Epilogue

Prom Night

Demi

“I can’t believe it’s finally here,” Nancie squealed. “All these months of planning and being excited, and it’s here! Are you sure I look okay?”

She nervously smoothed the front of her dress, looking at me hopefully. “You look gorgeous. For the hundredth time, Nance. You’re beautiful. You look perfect, and Scott is going to come in his pants when he sees you.”

Nancie’s body shook as she laughed. “You remembered that? I can’t believe it.”

“Of course, I did. I’ve been saving it as a comeback for months.”

Nancie was really starting to feel like family to me. Our relationship was stronger than ever, and I thanked my lucky stars for her just about every day.

“I’ll bet you have. Let’s hope you’re as right as I was.” She giggled.

“You weren’t,” I told her, knowing Barrett would kill me for it, but sharing the rest with her anyway because she’d started coming to me with all of her questions recently. “Barrett has way too much self-control for that, but he sure as hell made me realize how much he loved that dress later.”

“I knew that movie was a good idea,” she quipped. Her eyes grew dark and her face somber as she came over to hug me. “Thank you, Demi.”

“For what?” Despite our closeness, Nancie was still a mystery to me sometimes.

“For being there for me. Barrett is great, but I’ve really missed having a woman in my life. I can’t imagine talking to Barrett about all this stuff.”

“His head would likely explode,” I agreed. “It’s my absolute pleasure, Nance. I’m so happy that you’ve taken me into your confidence, and that you talk to me when you have questions instead of just barreling ahead.”

Barrett and I had managed to find a compromise when it came to the things that Nancie and I talked about. Without betraying her confidence, I kept him abreast of what was going on in her life, and he didn’t pry so long as I promised to tell him if she was in trouble.

It was a balance that worked well, especially since I’d moved in with them shortly after we’d gotten back together. The very week after that day at Athena’s, he’d convinced me to move some of my things in with him. He’d said it was for his own peace of mind, and since I’d spent every night that week at his place anyway, nothing would really change.

Initially, I’d agreed only if he promised me my own room. To this day, I still hadn’t slept in the guest bedroom next to his, and all of my things were in Barrett’s bedroom, or as he kept telling me, our bedroom.

“Now remember,” I told Nancie. “Just because it’s prom night—”

“Doesn’t mean I have to put out.” She gave me a cheeky little salute. “I know. I heard you the first seven million times. Besides, like I told you—”

“You and Scott aren’t ready for that?” I finished for her. She nodded and laughed. “That’s my girl.”

We both froze, glancing at each other over the words I hadn’t meant to say. Then, she slid her arm around my waist and smiled up at me. “You’re going to be the best aunt ever.”

“We aren’t even engaged yet,” I reminded her, but I’d been wondering about it a lot lately. I didn’t even know if Barrett still had the ring.

“You will be,” she said.

But I didn’t read into it. It was something she told me on a regular basis.

When we descended the stairs, Scott was waiting beside Barrett, wearing a perfectly tailored suit that was courtesy of Barrett’s personal tailor. Except the kids didn’t know. Barrett had invented a fake contest, and Scott had “won” it. I loved Barrett all the more for it.

A look of intense longing crossed Scott’s features as soon as he laid eyes on Nancie, but he hid it before Barrett could see. Which was probably a good thing, since Barrett was still as overprotective as ever over Nancie, even if he had taken a liking to Scott.

Nervous energy was flowing from Barrett almost as intensely as from Nancie when I came to stand next to him. I slid my hand into his, and he instantly relaxed. He often joked that my touch was like either valium or Viagra to him, depending on the circumstances.

“You guys all ready?” I asked, watching them nervously make eyes at each other.

“All set,” Scott said. “Nicole and the others are in the limo outside.”

The limo was also courtesy of Barrett, but they knew about that bit of generosity.

“Have fun,” Barrett told Nancie, drawing her in for a quick hug before fixing a stern gaze on Scott. “But not too much.”

“Of course,” Scott said.

I was proud that he was learning to stand his ground with Barrett. And so was the man himself, although he’d only admitted it once, after we’d had too much champagne in the hot tub.

“Back by midnight, you hear?” Barrett told them.

Nancie rolled her eyes, but Scott nodded.

He was standing tall around Barrett, but he was too smart to go poking the bear. We watched them go, laughing as they stumbled into the back of the limo with cheers rising from their friends as they did.

It was one of the many moments that I marveled at just how easily I’d slipped into Barrett’s life. Having money wasn’t all bad, which brought me to the next thing I wanted to discuss with him.

“Can we talk?”

“Uh oh. If it’s a bad talk, then no. I’m busy. If it’s a good talk, then yap away.” Barrett’s eyes shone with humor as he drew me against his chest, dropping a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “Either way, I love you more than words can say.”

It was a refrain he’d repeated time and time again since that day at Athena’s, though he couldn’t say “in the English language” anymore because we’d taken to learning how to say I love you in every language we could think of. We might not always remember how to say it afterward but we were determined to say it at least once in every language.

“Eu também te amo.” At least I remembered how to say I love you, too in Portuguese. “But that’s beside the point. I want to set up a charity fund for the families of those affected by cancer. You refuse to let me pay for anything, so I’ve got a load of money saved up, and that’s what I want to use it for.”

Barrett had announced me as the face of the agency after all, claiming that he couldn’t bear to have me working for the competition and that I’d been perfect since the beginning. Since he could bear to look at me again, he said it was a no brainer.

I’d agreed, on the condition that if he ever felt like firing me again, he had to sit me down, hear me out, and answer every one of my questions while he listened to every one of my answers. He promised but then surprised me with a contract from his lawyers stipulating that Athena’s was mine, full and clear, if he didn’t stick to the terms.

When I refused to sign it, he’d threatened to make the entire company shut down until I did. Oh, and to withhold sex. I signed the next day.

It was a completely unnecessary gesture as far as I was concerned, but he wouldn’t budge, citing that he had promised me that he would do anything to prove to me that he was sorry and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.

Before he could answer, my phone buzzed on the table in the entrance hall. It was my mother, and since I’d stopped avoiding my mother’s calls, I shot Barrett an apologetic look. He smiled indulgently as he inclined his head to the phone. I slid my finger along the green line.

“Honey, are you two free?” my mother asked. “Your father and I have news. We’re about five minutes away if you have time. I know it’s Nancie’s prom tonight.”

It was still strange that I spoke to her so often nowadays that she knew exactly what was going on in my life.

“We’re free,” I said. “The kids just left.”

Barrett smiled, clearly overhearing the conversation.

“Is it okay for us to pop in?” she asked.

I shot him a questioning glance, and he nodded. Barrett and my father had grown seriously close over the course of the last few months. They adored each other and spoke at least as often as my mom and I did.

“Sure, Mom. See you soon.” I hung up the phone and turned to Barrett. “Do you know what this is all about?”

“Nope, I would’ve told you, love. All I know is the same as you. They’re expecting the final results any time now.” The anxiety that crept into his voice mirrored the nervous pounding of my heart. “Now, before they get here, I see your idea of starting a fund, and I think it’s great but I also think we can do one better.”

“Like what?” I arched a brow at him. Whenever his eyes danced like they were right then, he was about to propose something preposterous and expensive, which he also had a way of making happen.

“Let’s build a whole new cancer wing at the hospital and name it after your dad,” he said, pulling me back to him and nuzzling my neck.

Sometimes, I couldn’t believe how much I loved this man. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he said into my ear, licking the shell and completely distracting me until the doorbell rang.

“Darlings,” my mother exclaimed as we opened the door. It was times like this that I was grateful she had too much poise to mention our flushed cheeks or bee stung lips.

“How are you, Athena?” Barrett asked, pulling her in for a quick hug while squeezing my father’s hand with his free one. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s marvelous,” my mother said, hanging onto my father’s arm. He was beaming like the sun itself.

“We just got the final results,” my father said.

Barrett reached for me. His fingers dug into my hip, and we both stopped breathing while we waited for my father to spill the beans. I finally prompted him. “Well?”

“I’m clean,” my father announced. “Completely in remission.”

Barrett and I froze, then released each other to hug my parents. My mother and I sobbed into each other’s shoulders, while my dad and Barrett exchanged a warm hug, muttering softly to one another.

“This calls for a celebration,” Barrett called when he broke away from my father. “You guys go settle in the living room. I’ll grab the champagne.”

Happiness was too meager a word to explain my feelings as I led my parents to our living room, chattering all the way about what the doctors had told them.

“So, you’re really all clear?” I asked.

“All clear,” my mother confirmed, snuggling into one of the couches. They’d become as at home here as Barrett and I had back at Villa Fowler. Nancie adored them, and they adored her. All in all, life was pretty damn perfect.

Barrett came into the living room, juggling four long-stemmed glasses and a bottle of champagne that I’d chosen at the supermarket, insisting that it was my favorite, despite its barely-there price tag. Barrett just laughed, told me that he loved me, and bought a case of the stuff.

Standing up to help him, my knees nearly buckled when he dropped to his and whipped a royal blue case from his pocket. It was one of the ring cases that my family had built their name on, my mom’s name emblazoned in gold lettering over the top.

My mom and I held our breaths, while a serene smile played on my father’s lips when Barrett started talking.

“You are the love of my life, Demetria Alison Fowler. You swept the world out from under my feet the first time I saw you, and I haven’t been on solid ground since. You’re a constant surprise and my only stability, all at once. I had this moment planned, down to my last word, but seeing you with Nancie tonight and getting this news from James, I couldn’t wait any longer. The moment presented itself, and I’m taking it. I’m all in, my love. So, what do you say? Will you marry me, Demi?”

Indescribable joy floated like bubbles in my chest as I looked down at his loving eyes, giving him the only answer that I’d been waiting to give him for months. “Of course I will.”