Epilogue
Nova
Three years later…
The biggest, cheesiest grin spills across my face as the stucco house at the end of the block comes into view. My two favorite people in the world are sitting on the front porch, sipping imaginary tea and wearing their matching rhinestone tiaras.
My heart aches. It’s so full of love.
The sound of the concrete curb catching my fender is my reminder to watch where the hell I'm going. This is exactly why Charlie doesn’t trust me with carpool duty.
I throw my SUV into park and my little girl’s face lights up when she sees the vehicle. “Momma!”
My handsome husband follows her gaze and he scoops her up into his arms, rising to his feet. I can’t jump out of the damn car fast enough. As I hustle up the walkway with my travel bag in my hand, Charlie moves down the stairs, meeting me halfway.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” he says as Madalyn climbs out of his arms, into mine. Charlie grabs my bag.
“Hello there, handsome.” I lean in and press my lips to his. I instantly feel fire in the pit of my belly. It’s still there, alive and strong as ever.
I grin at my little girl. “It looks like I’m just in time for tea, huh?”
“Yes, Mummy. You are! We’re having Earl Gray today!”
Charlie throws an arm around me and squeezes as the three of us walk toward our home. I laugh. “My favorite!”
After a week of meetings and work in New York, it’s good to be back in this quiet little suburb with my family. I couldn’t wait to get back to them.
At the top of the stairs, Madalyn wiggles for me to put her down. She tears open the screen door. “I’ll go get you a teacup.”
“Hurry up,” I tell her. “I could really use a warm drink right now!” Giggling, she disappears inside. I drop into one of the little pink chairs at the little pink table on the porch. Charlie does the same.
He reaches up and adjusts the silly plastic crown on his head. “How was New York?”
“Amazing,” I say. “Lori set a release date for the Love Bugs movie. And I finally finished recording the album. And my record label started talking about a tour, maybe.”
The pride in his eyes warms me right up. “I’m so happy for you, Butterfly.” He reaches out and touches my face. “I knew you could do it.”
I drag my chair closer to his and lean my head on his shoulder. He’s been my biggest cheerleader from day one. His faith in me is what made all this possible.
“And what were you two up to while I was gone?” He’s so good with Madalyn. The two of them have a blast on the rare occasion that I have to travel for work.
“Well, I cashed the final Silverberry check yesterday.” He chuckles. “It didn’t bounce so it looks like we’re gonna be able to pay the mortgage on this big, new house this month.”
I roll my eyes. He’s still mad at my mom for convincing us to buy a five-bedroom. He says we don’t need it. I say we do because we’re gonna fill this sucker up with babies.
He smiles as he keeps talking. “Anyway, I’m so glad that monster project is done with. As for my other smaller projects, I let my team deal with it so I could spend the week at home with Madalyn.”
“Oh really? That’s sweet, babe. It must have been nice to just relax.”
He chuffs. “Relax? The girl put me to work immediately. She demanded that I renovate her dollhouse and since I’m a general contractor by trade, daddy couldn’t say no. You should see the size of that thing. My daughter is more demanding than any of my paying clients.”
I laugh. “Oh boy!”
Charlie is such a good dad. I would have never guessed that he could be so devoted to his family. Madalyn and I are the luckiest girls to have him. He’s surpassed all of my expectations in every department. Life is good. So good.
“Everything’s working out, huh?” I kiss his cheek.
“Everything is working out.”
I can’t believe that I was so afraid to do this. Not too long ago, the future scared me so much that I was nearly paralyzed, making choices out of fear. But in the past three years, all my dreams have come true. It all started with my decision to take a chance on love.
Madalyn pops out of the house and sets a teacup and saucer in front of me. She places a crown on my head and then takes her seat. My chatty little girl tells me all about her week with daddy as she pours me an overflowing cup of imaginary tea.
Charlie and I share a look over her head. He’s so damn handsome, sitting there with his pink tiara. God, I’m so glad I took a chance on him. He’s still my best friend but now, he’s so much more. My life partner. My lover. My husband. He’s the best choice I’ve ever made. Our adventure has taught me fundamental lessons about life.
Everybody is capable of change.
Everybody is capable of love.
And everybody deserves it.
People say, don’t hate the player, hate the game. I’m convinced that they’ve got it all wrong. I say, when you love the player with all your heart, play the fucking game to win!
THE END.