40. Epilogue
Sometimes the right place is a person.
Three months later
“I feel a little ridiculous,” Hope admitted as Fleur did the finishing touches on her eye makeup. Over the last couple months since she’d moved to New Orleans, they’d become close. Mostly because Hope had allowed herself to let people in. It was a process, but she liked this new version of herself.
She found that trusting people wasn’t the worst thing—and that not everyone was going to let her down. She still hadn’t read the letter that her dad had left for her but would someday. Probably. Seriously, baby steps.
“What? Why? You look so gorgeous I want to cry. That makeup.” Fleur did the chef’s kiss with her fingers and grinned.
“It’s not that. I mean…Bradford and I got married in Vegas.” And she felt like they were making a big deal out of something they’d already done. And fine, she also hated being the center of attention. There was a reason she was a writer. Introverts gonna introvert.
Skye, who was stretched out on one of the chaise longues in an elegant purple and black jacquard suit that somehow looked stunning instead of ridiculous, shook her head.
“You’re doing this to celebrate with your friends.
Take it from someone who fought against having people in my life—you’re in this now, sis.
This is your family, and we want to celebrate you and Bradford.
Accept it and your life will be easier. Because before you know it, you’ll be in a book club and having people stop by your place at all hours simply because they love you. There are worse things. Trust me.”
“Okay, now I’m gonna cry for real.” Hope wiped at the few tears that pricked her eyes.
“Jesus don’t cry in front of Skye,” Adalyn muttered as she shoved Skye’s feet off the end of the chaise and sat next to her. “She gets all panicky.”
Skye snorted, but didn’t deny it.
“Okay, it’s almost time.” Violet, a friend of Bradford’s and their unofficial wedding planner, gently clapped her hands together. “And you look so beautiful I want to cry.”
Hope turned away from the mirror and grinned at the other woman. Her dark blonde hair was up in a fancy twist and she was so elegant in her satin purple suit that she looked like she’d just stepped off a runway. “I bet you say that to all the brides.”
“I do, but I mean it this time.” She held out her hands and motioned for Hope to stand. “Now spin. I want to see everything.”
“It’s not like it matters,” Thea murmured. “That man doesn’t care if she walks down the aisle in nothing—he’d probably prefer it.”
Hope giggled as she stood. Her friend wasn’t wrong.
But she stood and did a twirl anyway because she loved this dress and wanted to show it off.
Unlike the wild pink cocktail dress she’d worn at her Vegas wedding, she’d chosen an eggplant-colored A-line tea-length dress with tied shoulder straps that showed off enough cleavage that she knew her man was going to be fighting not to toss her over his shoulder and get out of here.
Her bridal party was way bigger than she ever could have imagined, and they’d all decided to wear suits instead of dresses.
Before diving into life in New Orleans with Bradford, she would have only had Thea stand up with her, but her circle had grown.
And since all his friends were in his party, she’d asked their significant others who had become her friends too.
“You’re perfect.” Magnolia, who was breastfeeding on another chaise smiled at her. “Just perfect. He’s going to be speechless when he sees you.”
Her throat tightened and all she could do was nod. Luckily Thea was right there next to her, wrapping an arm around her. “You’ve got this, girl. Then we’re all going to party like it’s 1999.”
She snickered. “God, you’re such a nerd.”
“You love me.”
“I do.” Heart in her throat, she headed out of the little waiting room with the others, glad that someone was there to scoop up Magnolia’s sweet baby as they all exited.
She and Bradford had chosen an outdoor wedding at one of their favorite restaurants.
The courtyard was all brick with a gorgeous fountain where they would say their vows in front of all their friends and chosen family, and then afterward there would be dancing, drinks and general merriment inside and outside.
Luckily the weather was gorgeous and the exterior Edison-style lighting gave everything a fairy-tale feel.
Not something she’d had a lot of in her life so she was embracing it now.
As she and the others got set up for the walk down the aisle, all she could think of was Bradford. And by the time it was finally her turn, she couldn’t even hear the music playing, couldn’t see anyone except the man waiting for her by the perfectly lit fountain.
He had on a dark tux with a bow tie that matched her dress, and a hungry look on his gorgeous face as he watched her walk toward him.
It didn’t matter that they were already married. Skye had been right—this mattered too because it was in front of the people who loved them.
Their vows were a blur and so was their first dance, though she leaned into him as Ella Fitzgerald crooned “Love is Here to Stay.” Finally, after the cake was cut, she swore the world around them seemed to click back into place and she was aware of everyone else once again.
Because for a while, it had just been the two of them.
“This cake is so good I’m thinking about cutting off a couple slices and sneaking them out,” Berlin said before she shoved another bite in her mouth.
“I got you covered, babe,” Chance said with a nod.
Hope leaned into Bradford, enjoying soaking up all of him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Take as much cake as you want.”
“No way,” Bradford said. “We’re making good use of all that buttercream frosting later.”
Chance’s eyes widened slightly. “I can’t actually tell if you’re joking.”
Berlin just cackled and slipped her arm through her husband’s. “Come on. Let’s go get another piece before this perv gets to the cake.”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking either,” Hope murmured.
“I was. At first.” Bradford leaned down and brushed his lips over hers as they gently swayed to another old-school Frank Sinatra song. This one was “That Old Black Magic.”
“I mean, I won’t say no to eating buttercream off you.
” She kept her voice pitched low since they were standing in front of the bride and groom’s table as people stopped to talk to them.
It was a magical New Orleans night, with street noise still audible from nearby.
She loved the life of the city and everything about it.
“I say we get out of here now,” he whispered as Tiago and Fleur approached with twin smiles.
“No way, man, I recognize that look. And you’ve got some more dancing to do.” Tiago pulled Bradford then Hope into a bear hug that made her laugh.
Fleur just shook her head, but was smiling. “He’s not kidding about the dancing,” she murmured as Bradford and Tiago stepped aside to talk in quiet tones.
“I know. I heard them talking about some kind of dance-off before. For the record, Bradford will destroy everyone with his moves,” she added.
Her husband looked over midsentence and grinned. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.”
She winked at him, then turned back to Fleur. “It seems like everything has gone smoothly. Am I needed anywhere? I feel like I should be doing more.”
“Girl, you are right where you should be. You’re enjoying yourself with your husband. That’s it. And I see some of your friends coming this way,” she whispered, side-stepping to join Tiago and Bradford.
Hope smiled as Chelsea, Kim and her husband, Andrew, headed over. She threw her arms around Chelsea first, then Kim, and then got a gentle pat on the back from Andrew. “I’m so happy you guys made it. It’s really nice to see some faces from back home.”
“Are you kidding? We’re so excited to be here,” Chelsea said.
Kim nodded in agreement. “Especially at the wedding of someone so famous.”
She snort-laughed. “I don’t think going viral for fifteen minutes counts as famous.”
Kim shrugged. “People are still talking about you back home.”
“You and Bradford did stop the courthouse and Judge Yardley from blowing up,” Chelsea added. “And then that article you wrote a month later.” She let out a low whistle. “Famous or not, we’re all really proud to know you. ”
“Your mama would have been really proud,” Andrew said, surprising her.
He’d always been quiet, and his kind words made her smile. “Thank you.”
“Hey you guys.” Bradford swooped in and wrapped his arm around her. “Do you all mind if I steal my wife for a couple minutes?” he asked as he shook Andrew’s hand, making the older man grin.
“Nah, go sneak off while you can.”
Hope laughed lightly. “We’re not sneaking anywhere,” she called out as he dragged her toward the dance floor. Then she looked at Bradford. “We’re not leaving yet.”
“I know. I just thought maybe you needed saving. I heard them talking about the article.”
“I’m good, promise. I don’t mind talking about it with them.
” Mia had stuck to her decision and asked Hope to write the article accusing the governor of Mississippi of sexually harassing and then assaulting her.
And once that had happened, other women had come forward until it had snowballed into a resignation and very big scandal.
“I got a text from Mia this morning. She was sorry to miss the wedding, but had some big mountain trek thing. I’m just glad she’s living her life now. ”
“Me too,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms. “And I’m glad that we are living our lives now. Even if we are surrounded by weirdos.”
“Pretty sure we fit right in.” She glanced around the dance floor to see Cash and Reese, two people relatively new to her circle, wrapped up in each other’s arms.
Same with Adalyn and Rowan. They were dancing with each other as if no one else existed.
Skye and her husband Colt were off to the side of the dance floor, both eating a ridiculous amount of appetizers, and they looked positively blissful.
Mari and Colin were having a heated discussion with Bear and Valentine. And if she had to guess, it was about whether the house Bear was renovating was haunted or not since that was a recurring theme with the four of them.
Ezra was sitting on one of the couch settees holding his new baby, with Magnolia resting her head on his shoulder.
Thea was talking to one of Violet’s friends, while Violet was running around directing the waitstaff.
“Hey, you guys.” Hailey and her husband moved closer to them on the dance floor. “I heard something about a dance-off later. I want in.”
Jesse just groaned slightly, but paused as Easton—also new to Hope’s circle, and Bradford’s too—danced up to them with his new, adorable boyfriend whose name she couldn’t remember to save her life. She’d find out later though.
“If Hailey’s in, I’m definitely in. At least I know there’s one person I can beat,” Easton said with a sniff.
“Hey!”
As the four of them started talking about who was the better dancer (really, it was just Easton and Hailey arguing while the other two watched), Bradford slowly, subtly moved her off the dance floor.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“If the surprise is you taking off your pants—”
Laughing, he crushed his mouth to hers before he dragged her inside the restaurant and passed more laughing and dancing people. This really was a wild party, she realized. There were certainly more people than she’d expected.
The last few months had been a lot, especially with what happened at the courthouse. And that was after the video of those guys breaking into her house had already gone viral. Her name had already been trending, and from there things went absolutely banana crackers.
Edward Killeen had been killed while awaiting trial.
She had no idea who’d been behind it, but there didn’t seem to be a threat against her or Bradford so it wasn’t keeping her up at night.
As far as she knew, the former sheriff and Patrick and Tara Killeen were still in WITSEC.
They’d testified against more than just Edward Killeen, and a lot of men were in prison for trafficking drugs, people, and murder.
So. Much. Murder. Even Alden Phillips had testified against Edward Killeen as long as the Feds relocated him and his grandmother.
The terrorist group that had been run by Wesley Jones had been mostly disbanded—as far as she knew.
Jones had used Leo Manning’s rage at his sister’s death to fuel his own agenda by fanning the already hot flames of Manning’s anger at the town’s corruption.
Jones had wanted the courthouse to blow up—with Manning in it.
He’d never thought the other man would get out alive, and he’d wanted Manning’s death to add kindling to his growing cause of nuts who wanted to tear down the government.
But Jones was now in custody and the Feds had neutralized his group for the most part—mainly because Jones’s wife Amberlyn had turned on him when she thought she’d be separated from her kids. That was all it had taken.
And right now, Hope didn’t care about any of that.
She was so excited to be with her husband and friends on their second wedding day as he dragged her into… “Why are we in a walk-in fridge?”
“Because…” He held out a chilled glass to her before he popped a very expensive bottle of champagne, poured for both of them. Then he opened a little box to reveal…
“Sheer pira?” The words literally meant sweet milk in Dari, and it was a sweet fudge flavored with pistachios, cardamom and rose water. It had been a favorite of hers when they’d first met.
“I remember how much you loved these milk fudge things,” he murmured, handing her a square of the delicate treat. “And I also fell in love with you the first time you bit into one of these and moaned as if you were having an orgasm.”
She gasped at his description. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am. And I found a place off Conti Street that makes them.” He held up his own square treat along with his champagne. “To my wife, my life, my hope for a future. I love you, Hope.”
She swallowed hard and held up her own glass. “To the only man I’ve ever loved. To my husband and our future.”
The slow, wicked smile he gave her had her toes curling in her heels. Feeling buzzed on him more than the champagne, she leaned in to kiss him after they’d finished their treats and found herself pinned up against one of the food racks, and thought…maybe they could sneak away early after all.
Thank you so much for reading Fighting for Hope.