. We’ll make lots of new ones. Me most of all.” His grin is infectious, and I feel the weight of his promise settle into the deepest part of me.

“Make all the mistakes you want,” I tell him, gazing up into those eyes that have held me captive for longer than I’d care to admit. “Just don’t be icky.” The crowd laughs, and I rise onto my tiptoes to kiss him, sealing our promise. Whoops and applause break out around us, friends and family cheering us on, but all I hear is the beat of my heart and the feel of his lips on mine.

In this moment, everything feels so impossibly right. This isn’t just love—it’s the kind of love that wraps you up and makes you believe in every happily ever after. It’s the warmth of knowing that even when things get messy, I have someone who will stand by me, hose squirts, beanbag stings, and all.

And this? The laughter, the cheers, the way his fingers trace a gentle line down my back even as our friends applaud—is what I’ve been holding out for all this time. I pull back to meet Knight’s gaze, and the look in his eyes tells me that he’s holding out for the same thing. No more unspoken words, no more almosts. Just us, here, and a love worth fighting for.

As the applause fades, he leans down, brushing his lips against my ear, whispering just for me. “Forever okay with you, babe?”

I smile, feeling a warmth that goes deeper than any words can reach. “Forever,” I whisper back, knowing that in this moment, there’s nothing left unsaid. We have everything we need. And we’re just getting started.

###

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