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  Having a small understanding of the street racing culture, I knew that kicking Knight off the list wasn’t the way things were done. He would have to be raced off the list, fair and square. There was honor in that. They didn’t have to like each other, but they did have to show respect. Knight, however, wasn’t going to be taken out that easily.

  “You ready, Tay?” Blake asked while reaching out a hand for me. It was my turn to stare in admiration at my own badass racer.

  “I’m ready for it all.” I smiled up at him and put my hand in his.

  I was ready to begin the life I’d always dreamed but never thought was possible. I was excited to meet the tiny life our love had created, and I wanted it right away.

  Every day was a wonderful gift, every turn a thrilling adventure.

  And what an unbelievable ride it was going to be.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  “Look at me.” Harley sounded deflated as she stared at the full-length mirror. “I look fat, don’t I, Tayia?”

  I shifted my son from one hip to the other as I turned to her. “Honey, you look gorgeous.” I smiled reassuringly. Wyld started kicking his feet for me to let him down and stumbled away as soon as the bottom of his shoes hit the floor.

  “I feel like a marshmallow,” Harley grumbled as she put both hands on her large, round belly.

  “Yeah, because you’re eight months pregnant.” Jonna snorted from behind her, doing her best to add a few curls in Harley’s unruly hair with a curling iron. “Might I also point out that you’re the one who waited so long to accept my brother’s proposal.”

  “I have no idea why Drew insisted on getting married before the baby was born.”

  “In his defense, he has been asking you to marry him for the last two years,” Jonna replied while setting down the curling iron to admire her work.

  “I can’t help that I’m a procrastinator.” Harley shrugged and continued to stare at her image in the mirror. She was wearing an ankle-length, white sundress with silver, barefoot sandals adorned with jewels. On her head, she wore a simple crown of white and pink flowers to accompany her dark brown, waist-length ringlets.

  “I really am digging the whole barefoot and pregnant bohemian thing you created, Tayia. It will work, I guess,” Harley conceded. She grinned, and I knew she was happier than she let on about the way she looked. Pregnancy really had agreed with her. The news had come as a shock to all of us, especially to Harley, but I’d never seen her smile quite as much as she had over the last few months.

  "Mama, May-shee." Wyld tugged on my skirt to catch my attention. “Want May-shee, Mama."

  “Okay, my sweet boy.” I stared down at Blake’s mini-me, who was the new love of my existence. He had his daddy’s blue eyes and light brown hair. No dimple, though. However, I liked that it was something Blake kept for himself. “It’s time for us to head out, anyway.” I glanced over at Jonna, who was fussing with her curly blonde locks in the mirror while Harley was reaching into her oversized bag. She rifled around for a bit until she found what she was looking for.

  “Got it,” she said as she folded a piece of paper into a tiny square.

  “What is that?” Jonna asked.

  “A letter for my wedding day from Mama." She smiled as she tucked the letter deep beneath the flowers in her bouquet. She had spent the last six months reconnecting with her mother, who was scheduled to be released from her fifteen-year sentence next spring. In fact, she and Drew had gone to Florida to visit her twice. It was a slow process for sure, but I think it took Harley experiencing the beginning stages of motherhood to understand how important it was that she fix her relationship with her own mom.

  Ms. Annette stuck her head inside the room and looked around quickly. “Y’all ready? It’s time.” She beamed as soon as she saw Harley. “Well, aren’t you a picture of perfection. Let’s get you down the aisle. I wouldn’t want my grandbaby to get here first.”

  Harley’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “What do you mean? I’ve still got at least four weeks.”

  “You sure about that? With the way you’re carryin’ and all? You know Drew came early and—

  "Mama," Jonna warned, “let’s get out there. I’m sure Daddy’s waiting for you.” She guided a well-meaning yet confused Ms. Annette from the room and winked at Harley, who sent her a grateful smile.

  "May-shee, Mama." Wyld repeated.

  “Okay, baby,” I said as I grabbed his hand and left the room. Once we’d made it through the double doors that led to the stretch of beach behind Annette’s Catch, Wyld tugged his hand from mine and took off running.

  “Wyld!” I called after him, but my baby boy wouldn’t be deterred from getting to his favorite person in the world, Maizie King.

  Wyld navigated his way through the crowd of people, around the chairs in the sand, and came to a full stop in front of Adam King, who was holding his seven-month-old daughter, Maizie. She was the cutest little thing with her curly jet-black hair pushed back with a pink headband that matched her dress. As soon as Wyld reached Maizie, her face lit up as she kicked her chunky legs and bare feet against her daddy’s side.

  “Hey there, buddy,” King greeted Wyld as he crouched down so the two kids could see each other. Blake had also made his way over and patted the top of his son’s head.

  “Remember, be nice to the baby, bub,” he instructed, and Wyld sweetly grabbed Maizie’s hand and shook it. They proceeded to babble to each other while the dads began a discussion. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the sound of gentle waves in the background. Such a different scene from my own wedding.

  We had waited until after Wyld was born and got married in the winter cabin in Pennsylvania just after Christmas. I wanted to get married in my favorite place during my favorite time of the year. The baby had only been a couple of months old at that time and slept in Maggie’s arms during the entire ceremony. My heart had been so full that day, having everyone I loved there. We were overwhelmed by the support and understanding. Even Neil, who had seemed to have the worst reaction, came around. He didn’t realize that Blake and I weren’t blood related. He’d moved to the island during his junior year in high school, so he had no clue what was going on. In the end, he proudly stood as Blake’s best man.

  Finally, Harley waddled to the doorway, a signal for everyone to take their seats. As the music began, Jonna and I made our way down the path to the altar with the beaming bride close behind.

  *****

  While the newlyweds swayed together on the dance floor as the sunset, Jonna and I sat on a blanket in the grass nearby as our children played together. Maizie was sitting up, albeit a bit wobbly, tracking Wyld’s every movement as he raced his toy cars over the blanket.

  “Do you need anything, Tay?” Blake asked as he came to sit next to me. I shook my head and smiled. I’d never been so content in my life.

  “I have everything I could ever want,” I whispered and placed a kiss on his lips, to which he smiled back, pleased by my answer.

  Blake had worked so hard to provide for us. The mechanic shop was doing great. A cable television network interested in writing an action-drama series centered around street racers and King’s list had approached the entire crew. I had also been writing a romance series based on bad-ass racers that I hoped to share with a few publishers. Though, I couldn’t imagine any amount of fiction that could top my life and the world we lived in.

  “Maizie Anne, you take that Camaro out of your mouth this instant!” Jonna scolded her daughter, who instantly dropped the toy car and began to wail. King, who seemed to appear from out of nowhere, scooped up his daughter, cooing and patting her back until she stopped crying.

  “I’m telling you, she has him wrapped around her little finger.” Jonna chuckled and shook her head. It didn’t surprise me that King had taken to fatherhood instantly. If you got past the tough exterior, he was a total softy. Though he wouldn’t dare admit it.

  When the DJ announced that t
he newlyweds were leaving, we gathered the kids and made our way to the parking lot. Fox’s blue Dodge Viper had been decorated with white streamers and condom packets, which was pretty ironic given the fact that his pregnant wife was due in a month.

  We gathered around the passenger side of the car just as Fox opened the door for Harley, who was contemplating her chances of getting into the low bucket seat of the Viper.

  “Well, Georgia Grace”—Harley patted her bump— “hope we fit.” Slowly, she began to slide into the seat. “This would have been a lot easier if we’d waited until after the baby was born, Drew,” Harley grumbled.

  “It would have been a lot easier if you had just married me two years ago.” He playfully swatted her behind.

  “You know we never do things in the right order, Foxy.” Then she settled into the seat with an unladylike grunt.

  “This is true.” He pressed a kissed to her lips then ran around the car and got into the driver’s seat. “Ready, motorcycle girl?”

  “Ready!” She smiled as Fox started the Viper and shifted it into gear. Harley blew kisses out of the window as we all waved and called out well wishes.

  The car roared away in a flurry of white streamers and smoke. When the cloud of dust and sand finally settled, the blue Viper was only a tiny blip in the distance. It was insane how far it had traveled in such a short time. Maybe it symbolized how love was crazy and unpredictable. King standing with Jonna at his side and their daughter in his arms reminded me that love was redeeming. And as I looked up to see my Blakey flash me a dimple while standing proud with our son sitting on his shoulders, I felt love that was eternal.

  Never say never.

  THE END

  Interested in other books by Gwendolyn Grace?

  Check out…

  The Drive Me Wild Series

  Fox

  King

  Blaze

  Heat (a Drive Me Wild novella)

  The Story of Us series

  True (The Story of Us #1)

  Forever True (The Story of Us #1.5, a novella)

  Standalones

  Kentucky on the Rocks (Free Download)

  ALL AVAILABLE NOW

  Acknowledgements

  I hope you all enjoyed Blake and Tayia’s story. I didn’t know when I created these characters in Fox that they would have a story to tell. I had no idea what they wanted to tell me but I’m glad I listened.

  Readers- Your patience while I worked to finish Blaze means so much to me and I hope it was worth the wait.

  Maci Dillon- My right-hand girl! Thanks for sticking with me. Your belief in me really helped when my head and heart weren’t always on the same page. I wouldn’t have wanted to have drinks in a biker bar in the middle of Mississippi with anyone else.

  My Alpha Reader- the always fabulous Kingston Westmoreland. You are gold in this industry.

  My beta readers- Maci Dillon, Jessica Raney, Jennifer Gradert- Sparlin, and Angie Larson. Thanks for your valuable input! I will always try to be a better writer. Your feedback plays a major part in that.

  My family and friends for their unwavering support of me and my book writing madness.

  I love each and every one of your faces!

  Blaze Playlist

  Follow this playlist on Spotify

  Honest by Kodaline

  I Of The Storm by Of Monsters and Men

  Love Ain’t Enough by the Barr Brothers

  The Only Exception by Paramore

  Follow You Anywhere by Monica Heldal

  Crush by Dave Matthews Band

  Graceland by Allan Rayman

  Small Bump by Ed Sheeran

  Wonderwall by Ryan Adams

  Little Lover by BROADHURST

  Build Me Up From Bones by Sarah Jarosz

  Love Song by The Cure

  God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

  Wild Things by Alessia Cara

  About the Author

  Gwendolyn Grace loves writing steamy stories full of emotion, love, and a little bit of angst, but promises to wrap it all up with a happy ending . . . somehow. She lives in Virginia with her family and loves to daydream about fictional characters. In her spare time, she is a blogger and book reviewer, however, writing has been her passion for as long as she can remember.

  Blaze is one of many more romance stories to come.

  Find her all over social media!

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  Author Gwendolyn Grace Website

  Goodreads Author Page