Two Months Later

Grace paced around the backstage area, cracking her knuckles until Jimmy rolled his eyes and told her to sit still so he could finish her makeup. “This is the biggest day of my life! What if I forget my lines? What if I trip and fall?”

Laughing, Jimmy guided her back to her chair and touched up her face. “You won’t, Grace, just take a few deep breaths. Everything’s going to be perfect.”

“How do you know?” she asked, desperate.

“Because I’m your best friend and best friends know these things,” he told her. “There. What do you think?”

He stepped to the side, and Grace gasped at her face. “Why are you always better at putting makeup on than me?” she asked, admiring his artwork. “Amazing, thanks, Jimmy.”

“For you, hon, anything. Now, let’s get you in position. It’s almost time.”

Piano music played from the other side of the curtain, and Grace sucked in another deep breath to steady her nerves. This was it, the moment she’d been dreaming about for weeks, and she still couldn’t believe it was here. Jimmy tucked her free hand into the crook of his elbow, and together, they left the backstage, walked along the wall of the theater seats, blocked off by white and silver curtains, and reached the end of the main aisle.

The music shifted when they appeared, and they strode down the aisle towards the stage. Grace’s eyes brimmed with tears when she spotted the man on stage, wearing a perfectly fitted tux, a rose on his lapel, his eyes shining with happiness. She laughed when he reached up to wipe at them but kept his green gaze on hers the entire walk down the aisle. Her white dress flowed behind her, its long train trailing down the aisle as the lights set off the shimmering fabric of her gown.

When they reached the steps at the bottom, Jimmy kissed Grace’s cheek, and she slipped her hand from his elbow to slide it into Chase’s waiting one as he helped her onto the stage.

She heard quiet crying and glanced into the seats to see Margot Valentine smiling brightly, clutching a Kleenex in her hand. Grace didn’t want to cry, not yet, but her hands shook with anticipation. As she stood firmly before Chase, the tears slipped from her eyes anyway. Theodore, who had become an officiant so he could have the honor of marrying off his star actress, cleared his throat and began the ceremony.

“You look beautiful,” Chase whispered, squeezing her hand.

“Right back at you, handsome.”

His long hair was pulled back in a braid, and he’d let a dark beard grow in over the past few months, which Grace found extremely attractive, especially when he tackled her to the bed and drove her to screaming his name. Cheeks flushed, she smothered a laugh. Her wedding. This was her and Chase’s wedding, yet it wasn’t even the best part about the day.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked quietly, watching her closely as Theodore went on about love.

“I can’t wait to give you your present later.”

Theodore glanced at them both, but she’d said it too soon. Chase politely asked Theodore to wait a moment. Hushed murmurs went through the small crowd gathered. “What present, Graceland?”

She grinned, knowing he wouldn’t let it go until she told him. “What, you don’t trust us?”

“Of course I do, but we agreed no—wait, did you say us?” His eyes widened as they went from her face to her belly and back again. “Us?”

She took his hands and placed them on her slightly rounded belly, hidden by the empire waist of her dress. “Surprise. This counts as your Christmas present, too,” she teased, laughing until he cupped her face and kissed her. Those in the audience laughed and cheered as Theodore said they skipped a few steps, laughed, and made the pronouncement anyway.

“Mr. and Mrs. Chase Valentine, the third,” Theodore said. “And I think there may another one on the way if I overheard them correctly.”

Chase broke away from the kiss. “We’re having a baby!”

The cheering grew louder, and Margot and Jimmy hurried to the stage, with everyone else following, to congratulate them and hug them. Grace had never been happier in her life, surrounded by people she loved who loved her back for the woman she was finally able to unmask, all because of Chase. He pushed the crowd aside gently so he could hold her again, picking her up off her feet and whispering how much he loved her.

“Does that mean you’re up for strip Halo later? Best two out of three?” she asked.

“You’re on, woman,” he growled and held her close. “Never letting you go.”

“Good,” she whispered back. “Because there’s no way in hell I’m playing your fake wife.”

He cursed and kissed her hard and fast, the theater filled with the echoes of cheering and catcalls, and Grace did not care that everyone could see the love they shared.