Epilogue
July
Brussels, Belgium
“I love this city,” I declare. “I could stay here forever, Maxime!”
I stop on the cobblestone streets of the Grand Place, the central square of Brussels. I gaze up at the Town Hall, a magnificent medieval building, and take another picture of the gothic tower climbing up in the brilliant blue sky of this sunny summer day. I’m spellbound by the architecture and history of this cultural city. This building was built in the 1400s. I think of how it has withstood the test of time, remaining a centerpiece of a vibrant European city to this day.
“That’s good, since we are staying here for a week,” Maxime says, interrupting my thoughts.
We arrived in Brussels yesterday after spending a few days in England, for Sierra and Jude’s wedding, which took place outdoors at the beautiful Rowton Castle. We took a day to explore London with Cade and JoJo before heading to Brussels to spend the next ten days with Maxime’s family.
Last night, we had a big family dinner, and it was incredible. It’s funny to think I used to be worried about what they would think of me, because I was welcomed with nothing but warmth and love. Maxime’s mom made his beloved vol-au-vent and promised to teach me how to do it while we are here. I feel at home with them already.
I gaze up at him and find he’s smiling down at me. I move closer so I can wind my arms around his waist.
“It was a year ago that I was first here,” I say, “but I feel like I’m seeing Brussels for the first time. That’s because of you, Maxime.”
The first time I was here, I was heartbroken and lost. I was drowning. Is It Love? had nearly destroyed me. My self-respect was in shambles. I played up the cupcake baker storyline and didn’t stay true to myself. Every moment I was on TV was dissected and analyzed, and I cracked under the pressure. Nothing can prepare you for that, even if you think you are going into it with your head on your shoulders.
Of course, I didn’t plan to fall in love, either. After Tom broke my heart, I was left doubting everything I thought was true. I didn’t trust myself to make any decisions after proving myself capable of making so many disastrous ones. My reality had been blurred, and I vowed to never make that same mistake again.
Little did I know that half a year later, everything would become crystal clear.
“Come on, I want to show you something,” Maxime says.
“But I’m not done here!” I protest.
Maxime flashes me a gorgeous smile. “I promise we’ll come back here afterward, but I want to do something this afternoon. Trust me?”
I press my lips briefly to his, detecting a hint of powdered sugar from the street waffles we ate earlier.
“I do,” I murmur against his lips.
Maxime takes my hand in his, and as we begin to walk, I reflect on how we got to this moment.
Since March, our lives have blended perfectly. My lease ended in June, and I moved in with Maxime. Our brood, including the kittens and the dogs, is a big and happy one. Maxime built a screened-in porch so Boris and Natasha could get closer to the outdoors, and my heart might have melted when I saw him constructing it.
While the Mountain Lions fell short of their playoff goal, with Seattle edging them out by one game, I’m incredibly proud of how the team played without Gavin. They have already made some moves to strengthen the weaknesses that showed during the season, including obtaining a super-star scorer, Pierre Gaudet, a French player from the Chicago Buffaloes. Gavin is back in Toronto rehabbing his leg, and to the surprise of no one, he’s well ahead of schedule in his recovery.
I cut back on my off-air appearances, and despite Charlotte’s protests, I revised the deadline for the first draft of my self-discovery book. Maxime read the section dedicated to him, and he was moved to tears after he finished it. To my surprise, he didn’t have me change a word. Instead, he told me he was the luckiest man alive to have a woman who loved him as much as I did, and he didn’t care who knew it.
I’m now blogging twice a week and doing well at the station. I have a new segment called Try That Hat, where I make a fool of myself trying different jobs for a day. I love the feature; it’s pure silliness and making fun of myself. Viewers have responded well, and suggestions are pouring in for new jobs to try.
Aly is still Aly. She hates me, but we co-exist on set, and unless you know the story between us, you’d think we were the best of friends. One lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t make everyone like you, or even respect you, and in this case, it’s Aly. And you know what? As long as she stays out of my business, which she has, I’m fine with it.
The tabloids still feature Maxime and me from time to time but not on any regular basis now. After the whole Tom-bomb dropped, and I released only one comment, that while I wished Tom the best in life, I was in a new relationship with Maxime and very much in love, it died off. Tom called me, of course, but I never returned it and then blocked his number. Within a week of his confession, he was snapped making out with a girl from a different season of Is It Love? in a famous L.A. sushi bar.
So much for me being the love of his life, I think, laughing aloud at what a Grade A wanker he is.
I must thank both Charlotte and Tom for the life I have now. If I hadn’t been pushed to go on Is It Love? by Charlotte, I wouldn’t have met Tom. If Tom hadn’t broken my heart, I wouldn’t have fled to Europe.
And I never would have been at the café where Maxime first saw me.
As we continue walking, I begin to get a feeling that I’ve been here before.
“This feels familiar,” I say to Maxime.
“Yeah?” Maxime asks.
Then I see it.
My heart swoons as I realize where we are going.
We are going back to the same café where he noticed me for the first time.
“Maxime,” I gasp excitedly, “it’s our café!”
“It is. I thought this time we should have a cup of coffee together, don’t you think?” he asks.
I smile. “Absolutely.”
We enter the café, and Maxime leads me to the same terrace, filled with leafy green trees and flowers in abundant bloom.
I stop walking when I spot a table with a small white cake, covered with sprinkles in various shades of pink, two glasses of champagne, rimmed with the same pink sprinkles, and a bouquet of vibrant red poppies on the tabletop.
My hand flies up to my mouth.
“Maxime!” I cry, delighted beyond words. “Oh my God, look at this!”
He turns to face me and drops a sweet kiss on my lips. “Happy anniversary.”
“Oh, Maxime,” I gasp, emotion filling me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he says, leading me to the table and pulling out a chair for me.
I sink down into it, staring at the beautiful cake he arranged for us to share today.
“It’s perfect,” I say, moved by his sweetness. “Look at all the sprinkles!”
A smile lights up his face. “Today had to have sprinkles and poppies.”
He sits down across from me, taking my hand in his. “I can’t believe it was a year ago that I sat at the table right behind you, thinking you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I wanted to get up and take your sadness away. When you left, and I watched you walk away, I had this feeling I had let someone slip away. I don’t know how I knew it. We didn’t even exchange a word, but I knew you were special.”
I grow emotional. “We were meant to share that moment. Fate knew the right time to bring us back together.”
“I believe that, too,” Maxime says. “I thought I’d never believe in love again. I realize now that was all part of the plan. We had to have our first loves to find our real love. We had to be broken, we had to heal, and we had to grow to have the love we have now.”
He stands up.
“Maxime?” I ask.
He moves around next to me. I watch as he retrieves a ring box from his jacket pocket and lowers himself to one knee.
“Oh my God!” I gasp, as I realize this isn’t an anniversary celebration anymore.
The love of my life is about to propose to me.
“Skye,” Maxime says, his voice strong and unwavering, “you are the woman I was meant to love for the rest of my life. I love your strength and your desire to make people realize their value. You entertain people and bring lightness to their lives. You support me. Believe in me. You make me laugh and, God, you make me happy. You make me a better man. There is no one I want to share my life with other than you.”
I’m shaking as he opens the box, revealing a breathtaking, pink, cushion-cut diamond ring.
“Skye Amelia Reeve,” he says, “will you marry me?”
I begin nodding frantically.
“Yes. Yes. Yes! I will marry you, Maxime Philippe Laurent!”
The café erupts in applause as I lean down and joyfully kiss Maxime. My private love proposed in public, which makes my heart sing. He knew this place was the beginning for us, even if we didn’t know it at the time, and this was the only place for us to start our forever story.
We’ve come full circle now, I think, overwhelmed with happiness.
I lift my head and see pure happiness in Maxime’s blue-green eyes, the eyes that I will look into for the rest of my life.
“I can’t wait to marry you!” I cry happily. I put my hands on his face and kiss him again. I break the kiss, and happy tears fill my eyes. “I love you, I love you, I love you so much. I would go through everything again if it meant finding you, my love. You are my everything.”
“I love you, Skye,” Maxime says. Then he flashes me a grin. “Now may I put this ring on your finger?”
“Oh my God, the ring!” I gasp. “Yes!”
Maxime’s smile broadens as he takes my hand in his. He carefully slips the gorgeous pink diamond on it, one I know he picked because it reminded him of my love of pink sprinkles. I stare down at the breathtaking ring on my hand, the one the man of my dreams carefully selected for me.
Maxime rises and takes my hand in his. My private man, who loves his quiet life in the rugged mountains of Colorado, is going to be my husband. We’ll always be a team, no matter what life throws at us. We’ll love each other and support each other and continue to build a life filled with love and happiness.
I kiss him and smile against his lips.
Our life will also be filled with lots of sprinkles, I think happily, which will be sweeter because I will be sharing them with my Maxime.
What a delicious and beautiful life indeed.
THE END