EPILOGUE

“Anywhere but Summit Avenue.” That’d been our decision a year after the debauchery that’d been the Twins event and Thorn’s declaration in front of millions of fans.

We’d chosen something upscale but not too fancy and Corban had told me to go to town with redecorating. We could afford it after all – my event planning business had boomed since the Twins event. People hired me for the décor, and partly because they wanted the dirt on what had happened in the past. I’d become an anomaly, only this time, in a good way.

They were always disappointed when I refused to give them the gossip. But that disappointment transformed once they turned up at their event and saw the venue, the food, and everything else in between. And I loved their eyes shining with pride and gratitude more than anything. It made everything I’d gone through to get here seem worthwhile. And the destination that much sweeter.

“It’s gorgeous,” Larissa said and looped her arm through mine.

We stood in the back yard, a few paces from the grill, where Ross stood flipping burgers in his ‘Feed The Chef’ apron. He gave us a thumbs up mid-flip and tossed a burger to the grass.

A Labrador puppy dove for the meat. “No, Rory, no!” Ross yelled and guided the dog away with his foot, waving the spatula around.

Larissa and I laughed. “Dinner and a show,” Larissa hooted.

“Watch it, woman,” Ross growled, but there was no heat to his tone. There never was with them. They’d found each other young, and their marriage had stayed strong all these years. I would’ve been jealous, but things were great with Corban.

Our move had only brought us closer together. The sex hadn’t faded, though we were likely due to move out of the honeymoon phase of our relationship pretty soon. But that thought made me sigh because my deep love for him made me relish peeling back the layers of our relationship to find new delights underneath.

“Are you happy?” Larissa asked.

“Over the moon,” I replied and took a sip of my wine.

We’d settled for just the four of us at our housewarming party. Neither Corban nor I had any other intimate friends apart from these two, and Rory was a grand addition to the group.

Larissa leaned forward, eyes shining with gossip. “Guess what I heard?”

“What?”

“Thorn’s getting married.”

“Ugh.” I didn’t care what he did. His downfall had sent him straight back to Georgia, and the family bosom. “Sorry. I would be happy for him but he’s so far in the past, he’s just a blur. I pity the woman who fell for him.” It was weird to be able to talk about Thorn without flinching or feeling guilty. I’d carried that around with me for so long that the freedom from it made me feel like I’d missed something.

“He’s marrying a single mother.”

“What?!” A laugh burst from my lips. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope,” Larissa said. “They’re calling it the publicity stunt of the century. And Thorn’s publicist is working damn hard to cover his tracks. Something about losing all his endorsements and his financial empire plummeting.”

“What do you mean?”

“One of his assistants went to the press with a tell-all and revealed that the whole wedding is a total setup. That Thorn doesn’t even plan on staying in the same house with the woman and her kid but has offered to pay for the child’s schooling for the entirety of his life. All the lady has to do is stay quiet, and she gets the cash,” Larissa replied.

“Whoa. That’s twisted.” I grimaced. Thorn Edwards had hit another all-time low. He’d hit rock bottom, sunk deeper into a pile of mud, and now proceeded to dump another ten sacks of sewage on top of himself. “I wonder if he made this woman sign an NDA too.”

“Probably. She’s kept to herself during the whole thing,” Larissa said. “It’s pretty horrible, but I can’t say I blame her. She’s beautiful, but I think she comes from a really tough background. Below poverty level. She just wants to do the right thing for her child.”

“I’m not judging her,” I said. “Not that I care what he does. It’s just sad that he hasn’t learned anything from what happened to us.”

“I don’t think guys like him ever learn,” Larissa replied. “But yeah, so he’s in a world of pain. Now that the story’s broke, they won’t let go of it. I’m surprised they haven’t tried to contact you.”

“They probably have,” I said. “Lacey manages my phones and social media, so if they try, she just doesn’t let it through. And she doesn’t tell me about it either.”

“Nice.” Larissa downed the last of her drink and placed it on the table nearby. She perched beside it and folded her arms. “As long as–”

“Tables are for glasses not asses, Lar,” Ross said.

“Kiss it, Ross,” she called back and spanked her lush behind, rodeo style.

He chuckled. “Gladly. But not here, okay. You’ll scar Rory for life.”

“You’ll scar me for life too,” I said. I looked up at our house, a brick construction similar to the home I’d had on Summit Avenue, except more compact, homier, and with a wood shake roof. Corban was inside having a quick shower after work, except he was taking longer than I’d expected. I missed him already.

“So, I have a question for you,” Larissa said and shifted that wine glass further away from herself.

I pulled my gaze back to her. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“Would you say this is the happiest you’ve ever been?” Larissa asked.

“Yeah, totally.” Sometimes the depth of my joy threatened to overwhelm me. The sun shone overhead. I felt healed. Whole. I’d stepped back into my confidence and self-esteem with Corban.

It was a perfect afternoon with a blue, cloudless sky, and Rory had managed to steal the ruined hamburger patty after all. My gorgeous boyfriend was naked somewhere inside our new home, and my business had finally taken off. As an added bonus, I could walk down the street without being glared at or heckled. I’d even received a rash of apologies from Minnesotans whose eyes had been opened to the real Thorn Edwards.

“All right, so you’d say that this is the happiest you could be, right?” Larissa asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Where are these questions leading?”

“Just answer me,” she said and rolled her eyes. She should’ve been a lawyer – if lawyers huffed and rolled their eyes at their witnesses on the stand.

I considered the future. It seemed bright, but I couldn’t bank on what hadn’t happened yet. Things could get better or worse, and all I’d been through had taught me to live in the moment and not take things for granted.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine being any happier than right now.”

“You’re wrong,” Larissa replied with a smug smile.

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re wrong.” She giggled this time.

“What are you two hens clucking about?” Ross asked. “The burgers are done. I’m grilling the bratwurst now.”

“I know you didn’t just call me a hen,” Larissa said. “If you just called me a hen, I can think of another fat sausage to throw on the barbeque.”

“A hen? No, I would never call you that, gorgeous. Never,” he said and crossed himself, then kissed his fingers and pointed to the sky.

I blinked off another of their half-insult, half-loving conversations and focused on my best friend. Larissa bore that same smile. She positively seethed with happiness.

“How might I be wrong?” I asked.

She lifted a shoulder. “You’re going to find out really soon.” Before I could interrogate her further, she hopped off the table, grabbed her wine glass, and moved to the cooler Ross has set up beside the grill.

“Now, you’re drinking my beers too?” Ross asked. “Gosh, woman, you’re going to make me cry in a second.”

“Relax, I’m just getting a glass of wine.” She bent to open the cooler’s white plastic lid, but Ross got there first, extracted the wine bottle and poured for her. He corked it again, put it back, then drew her into a hug and kissed a long line down her neck.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look today?” he asked, all innocence and charming grins.

I glanced up at the house again, and pleasure flushed through me. Corban strode across the lawn, sexy in a blue button-down shirt and jeans. He flashed that easy smile that made my heart turn over in my chest, but then his expression grew serious.

“There you are,” I said. “I thought you drowned.”

“I had to find something,” he said. “And I needed to prepare a speech.”

“Prepare a speech? For a housewarming party with four attendants?” I laughed. “You’re something else. Should I have unpacked the crystal champagne flutes for your soliloquy?” I craned my neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Glad you could finally join us,” Ross said to his friend. Larissa beamed at us from her husband’s side. She still hadn’t lost that weird, self-satisfied smile.

“You all ready for my speech?” Corban asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Larissa perked up even more. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” What a weird thing to say about a housewarming party. I narrowed my eyes at her again.

Corban took the wine glass from my hand and placed it on the table. He looked me in the eyes, searching me, loving me with the expression I woke up to every morning. I could never get sick of that or his pre-work kisses.

“Luna, I’m so glad we could move in together into this perfect home. I think this place suits us, don’t you?”

“I do,” I said and kissed both of his hands.

“Not yet,” Larissa whispered. “But you will.”

I ignored my kooky friend and focused on the man of my dreams, who was now my reality, hanging with baited breath on his every word. “I think we chose the best option for us.”

“Yeah, it’s a fresh start. And I thought a lot about that fresh start for the past few months while we were looking for our new place.” He inhaled a long breath. “I wanted to move in with you as soon as we could, but I realized something very important is missing.”

“What?” The color drained from my face. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was he about to break up with me? This was supposed to be a happy day. How could he do this to me in front of our friends? For a minute, I was transported back to my time with Thorn and our messy break up because Thorn had been a man I couldn’t trust. In my mind, I was running down the stairs of the cathedral again, away from him and his teammates and every judgmental face in the congregation.

“And that something missing,” Corban said with a soft smile, “is forever.”

I blinked away visions of sorrow and pain, the default emotions I’d had for too long. That wasn’t me. Not anymore. Old Luna needed to remain firmly in the past. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is all great. The house is here and we’re living in it together now, but I don’t think we can truly do it justice unless we make things between us more permanent.”

My jaw dropped. No words came out.

Corban took a knee in front of me, reached into the pocket of his slacks and brought out a black velvet box. He held it up to me. “You’re everything I could want, Luna. I knew it the minute you came into my office and messed up my desk. Of course, seeing your naked ass walking away from me didn’t hurt.”

Larissa snorted as my eyes widened in shock but the humor somehow didn’t break the magic. It only added to it. Corban had chosen to do this in front of our two best friends and no one else. Thorn’s proposal had been in front of the entire team and the entire country – televised.

“I want to make this official, indisputable. I want to be with you forever. Love you, fight with you, worship and adore you. Everything that grownups do.” Corban swallowed.

I struggled to hold back tears. Larissa sobbed and clung to Ross beside the grill.

“Luna Faye, will you be my wife? Will you marry me?” He opened the box and exposed the ring inside, a gorgeous platinum band with a three-karat cushion cut diamond, nothing like the boulder Thorn had presented me with to show off his wealth.

I loved it, and I loved him to the core. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.”

He swept the ring out of the box and slid it onto my ring finger, then rose. I threw my arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses, tears escaping from the corners of my eyes, tracking over my cheeks.

He swung me in a full arc and whooped. Ross applauded, and Rory let out a few choice yapping barks. Larissa giggled and pointed at me. “I told you. Isn’t this the happiest you’ve ever been?”

Corban placed me on the ground. He cupped both my cheeks in his smooth, tan hands and drew me into a kiss that satisfied my soul.

Yes, this was the happiest I’d ever been.

Ever.

THE END