FOUR MONTHS LATER
EPILOGUE
ELIZABETH
Today marked the beginning of a new chapter for Daniel and me.
Wrapping up production for the day, I couldn’t wait to head home to what awaited me. Upon arrival, I noted that Daniel was already inside, seeing his car parked in one of our underground spaces.
Bypassing the elevator, I practically skipped up the stairs as excitement coursed through me. When I walked through the door, I noticed boxes everywhere and shit scattered all over the floor.
“Daniel?” I shouted, wondering where he was.
“In the bedroom!” he shouted back before meeting me in the hallway.
“Hi.” I smiled like a kid in a candy store before leaning up on my tiptoes and planting a kiss on his waiting mouth.
“Hi yourself.” He pulled away before leaning back in and pulling my bottom lip between his teeth. “You ready for this?”
“It’s a little late for that question,” I teased.
He glanced around at all his things covering my floor. “True. I’ve already grown attached to my new place.”
“Your new place?” I swatted his shoulder.
He lifted me up and tossed me across his shoulder. “Our new place.”
“It’s only new to you,” I said, hitting his ass with my hands.
“I brought you something.” He flipped me back over and rested me on my feet, before pulling me into the bedroom where the most elaborate bouquet of multicolored roses sat in an oversized vase.
“Daniel, they’re stunning! So many colors. How come?” I ran over to them and breathed in their scent. “Does this mean you want to see other people? You don’t want to just see me anymore?” I giggled with a fake frown. I loved any chance I got to tease him, but honestly, I was a little confused at his flower choice.
“I’ll always only see you, but you’re so much more than just my white rose. You’re all of them—every fucking color. There are so many sides to you, so many shades, and I love every single one.”
“I love you.” I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, passionately, and with all the love I had for him in my heart.
It had been four months since we started officially dating. My scare when it came to my feelings had ended as abruptly as it had started. Daniel had coaxed emotions out of me and constantly reassured me that we were on the same page, so I never felt alone. Eventually, I’d stopped worrying about how to balance everything, and it had all seemed to fall into place. Trusting him implicitly, I realized how little there was to worry about. Work would dominate my days while Daniel would dominate my nights.
In the beginning, our evenings had been filled with late-night phone calls and our days with the occasional text or email. Being in a long-distance relationship had worked well for us for a while, considering how busy we both were with our jobs.
But after about three months, we’d simply missed each other too much, and being apart more often than we were together had become something that wasn’t fun anymore. As much as the distance was a convenience in certain aspects, like no one to upset when coming home late for dinner or having to spend a night in the office, it had definitely made other things more difficult, like wanting to come home and hug him after a shitty day at work or simply needing my best friend when I wanted him around. Sending each other picture messages had grown old when what I truly wanted was him by my side, seeing what I was seeing. Life was about the experience, and we’d been experiencing our lives apart. And it had sucked.
Moving down to Santa Monica had been Daniel’s idea. I would never have suggested it because the subject was honestly far too touchy for me. I’d never even considered moving up to San Francisco even though I loved his place and the energy of the city during the handful of times I’d visited him. But in my defense, the entertainment industry only existed in Southern California, so moving didn’t make sense for me professionally, and I refused to give up my career for anyone, even Daniel. So, when I wasn’t willing to make the same sacrifice, I couldn’t in good conscience ask him to move down here, no matter how badly I wished he would.
Daniel had decided that his work could be done from anywhere, so he’d called me one day and announced his plans to relocate. I’d almost flown up there that afternoon to start packing his things. His best friend, James, had started running the actual office, but I’d often wondered how long it would take for him to join us down here. I’d gotten the impression that James couldn’t be left unsupervised for too long. To be honest, I thought he missed Daniel, which was a feeling I could completely relate to.
I wasn’t sure what that meant for Daniel’s current business, but I could tell he wasn’t worried about it. When I’d asked him once what would happen to everyone he employed, he’d assured me that they would all get at least a year’s worth salary if he closed the doors and that he would try to find them jobs elsewhere, if not with him in his new venture. It pleased me to no end to hear how well he treated his employees. Good character was important to me, and Daniel Alexander was filled with it.
He tugged at my side. “I need a break. Can we go for a walk?”
“Want to have a drink and watch the sun set?” I offered, knowing the perfect spot.
“Sounds perfect.”
We walked hand in hand along the sandy concrete path splitting the buildings on the street from the actual beach. I watched as Daniel looked around at the brightly lit pier rides and back at the people doing tricks on the metal rings and bars that were bolted into the sand.
“Is it always like this? Guys flipping around on rings and climbing ropes for no reason.”
I laughed. “No reason? How else can they show off those muscles if they don’t randomly start climbing that rope or balance themselves between a set of metal rings?”
“They could go to a gym.”
“Oh, they do. It’s down the street—outside in Venice.”
His eyes widened as he took in my words. “Muscle Beach, right?”
“Exactly. You’re a regular already.” I leaned my body against him as he continued to walk.
“Almost there. It’s up ahead,” I said.
“Is it a bar?” He craned his neck to see where I was looking.
“It’s actually a hotel, but the bar is amazing. They have a large terrace overlooking the beach, and gorgeous fire features. You’ll love it.”
When the enormous gray-and-white building came into view, Daniel’s whole face lit up with his smile. “Is this where we’re going?”
I nodded, squeezing his hand a little tighter. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It’s like the perfect beach house. I mean, if you wanted to house, like, three hundred of your closest friends. Yeah, it’s gorgeous.”
I pointed to the level above the ground. “We’re going up there to drink our cares away.”
“Everything I care about is right here in my arms,” he said before tenderly kissing my lips.
Once we were seated outdoors, we each had an ice-cold beer in one hand and a menu in the other.
Putting our menus down, he brought my hand to his lips. “I can’t believe we live together.” He winked.
“I can’t believe I get to have my way with you anytime I want.” I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“Check, please!” he yelled.
“We haven’t even eaten yet!” I laughed.
“You’re the one who brought up sex, not me! I can’t be expected to think about food after that. I’m only so strong, Elizabeth.”
“You need your energy, so eat some dinner, Mr. Alexander. We can work it all off later.”
“You’ll be the death of me, woman.”
“And you’ll like it.” I smiled.
“I’ll love it. I love you.” He pressed a kiss to my temple.
“I love you, too.”
I stared at him, feeling the fullness in my heart.
We looked out at the sun and watched it cast a magical orange-and-yellow glow across the dark blue water. Turning my head to look at Daniel as he stared out at the wonder before us, I felt so blessed and lucky that he hadn’t backed down all the times I’d tried to push him away.
Before him, I hadn’t realized that what I needed was a strong man who wouldn’t listen to me when I said I wanted him to leave me alone. I’d needed a fighter, and Daniel Alexander was exactly that. He was my champion, and I belonged right here, by his side, forever.
The End
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed Daniel & Elizabeth’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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