EPILOGUE
RHETT
SIX MONTHS LATER

I stood in front of the doorframe of the small space I’d rented on the water. It sat right by the boardwalk and soaked up all the traffic. I was squished between one of the most popular beachfront restaurants and a bar that did more business than most of the upscale places around Miami, and I knew I had lucked out. The building needed a lot of work, and the owner wanted to unload it quickly, so I took advantage of his desperate state and bought the place for pennies on the dollar.

And now, I was about to cut the ribbon on my surfing school.

Chanel had been there every step of the way even with everything she’d been through. Luke’s trial had been brutal. He’d tried to use his money to get out of what he’d done to her and she’d had to relive it all on the stand when she testified. But she’d held her head high, stood her ground, and took back her life, ultimately sending Luke to prison for fifteen years for stalking and attempted rape.

In addition to all of that, she’d helped me repair the place when she wasn’t writing and spent all her evenings helping me figure out how I wanted to lay the place out. She went with me on the weekends into town to find boards we could clean up and use for beginners, so they wouldn’t have to front the money for their gear. She thought about me whenever she slid into thrift shops and came back with stuff I could use for the school. She had been rooting for me through every advance and every setback.

Just like she was now.

As we stood there with Tommy and Ana, I held the pair of scissors in my hand. There was a huge celebration Chanel had put together, with the Miami Herald out there doing a piece on me. Her homelessness article had been a massive hit with their readers, and they’d ended up hiring her on as a permanent part-time writer. She cashed in a few of her favors to get them to do a piece on the surfing school I was opening, and I was grateful to her for posting about my school on her blog.

There was a crowd of one hundred or so people gathered on the sidewalk, waiting for us to cut the ribbon and open the school.

“You ready?” Chanel asked.

I smiled down at her as she rubbed my back, waiting for me to make my move.

“I think so,” I said.

“Then cut that damn ribbon, and let’s get you in business,” she said.

I sliced the ribbon in half as people began to cheer. There were some who poured into my business already, waiting to sign up for classes and private lessons. I booked them as Chanel took their first deposits and then handed out pamphlets with all sorts of safety practices and lists of the things they would need to start out. I rented out all the gear we had and still had many more people who wanted to sign up. The process was overwhelming.

Overwhelming in the best possible sense of the word.

The crowd died down once the food truck pulled up. Tommy and Ana had rented it for the party so we wouldn’t have to worry about catering. People rushed over to the truck and began ordering food as Chanel and I worked to get all the paperwork in order.

But eventually, she put her hand over mine to stop me from working.

“Let’s go enjoy this moment,” she said. “We can come back and do this later.”

I shoved all the paperwork into my desk and locked it. I stepped out of the building with Chanel on my arm, and people slowly began to turn our way. They were all smiles as Tommy and Ana mingled with the crowd, bragging about how good a teacher I was and how my school was going to be a great success.

Then, the crowd slowly started chanting.

“Speech! Speech! Speech!”

I hadn’t prepared to make a speech. I figured we’d cut the ribbon, some people would sign up, and then everyone would eat and go home. I looked down at Chanel, and she smiled at me. Then, she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

She had written me a speech, and I chuckled as I unfolded the piece of paper.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you all for coming out today. For making time in your busy schedules to usher a new business into the community. This surfing school has been a dream of mine ever since I was a Navy SEAL, and I hope the joy and relaxation I get from being out in the ocean can be passed down to anyone who wants to learn how to surf.”

That was it. Short and sweet, but somehow, it didn’t fully encompass what I wanted to say. My heart slammed in my chest as I turned my situation over in my head, and then I settled on my decision. It was now or never, and as I looked over at Chanel, I was filled with a type of comfort. She smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling with pride as I shoved the piece of paper into my pocket and fumbled with the ring I had been holding onto.

Then I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to my side.

“It was a cruise, actually, that brought about this discovery. I would stand on the deck of the ship and watch it pierce the waters, and it was the greatest peace I had ever felt. That cruise forever changed the trajectory of my life, but not just because it opened my eyes to this business. That cruise also gave me back the love of my life.”

Everyone in the crowd sighed as Chanel’s eyes filled with tears.

Yep. It was now or never.

I sank down to one knee and pulled the ring from my pocket. I heard Ana squeal as Tommy whooped while my fingertips trembled with fear. I held the ring up for Chanel to see as tears ran down her cheeks, her hands covering her mouth as the entire audience gasped.

“Chanel, I never stopped loving you. From the moment I first saw you walking down the halls of our high school, I knew I had to have you. I knew you would bring a light to my life I would never find anywhere else. And even though misunderstandings and pain got in our way, we somehow managed to find one another again, to grow and become the people we are now. And somehow, we managed to stay the same, perfect for one another in every single way.”

“Oh, my gosh,” Chanel said in a whisper.

“Chanel Mathews, I love you with everything I have. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

She wasted no time in nodding her head as she threw her arms around my neck.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, Rhett. I’ll marry you.”

The crowd erupted into applause as I took Chanel in my arms. I stood to my feet and swung her around, tears prickling the corners of my eyes. The celebration of my business had just turned into an engagement party, and the food truck was now churning out free food in celebration of our impending nuptials.

I planted my lips on Chanel’s and took it all in. The heat of her skin. The roar of the crowd. The smell of the food and the sweet scent of her perfume. I drank up how she clung to me, and her body trembled with happiness as I slid the ring I had purchased a month ago onto her finger.

“I love you, Chanel.”

Her lips crashed back onto mine, her body melting into my grasp.

“I love you, too, Rhett. I love you so much.”

Everything was complete. I had everything I could have ever wanted from my life. Luke was in prison, my business looked like it would flourish, and I was going to marry the woman who had never left my mind. My best friend was in love, the city was rallying around us, and Chanel’s writing was doing better than ever.

There was nothing that could stop us now. Absolutely nothing.

The End

It’s not over! I love my readers so much that I’ve included a brand new, never before published steamy romance: My Hot Stepbrother. Check it out on the next page…