Epilogue Two
Three Years Later
Thomas
ATaylor Swift song plays as I enter Lainey’s dance studio, and when I find her, she’s midway through a dance. Like always, I stare mesmerized as she floats around the room, my heart pounding at how far she’s come.
The song ends, and she pauses on the spot before running over to her phone and hitting play again, working through the routine for a second…or maybe tenth time. No matter how amazing she dances, she always thinks she could be better. But while she’s hard on herself, she’s different with her students, always happy just knowing they try.
I watch as she finishes another run-through of the routine, but when she shakes her head, as though still unsatisfied, I take off in a jog, catching up to her as she grabs her phone.
“Nope, that’s enough for tonight,” I say, throwing her over my shoulder before she manages to press play.
“Thomas,” she squeals, slapping my ass as she shakes, her voice light. “You’re back! But you’re early and—”
“You’re perfect, the dance is perfect, everything is perfect. And I’m not early; you were due home an hour ago.”
Lainey gasps as she reaches for my hand, trying to twist my arm so she can see the time, wriggling around in my hold.
“My arm doesn’t bend that way.” I chuckle, turning slightly to move through the door. “And I’m not wearing my watch.”
“Well, what good are you? What’s the time?”
“It’s ten.”
“Bullshit. It can’t be ten.”
“Honest truth. We don’t lie, remember.”
“I know, but I wanted to beat you home. Please tell me you’re lying. I’ll forgive you. I mean, it’s only a little white—”
I come to a stop near her makeup mirror and flip her over, dropping her ass onto the counter, my brows raised when our eyes lock. “Don’t mind me. You were saying…”
Lainey’s lips curl into a smirk before she hides it. “I was saying that little white lies are hardly the same and…” She trails off when I fold my arms across my chest, tapping my foot, my expression unwavering. “Stop.” She giggles. “You look like you’re going to punish me.”
She lifts a single brow in challenge, and I almost break character as my cock twitches, knowing she wants me to picture slapping her ass as a way of distracting me.
“What little white lies, Lainey?”
Without answering, she curls her fingers into the waistband of my jeans, before spreading her legs and dragging me forward, her eyes downcast toward the bulge in my pants. My gaze mimics hers, watching her hand, waiting to see what she’ll do next. And as she speaks, she unbuttons my shirt. “Insignificant stuff…” she says after a beat, reminding me we were mid-conversation. “For example, I don’t actually like techno music, but I love that you love it, and that makes me happy. Haven’t you ever lied like that?”
“Yes,” I say honestly, trying not to smile when Lainey’s eyes brighten in satisfaction.
“Ha!” She laughs as she drops my shirt to the floor. “See? What did you lie about?”
“I lied about where I’d been tonight.” I shrug and hold up my arm to show her my watch. “And I lied about not wearing a watch.”
“What?” Lainey frowns with an incredulous laugh. “Where were you? What happened to your meeting?”
The meeting she’s asking about was for an article I’m doing with Sports Unfiltered magazine about depression in sports. Logan works there as a photographer and pitched the idea with Summer writing the article. Summer”s done a few freelance jobs for them lately, but this will be her first full-length piece.
“The meeting was great. I was actually surprised by the number of athletes who came forward to be interviewed.”
Lainey beams up at me. “That’s amazing. I can’t wait to read it. But—”
“After the meeting, Summer and I went shopping.”
“Okay.”
“And I want to show you something.”
I move to lift her into my arms, but she stops me, grabbing my neck to hold me close. “Wait.”
“Yeah.” I lean in, running my hands along the sides of her legs, letting the tips of my fingers slip beneath her silk dress. “You know I’d wait forever for you, but I really need to show you something. I…” Lainey’s gaze softens, and I trail off as I stare into her eyes, emotion flooding my chest.
“I just wanted to tell you I miss you,” she whispers.
And God… I miss her too. Between my away games and Lainey’s coursework, we barely see each other, but when we do, it’s always like this. Always perfect.
“I can’t wait any longer.”
“For what?”
Scooping her up under the legs, I secure her in my hold and rush outside, hoping that none of the candles have blown out since I came in and grateful I lit the heaters.
Lainey gasps when she notices what I’ve done and then leans back to look in my eyes. “What’s going on? What are you up to?”
With a shrug, I smile before lowering her feet to the blanket I laid out under the stars, taking a step back.
Though I’m desperate to get the words out, I give her a second to take in the scene. A moment to gaze at the candles and flowers I’ve placed around her studio’s tiny yard. A moment to listen to the playlist I made with meaningful songs from the years we’ve been together, and songs I listened to when we were apart. Because even during those dark days, there was always hope we’d find our way back to each other.
I wait patiently, but as soon as her eyes settle back on mine, I drop to one knee and reach for her hand, smiling when she bites her lip.
“Lainey, my love, my universe. I’m going to keep this short because we never let a day go by without telling each other how we feel, and I hope that never changes. But while you’ve given me the world just by existing in it, I’m selfish. I want more. I want to be connected to you in every way possible. I want you to be my wife.”
Though I’m sure she knew this was coming, Lainey’s hand flies to her mouth as tears coat her eyes, and before I’m able to get the words out, she drops to her knees to meet me.
“Lainey.” I chuckle. “You’re supposed to stay up there.”
“We make our own rules, remember.” She sniffs as she wipes her eyes and I can’t help but smile.
“Alright. I’ll give you that one. But you at least need to stay quiet until I’m done.”
“I can do that.” She nods.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She winks.
With a shake of my head, I pull out the ring box I’d hidden earlier and open the lid, loving the way Lainey’s jaw drops as I finally render her speechless. “Lainey Bennett… there aren’t enough stars in the sky to quantify how much I value you. You are my life, and just as the vows go, we are ‘till death do us part’ and maybe even beyond that. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my days with you by my side. Will you marry me?”
She stays quiet until I nod to say I’m finished, holding back a growl.
“Yes.” She giggles. “Of course I’ll marry you. It’s always been you and always will be.”
“Always.” I guide the ring onto her finger and smile when it fits perfectly.
Lainey lets out a shriek before throwing herself into my arms and telling me she loves me over and over. We fall back onto the blanket, our lips crashing together as she lands on top of me.
I let out a groan, and she giggles against my mouth until I grab her face in my hand, pouring everything I have into the kiss.
“Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol plays, and I almost sing, until Lainey presses a finger to my lips. I chuckle in response, but when she locks me with her intense gaze, staring into my soul, my heart clenches as a wave of emotion takes over me.
This beautiful woman is soon to be my wife. Lainey, the goddess…the caring soul…the other half of my heart, is mine, and I’d give her the world if I could.
“I love you so goddamn much,” I rush out as she smiles and leans forward, resting her hand over my heart. A lifetime of emotion shines behind her eyes, and while I’ve never thought much about my future beyond having her in it, I now can’t wait for it to begin.
“God, I love you, Thomas Kelly,” she whispers, her watery eyes bouncing between mine. “And no matter what, I’ll always be yours.”
We’re still for a moment until Lainey kisses me again, before lifting her hand between us.
We both smile at her ring, and when she whispers my name in awe, a peace settles inside me—one I’ve never felt before, like I’ve been waiting for everything to click into place.
Waiting for this moment.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Lainey Bennett,” I say, my voice holding its usual awe. “But I’ll forever be grateful that the stars aligned.”
Lainey
“Hey old man,” my younger brother, Ryan, says to Thomas the second we arrive for Friendsgiving. “When are you going to retire?”
He’s entering the draft this year and constantly jokes that he wants to be the Storm quarterback if only they’d get rid of Thomas.
“Who invited you?” Thomas jokes. “How did Friendsgiving go from being a small group and their partners to everyone we know?”
Dylan laughs as he wanders over with Wes, giving a shrug by way of an answer.
“I’m guessing you’re to blame,” Thomas says to Wes as he gestures toward Ryan. “I thought we were friends.”
“I’ll own it. But I didn’t invite everyone.” Wes rolls his eyes. “Just the people I know that are related to your girlfriend.”
When he says the word girlfriend, I bite back a smile, subtly brushing my thumb across my beautiful ring, smiling as the giddiness I felt last night returns.
“Luke said he’d be here later,” Ryan says with a knowing smile. “He was just ‘catching up with an old friend.’” His tone changes and it makes me cringe.
“Ew, Ryan. You make that sound like it’s code for something.”
“Probably because it is.”
“It’s Thanksgiving.”
“Technically it’s not,” Thomas cuts in and I glare his way. “What?” He raises his hands as he laughs. “It’s not. Thanksgiving was last Thursday. Remember we got to visit Jace in New York?”
He’s right, we’re having Friendsgiving a week late because San Francisco has a bye. And last week they played in New Jersey, so we spent the holiday with Jace. But that’s not the point. “Whose side are you on?”
I knew Luke was coming, and it wouldn’t normally bother me if he was running late, but for some reason, I want both my brothers here to celebrate my engagement. Is that such a crime?
Something in my expression must give me away because Thomas subtly grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “It’s Luke. He’ll be here. He won’t miss out on a party.”
I smile just as Josh runs between us, almost bowling me over with his little brother, Chris, trailing behind him. “You’ll never catch me,” he yells, laughing as he goes.
“Stop teasing him,” Chloe calls out, rushing to Chris’s side, her pout aimed at the back of Josh’s head. If looks could kill. “Come on, Chris. Let’s go.”
As the kids disappear, Summer and Delilah take their place, both shaking their heads at the antics. “Those three are keeping us on our toes, that’s for sure,” Delilah says with a grin. “Chloe—”
“Lainey freaking Bennett,” Lucy calls out from across the yard, cutting Delilah off as she draws everyone’s attention. “What is that?”
Thomas steps closer, his fingers curling around my waist as he leans in to whisper. “I think we’ve been busted. Took longer than I thought.”
Lucy rushes toward us and grabs my hand, angling my ring toward the group. Delilah smiles while Summer squeals—and she’s not a squealer. “When did this happen? And why are you keeping it quiet?”
Thomas laughs while I wiggle my fingers. “It happened last night, and we were waiting for everyone to arrive, but…we’re getting married!”
The girls cheer with excitement as the guys jokingly offer their condolences. All the while I smile, with the joy on their faces filling me with more warmth than I ever could have expected to come my way.
While I’m still close to my parents and my brothers, and even have approval from my gran for my chosen career—not that I asked for it—it didn’t take long for this group to become my family. And now that I’m comfortable, I get it. We both do.
Sometimes the closest people in your life are the family you choose, and we’d choose this lot over and over in a heartbeat.
Even if they do have a habit of getting in each other’s business.
“So, Luke’s coming today, right?” Lucy says with a mischievous grin. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and now that you two are tying the knot, I think it’s time he settled down.”
Wes groans while Thomas and Dylan burst out laughing. “Good luck with that, Lucy. If Luke has his way, he’ll forever remain a bachelor.”
The conversation spins out of control before moving back to Thomas and me, as everyone celebrates our engagement. And when we’re finally alone, Thomas pulls me into his arms. “Thank you for helping me to see how amazing this group could be. We’re lucky to have them.”
“We are. There’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure.” I hear a commotion and glance over my shoulder to see Luke rushing out the back door into the yard. Poor guy. He doesn’t even know what he’s walking into. “I can’t imagine that’s going to change,” I add, watching Lucy’s face light up.
“Definitely not.” Thomas laughs. “They’ve all been through hell, and now they’re having the time of their lives.”
“They are, as are we, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Thank you for reading A Sky Full Of Stars, and if you”ve been with me on this journey from the very beginning, thank you for loving my Heartstrings series. Can you believe it”s the end of an era? If this is your first Heartstrings novel, you”ve joined us at a great time because the series is now complete. You can read all the ”Thanksgiving Crew”s” stories now, starting with Dylan and Summer”s book When Nothing Else Matters.
Keep reading for a sneak peek.