Epilogue
EPILOGUE
GUS
“ Y ou can’t propose to me.” Brittany tapped her heeled toe against the hardwood floors of the event space, glaring up at Gus where he was simply grinning down at her.
“Good, because I’m not going to.”
Her eyes narrowed in disbelief. Her very first collection was about to debut in a small loft in Los Angeles. Champagne had flipped for the lingerie designs and had immediately signed on to invest. Now, Brittany was part of a larger showcase featuring new and upcoming designers, and she was nervous as fuck. She was overloaded on caffeine and jitters, had a thousand loose threads to snip and adjust and didn’t have time for whatever sweet gesture Gus had in mind.
Shortly after Kickoff, Brittany had relocated to Kimball, figuring she could design and stream anywhere. Gus had offered to move to LA, but Brittany decided she needed a new start, and something about living in Kimball where her life had completely changed felt right. The two of them had been together ever since, with Gus occasionally traveling for a job and Brittany often driving to LA for meetings or to see Min. It had been a rocky start, but they made it work, and Brittany couldn’t be happier.
Except in this moment when her manicure was destroyed, her mascara was giving feral raccoon, and her stress was at an eleven.
“Then why do you keep fiddling with something in your pocket?”
“It’s a pen, see.” He pulled his hand out, revealed the click pen he was carrying.
“Gus, I mean it. I really can’t handle one more surprise tonight.”
“Killer, I promise. No proposal. Tonight is about celebrating you and your designs and your debut as a designer. No way am I stealing the spotlight.”
She glared at him for another second, but then a PA came running up to her, harried.
“Ariel says the corset isn’t fitting anymore, Georgina ripped her strap, and we’re missing three shoes.”
Brittany’s eyes closed and she took a deep breath. When she opened them, her old fire was back, and she was ready to kick some ass. She stuck her finger in her boyfriend’s face.
“You behave yourself.”
He grabbed her finger and pulled her into him, kissing the daylights out of her until he felt her body melt against his.
“You’re going to be amazing. Go show the world what you can do.”
She grinned at him, then stormed off toward the main dressing room, ready to solve problems. Gus watched her go and felt more than saw Robbie join him.
“She doesn’t know?”
“She knows, but she’s too stressed to figure it out.”
“So you’re still waiting to do it at brunch?”
“Damn straight.”
The next morning, Brittany, her mom, Min and Hayden and Dev and Iris, and Robbie and Gus’s mom were going to a celebratory brunch in honor of Brittany’s achievements. Theo had grumbled at the idea, complaining about all the people insisting on getting engaged, but Gus convinced him. So tomorrow, in a more intimate setting, he would finally propose with the ring he had purchased the day after Brittany had moved in with him.
He glanced at Robbie.
“Shall we find our seats?”
Robbie nodded, and Gus headed into the audience to watch the love of his life achieve her dreams.