Epilogue

Missy

My hands were shaking, and we hadn’t even started yet. I flipped nervously through my cards, holding them low in front of me so I wouldn’t attract any attention. I looked up and smiled at Mason, who was standing at the front talking to Chris and some other people in the crowd. I didn’t know how I got to this day, but it was here and I was so damn excited about it. The music pumping from the speakers was melodic, and I recognized it immediately as the new band that Mason’s company had just signed a few weeks before. The lead singer had a standing yoga instruction with me every other day that the company had paid for. He had some serious anger issues, and the courts had ordered therapy and some sort of extracurricular activity. They thought it best to keep that activity as noncompetitive as possible. I took in a deep breath and looked back down at my cards, reading them quietly to myself. From behind me, I heard a familiar laugh and quickly turned around to see Eliza walking toward me.

She looked absolutely gorgeous, and it was weird seeing the two of us, out of our yoga attire and dressed in nice, conservative sundresses. It had been a year since Mason and I had been on our trip to San Diego, and life couldn’t be any better. The studio had exploded, and I now had five yoga instructors on staff and had started to build a program where we would become a certification center for people who wanted to become instructors. Eliza finally got to quit working for that clothing company in Brooklyn and was instructing full-time as well as managing all marketing efforts for the company. Luckily, I got to tone down my schedule a bit after hiring so many people, and Mason and I spent a lot of time together. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time we’d slept in different beds, including the business trip he took me on to Hawaii three months before.

“Are you nervous?” Eliza seemed more nervous than me.

“Slightly.” I chuckled. “You know me and public speaking. I’d rather eat my own arm than get up in front of a group unless I’m teaching, but that’s different.”

“Well, don’t think of it as public speaking,” she said. “Think of it as teaching all these lovely rich people about your new exciting opportunity.”

“Are you ready for all of this?”

“Me?” Eliza laughed. “I was born ready. The question is, are you ready for all of this? This one simple business move is going to catapult your company further than you ever thought possible, and five years before your goal date.”

“I know,” I sighed. “It’s so freaking nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time.”

I grabbed on to Eliza’s hand, and we did a quiet squealing victory dance. We had worked our butts off the last year, and now Mason and his company had offered me something absolutely amazing. I didn’t even take the day to think about it when he offered, I just took it. I looked up as the crowd quieted and watched Mason walk across the stage. He was so sexy when he was in business mode, and my stomach flip-flopped as he looked down at me and winked. Everything seemed to come so naturally to him, even getting up in front of all of these people and speaking. I held tightly to Eliza’s hand and watched as Mason grabbed the mic and cleared his throat.

“First I’d like to welcome everyone to our amazing event. We are so touched that so many of you have come out to celebrate the company’s eleventh year in business,” he said, looking out at the crowd. “We have pushed ourselves to the limit, and sometimes further, to find the best talent that this world has to offer. Secondly, I’d like to extend warm congratulations to Sitting Blue, the band that we signed just two months ago. Their debut album hit stores a week ago, and they are already skyrocketing up the charts. Congrats, guys.”

The crowd cheered and clapped, looking over at the band as they smiled and waved from the side. They were the band that Chris had put together from a group of musicians he loved but couldn’t quite find a place for. Mason wasn’t kidding when he said Chris was hard-core when it came to business.

“Now, the reason for this whole event is our exciting announcement. New Drive Studios has partnered with Zen Yoga and Fitness to introduce our brand-new, state-of-the-art personal training and yoga studio, right inside of New Drive Towers here in Manhattan,” he said, pausing for the applause. “Zen exclusively provide personal training, yoga, and meditation services to all of New Drive’s talent, making us not only top in music, but top in the way we treat our talent. We don’t just want healthy vocal chords; we want healthy minds and bodies. Heading up this whole venture is the founder and CEO of Zen, Missy Caldwell. Missy, come on up and say a few words.”

I smiled and nodded as people clapped and shouted for our new announcement. As I stepped onto the stage, my heart raced. The crowd quieted as Mason adjusted the mic and kissed my cheek before stepping back behind me. It was amazing how much one kiss from him really calmed my nerves.

“Thank you, New Drive Studios, Mason Phillips, and everyone else who made this venture possible,” I began. “I won’t make this long, but I just want to say that we couldn’t be more excited to move into this new era of music with New Drive. The health and well-being of their talent are of the utmost importance to us. And if you aren’t talent but want to expand your mind and strengthen your body, we will be keeping the original Zen Fitness in the Art District open under the direction of Miss Eliza Young. So thank you, everyone, for your support, and congratulations to New Drive on eleven years of continued excellence. Here is to many more.”

Immediately we stepped back, and Mason and I were handed a very large pair of scissors. We posed for the photographs as we cut through the red ribbon and laughed as trumpets sounded and balloons blew across the stage. Flashes of light were going off from all directions, and I stood smiling and posing for pictures. Suddenly there was an influx of flashes, and I could hear the crowd gasp. Confused, I slowly turned around, looking for Mason. As my eyes scanned the crowd behind me, they lowered to find Mason bent down on one knee, holding a ring in the air.

I put my hand over my mouth and shook my head, tears already bursting from my eyes. One of the staff grabbed the mic and ran it over, holding it near Mason’s mouth. He smiled brightly, his hand trembling.

“Missy Caldwell, from the first moment I met you I knew you were trouble. Boy, was I glad when I figured out you were the perfect kind of trouble,” he said, the crowd laughing in the background. “Over the last year, I woke up every morning thinking there was no way I could love you any more than I already did. Then you went and smiled that charming smile, worked harder than anyone I know, and cared for me more than anyone ever has, and I fell even deeper in love with you. So, bent down in front of all these people today, I want to ask you to make me the happiest man on earth by accepting this ring and becoming my wife.”

“Yes,” I yelled out, bending down and kissing Mason tightly on the lips. The crowd behind us erupted into cheers as he pulled the giant diamond from the box and carefully slid it onto my finger. He took my face in his hands and kissed me softly, rubbing his nose against mine.

After that we went right back to work, welcoming everyone into the new yoga studio and giving them tours of the facility. I stayed close to Mason’s side as person after person congratulated us and told us how awesome Zen was going to be. Eliza was so excited that when she finally made her way over to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed, tears collecting at the corner of her eyes. This had turned out to be better than I thought it would be, even with starting a new branch of my business. As we mingled through the crowd, grabbing some food and drinking champagne, Mason looked down at me with a sparkle in his eye.

I shook my head, not even being able to start comprehending the fact that I was now engaged to the man of my dreams. He was smart, handsome, and everything I knew I wanted in a partner. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life as his wife and best friend.

When the crowd had begun to clear, Mason pulled me over to the side and kissed me gently on the lips. He smoothed my hair down and looked deeply at me with love. I smiled hugely as my ring sparkled in the natural light from the windows.

“I have one more surprise for you,” he whispered. “But we gotta get out of here for me to show you.”

“That sounds like a good surprise,” I said playfully.

We said goodbye to everyone and made our way out to the car parked in front. Mason had driven his BMW to work for the day, so we didn’t have to catch a cab or take a company car. He opened the door for me and kissed me sweetly on the cheek as I climbed in. He shut my door and climbed in the driver’s side, taking off down the road. We drove entirely through the city and through the suburbs and then hopped on the highway. I looked down at my ring, entranced by its size and shimmering effect as the setting sun shone through the windows. In fact, I was so mesmerized by the diamond on my hand I didn’t pay a bit of attention to where we were going.

We turned off the highway and headed down a two-lane road until we finally reached a long, winding driveway. The gates at the front opened as we pulled in, and I looked up as we made our way toward an enormous house on the top of the hill. The place was beautiful with large white columns, a perfectly manicured lawn, and what looked to be a lavishly kept flower garden in the back. Mason pulled the car up to the front and got out, opening my door and pulling me from the car. I looked up and smiled at him as he took my head and led me to the large fountain in front of the house. I wasn’t sure what we were doing here, but Mason looked nervous again.

“Do you like it?”

“The house?” I said, looking around. “Of course, it’s gorgeous. Who lives here?”

“We do,” he said, holding up a set of keys. “Welcome home, my love.”

I put my hand over my mouth and stood up, looking around the grounds. Immediately I felt like that girl in all the movies that magically became a princess overnight. The place was like a royal castle, and I couldn’t believe that Mason had bought it for us. I walked back over to him, tears falling down my face, and hugged him tightly.

We pulled away from each other, and I looked deeply into his eyes. He looked happier than I had ever seen him before, and I smiled knowing I had something to do with that. I took in a deep breath and squealed in excitement.

“I love you so much,” I said loudly.

“Forever, my love, forever,” he replied.