Epilogue
Ashlee
6 Months Later
I stepped out of the meeting with my publisher, grinning brightly. That meeting was a positive one, and my medial writing career was looking to be a successful one.
Since I had all my notes from over the years, the first book hadn’t taken me very long to write, and surprisingly, I’d managed to get a publisher’s interest quickly...so much so that they wanted me to write a series. They claimed that my writing style was entertaining as well as informative and that it could speak to other health professionals, teachers, and parents of children with speech difficulties equally, which would turn out to be quite a large market, much more than what I was expecting.
As soon as I was outside, I tugged my phone out of my pocket to speak to the one person that needed to know right away, my rock in all of this.
“Hello?” Matthew answered, sounding about as on edge as I’d been feeling that morning. I already knew that he wanted to know how my meeting had gone, and I couldn't wait to put him out of his misery. “How was it?”
“Excellent,” I squealed. “I cannot believe it; they want me to write a whole series.”
“That’s incredible!” he gasped, so excited for me. “Although I’m not surprised; your book is amazing.”
“Yeah, but you have to say that,” I joked, feeling like I was walking on cloud nine. “The publishers don't.”
“Well, while we’re sharing the good news, I have some for you...” he trailed off, leaving me hanging. “I’ve won an award, one that I didn’t even realize that I was nominated for, for my practice. The awards ceremony is tonight. Do you think that you’ll be back from the city soon enough to come with me?”
“Oh my God, of course I will,” I promised, knowing I would race back if I needed to. “That’s such good news. I can’t believe it. I mean, I can because you’re such a good doctor... Oh, you know what I mean.”
My head was all over the place, jumping about with everything. Ever since the horror of losing my mom, things had been going well for me and Matthew, making us both so happy. That suggested to me that not only was my mom watching over us, but we were also both where we needed to be. We had made the right decision in picking one another. “This will look good for the charity foundation, too.”
We had started up a charity in Mom’s name to help fund research, with Matthew putting in a lot of his lottery winnings, and that cash was going to do a whole lot of good. Not only were we raising a lot of awareness, we’d also commissioned projects to help families of cancer sufferers; housing for family members nearby hospitals, specialized, dedicated nurses to help each patient, funding for new treatments...anything to help others through their own, traumatic journey.
“I have to get things organized.” I could tell that Matthew was smiling as he said that, which made me grin, too. “So, I’ll speak to you later, okay?”
On the drive back home, I called Kerri to tell her the good news, too. We were closer than ever, which helped because she was going through a lot of life changes, too, which meant that we could support one another.
On seeing me finally let my guard down with Matthew, she seemed to do the same for Willy, and now they were in the happiest relationship I’d ever seen. Without all the barriers that she’d set up for herself, she could finally just be, and it was perfect. They were so meant to be, it was crazy.
The other big news, although only the four of us knew about it at the moment, was that they were having another baby, and I was over the moon for them. If anyone deserved to finally have that family unit, it was them. They’d jumped over endless hurdles to get there, but now they’d made it – a sentiment that Matthew and I could relate to.
Despite all the craziness in her own life, she still managed to find time to be happy for me and my successes, and when I told her what had happened with the publisher, she screamed with joy for me.
When I thought about that chat Matthew and I had on that hill, where we both confessed that we wanted to stay living in Florence, I was grateful for that choice. I had my mom’s home, a job that I loved, my man, my best friend: why in world would I want to go anywhere else? I was just lucky that Matthew felt the same way. Things could have gone very differently if not.
Or not. I probably would have followed him to the ends of the Earth.
As I eventually pulled up at Mom’s home, my heart fluttered once more. At one point, Matthew had asked me to move in with him, but I hadn’t felt ready to leave Mom’s home behind, but maybe I would be soon. I didn’t think that I could ever sell it, or even rent it just yet...not when everything was exactly as she had left it, but I might have been ready to try something a little different.
After all, I could talk to Mom in my mind anywhere. I didn’t have to be in her bedroom, even if it was where I felt most comfortable.
Well, Mom, I thought happily. Look where I am now. Who would have thought it? I have a book about to be published, Matthew is doing well in his clinic, and I’m about to get dressed to go to an awards ceremony. I miss you like crazy, but I’m happy, too.
I’d gotten to a place where I never thought I would, and that was a huge step forward for me.
*****
I glanced at my reflection in the full-length mirror once more, hoping that I looked okay. I had opted for a floor-length, maroon gown that hugged my curves in a nice way, but I couldn't help being a little critical of myself. I just wasn't sure if the look was quite right and considering I’d had no time to prepare, I was pretty much stuck with it.
Knock, knock.
Especially since Matthew was already there!
“Coming!” I called out, feeling my heart race all over again. Even after all this time, even after everything that we’d been through, he still gave me butterflies. I guessed that he always would.
As I swung the door open, I felt stunned as I saw the gorgeous man standing in front of me. He was wearing a tailored tuxedo that showed him in his absolute best light, causing me to fall in love with him all over again.
“Wow,” I giggled, excitedly. “You look amazing.”
“You don't look so bad yourself,” he grinned before tugging at my arm. “But if we don't leave now, we’re going to be late.”
I had to forgive him for all the rushing around because there was no denying from his pale, sickly expression that he was nervous as all hell. In fact, he looked more anxious than I’d ever seen him before, which had me gripping tightly onto his hand in a reassuring gesture.
I wanted him to know that he would be fine, that he was amazing at his job and that I was certain that he would win, but it didn’t feel like the right thing to say. I felt like he needed my silence for a moment, so that was what I gave him.
At least, until the car pulled up at the docks.
“Wait... What is this?” I asked him curiously. Was this some crazy detour for some weird, unknown reason? And why was Matthew looking at me like this was exactly what he wanted? He didn’t say anything; he simply slid out from the car, and indicated for me to follow.
As the fresh air hit my face, I found myself looking up at Willy’s boat, but it looked completely different from the other times that I’d seen it. I wasn't sure quite what it was, but as I turned to ask Matthew again what the hell was going on, he gave me a look that had me silenced. I wasn't sure why, but I suddenly had the distinct impression that whatever was about to happen would be life changing.
“Come with me,” he said calmly to me, finally looking like he was a relaxing a little bit. He reached out and took my hand before leading me onto the deck. As I got there, I clapped my hands across my mouth in shock, drinking in all the beauty of it.
Matthew had clearly gone to a whole lot of effort to clean the place up before decorating it with candles, red roses, and lights everywhere. This was already the most romantic thing that had ever happened to me, and nothing had even happened yet. I could only assume that maybe there was no awards ceremony, after all.
“What’s going on?” I spun around to drink it all in, and when my eyes fell on Matthew again I felt my heart leap up into my throat. He was on one knee, holding out a ring box to me.
What? Oh my God, is this really happening?
As my brain tried to process what was happening, finally coming to terms with the fact that this actually was going to be the most important night of my life, my eyes spotted something else. Something a little too familiar.
“Is that Grandma’s ring?” I asked in shock.
“It is,” he confirmed, causing my eyes to snap up to him. “Your mom left it for me, with a note in case I wanted to finally make an honest woman out of you.”
“She did?” I couldn't believe it; Mom was still influencing my life even from beyond to grave. “Wow, really? Can I see the note?” I still had my note tucked safely away, so I was sure that Matthew did, too. I wondered why he didn’t tell me about the letter in the first place.
“No,” he laughed loudly, indicating towards himself on the ground. “Can I just ask my question? I am down here for a reason, after all.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, of course,” I giggled. This had to be such anus proposal, all imperfect and a little crazy. I couldn't have loved it more if I tried. “Carry on.”
“Okay, well I just want to say that I love you...you know that, I love you so much, and I have known for a very long time that you’re the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. You’re kind, sweet, funny, the one person that I want to see in the morning, and the last person that I want to talk to at night. We’ve been meant to be for years, but we’ve been through some real trials and tribulations along the way, bringing us to where we are now.”
He grinned up at me, making everything inside of me flutter happily. I hadn’t been expecting this at all, but now that it was happening, the timing felt so, so right. “So, I want to know if you want to tie this hot piece of ass down,” he joked, making me giggle in a girly fashion. “And make me the happiest man alive by agreeing to become my wife?”
The answer was obvious; I didn’t even need to think about it. This was where all of this had been leading for many years now, and I couldn't believe that we’d made it. “Yes,” I gasped out loudly. “Of course, yes.”
With that, he jumped up and spun me around in the air, before slipping my grandmother’s ring onto my finger, signifying a new change for the both of us.
This was it, us together forever, and I couldn't have been happier.
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From the Author
I hope you enjoyed Baby By The Billionaire. . I’ll also include you in all the giveaways I do automatically.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Alexa Davis