Epilogue
Will
I lace my fingers through Alice’s and walk up to the front of the large ranch-style home. I’m telling myself I’m not afraid. It’s a lie. And I know better than to lie to myself.
I’m totally terrified.
“Who’s going to be at dinner?” I ask her.
“Stop stressing,” she says, her thumb tracing circles over the back of my hand. “It’s just my family.”
I blow out a breath. “Your family. Jude, Coco, York. Will Lula be home from college?” She’s the only Taylor I haven’t met yet.
She pauses mid-walkway. “Will, I told you already. My family will all be here to meet you.”
“So, that’s a yes to Lula?”
“Yes to Lula. Yes to Levi. To Grandma Lucy and Max. To Cooper and Miles and Owen and?—”
“Wait. Your uncles are going to be here?”
“Dinner with my family.” She says the words deliberately as if I’m slow at comprehending. “My uncles, my aunts, my cousins?—”
“Cousins?” I gulp but refrain from bending over to put my head between my knees. “So, all of the Taylors and all of the Baileys.”
“My family.” Her brows lift as if I should know this. I got a quick rundown of Alice’s entire family months ago, and since then I’ve heard bits and pieces about them every other day. Still, I didn’t realize that a dinner with my girl’s family meant her whole entire clan.
“Should I be nervous?”
“You already are.” She chuckles.
“That’s true. But should I be?”
She shakes her head, lifts up on her toes, and kisses my cheek. “No. They’re going to love you, Billy .”
Crap —am I going to have to explain myself to Alice’s family? I’d rather face the entire sports world press once more.
I pull in a breath and replay her words— they’re going to love you.
“Well, except for Levi. He probably won’t like you.” Her eyes lift to mine, and she quickly adds, “At first. But he’ll get over it. It’s just how he is.”
“Levi.” I swallow. “You adore Levi.”
Alice grins, pleased that I’ve remembered. “I do.”
“And he’s going to dislike me.”
She’s still smiling when she says, “Absolutely.” Moving in front of me, she takes both my hands in hers. She holds them tight and peers up at me. “But don’t be offended. That’s just Levi. He hated Aunt Annie for years.”
“Hated? Years? You aren’t exactly comforting me.”
“Just go with it.” She drops my left hand and pulls me to the front door. She sets her hand on the knob, and she’s about to turn?—
“Whoa,” I say, hand on her wrist. “No knocking? You just walk right in?”
“Will, I grew up here. This is my home.” Her head tilts. “My other home. It would be weird if I knocked.”
“Okay.” I nod. “I’m ready.” I’m not. At all.
I’m given no quiet grace period, no empty entry to catch my breath—the Taylor house is bustling with people. Two young girls are the first to run over to us. They hug Alice and then, with smothered giggles, peer at me.
“Will, these are my cousins, Sadie and Jade. Two of Owen’s girls.”
“Hi,” I say.
Lula—who I know from photos—makes her way through the crowd to Alice. “Sister!” she says, arms wide. Alice wraps up her little sister and pulls back smiling. “This is Will. Will, this is Lulabelle.”
“Just Lula,” the pretty brunette says. She’s different than Alice—but the same too.
“I added the Belle because you were the most beautiful baby,” Coco says behind her.
Alice’s stepmom has a calming effect about her. Maybe I’ll make it through the day after all.
“Hello, Will,” she says. “So nice to see you again.” And bless her—she mentions nothing about my bank account or the fact that I hid who I really was from her daughter.
“Will Baxter ,” Jude says, just behind her. Okay, so not everyone can give me the grace that Coco does. Jude holds out his hand, and we shake. He doesn’t say more— thanks, Jude .
“Good to see you again, sir.” My nerves are settling. I haven’t done the family thing for a long time. But this is Alice’s family. Her favorite people in all the world. So, it’s going to be fine. It has to be.
“Ha! Batman,” York says, pointing at me. “Dude, you don’t even look like a billionaire.”
“York,” Alice growls.
“What? I’m just saying. Dad has a dozen pairs of khaki pants like those in his closet.” York points to my Tommy Bahamas. They’re insanely comfortable and stupidly expensive, but they look pretty average. Still, I sort of wish I were in jeans right now.
“Sweetie, please be polite,” Coco says, rubbing the boy’s back. He looks just like his father.
“Hey, I like him. I’m just saying he looks like a regular guy.”
“He is a regular guy,” Alice says.
“He’s Batman,” York says.
“He’s not, actually. He hates dressing up,” Alice says. “And he’s far from a vigilante.”
“And you’re, like, thirty,” York says.
“What’s irregular about thirty?” I ask.
York shrugs. “Nothing. Just a little old.”
“York,” Coco and Jude scold together.
“Whatever. I’m going to find Noah.” And then Alice’s extremely pleasant seventeen-year-old brother leaves.
“Sorry,” Alice says, her hand around mine. “He’s seventeen going on ten.”
“We’re buying him a muzzle.” Lula rolls her eyes, reminding me a little of her sister.
“We are not,” Coco says, giving both her girls a curt glare. “He’s just young and blunt and opinionated without much experience to back that up.”
“So, completely normal,” I say, and Coco smiles at me. “Does candid bluntness run in the Taylor family?”
“Yes,” Alice says at the same time her sister gives a high-pitched, “No!”
“Alice, you should go see your grandmother,” Jude says. “Will, I’ll introduce you to Alice’s uncles.” Then he pulls me away from my one and only lifeline.
I let him because he’s Alice’s father and I want him to like me. More than anyone in the room, I want this man’s approval. I know how much Alice loves her dad. I know what he’s meant to her. He’s been her constant all these years, and if I leave with only one stamp of approval, it needs to be his.
“Will, this is Levi, my best friend, and Alice’s uncle.”
I gulp. Levi . The one person Alice said wouldn’t like me.
“The billionaire—who lied to the world.”
Maybe every person in this room really is going to be as frank as Alice.
“Hi!” the small blonde woman next to him says. “I’m Meredith, Alice’s aunt. We are so happy to meet you.” She pinches Levi’s arm.
“Ouch!” He peers down at who I am assuming is his wife. The woman gives him one encouraging nod, and then his eyes are back on me. “Yes. So happy.”
“Alice said you sell bikes.” I’ve thought about this a million times, but never took the plunge. It feels sort of right as I suck up to one of Alice’s favorite people on the planet. “I’d love to get bikes for my team. Then they could bike around Tesoro. Cardio and environmentally friendly in one. I’d love to see what you have and get your opinion.”
But Levi won’t be bought. He sniffs, not answering me.
“I’m sure Levi could help you out,” Meredith says.
I swallow, ready to move on, when Alice sidles up next to me. “Sorry,” she says, a little breathless. “Grandma Lucy can’t wait to meet you.” She grins, then turns to her uncle. “Uncle Levi. I’ve missed you.” She leans in, giving the man a hug. “Please don’t give Will too hard of a time. He’s perfectly wonderful and I like him. A lot.”
“How much is a lot?” Levi says, brows furrowing.
Alice cups her mouth. “I’m keeping him. Forever. So be nice.”
My heart lurches.
“Oh! And he’s been talking about buying bikes from you for a month. So be extra nice.” Her hand slips into mine. “This way—you need to meet Owen and Miles. I’ve got it from here, Dad.”
We walk through the living space over to a broad blond man standing next to a man in glasses, his hands in his pockets.
“Uncle Owen, Uncle Miles, this is Will Baxter.”
“Hey,” Owen says, a smile on his face that might be the polar opposite of Levi’s frown. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah,” Miles says. “We’ve been waiting for this. Alice has talked about you and the team nonstop.”
“Not nonstop,” Alice says, her cheeks flushing.
“Just whenever we talk,” Miles says. He winks at her before pulling her in for a side hug.
Owen hugs her too. It’s clear they’ve all missed her. Am I going to go down in history as the man who stole Alice away and then lied to her?
Man, I hope not.
We talk for a few minutes, and truly, the men are friendly enough before excusing themselves to find their wives.
“How are you holding up?” Alice says, her arm threaded behind my back.
“Good, I think. They’re all nice. They’re good people, Alice.”
“They’re the best. You need a family, Will. I’m happy to share mine.”
I cup her cheek and lean down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“Hey!”
Whoa .
Another uncle—tall and broad and blond, but he looks just like the others. “I’ve been out back with Ian. He just made varsity on his youth soccer league.”
“Nice,” Alice says. “Ooo, when our games start up next year, you’ll have to bring him.” She looks at me.
“Of course. I’ll save you both tickets for our first home game.”
“I’m Coop,” the man says, holding out a hand, a grin on his face.
“Right. Sorry. Uncle Cooper, this is Will Baxter.” Alice grins at me like I’m something or someone to be proud of. I’m not sure how someone as good as this woman could look at me that way. But I’ll be forever grateful she does.
“Good to meet you, man.” Cooper slaps my shoulder. “Welcome to the family.”
He’s warm and kind. Just like Alice—no wonder this woman I have definitively fallen for is so wonderful. Look at the people who raised her.
I love her.
I want her.
I need Alice Taylor.
I may or may not have already purchased a ring. It may or may not be on a shelf in my closet right this minute. It sits, just waiting for her to be ready.
Because I’m already there.
I’m looking at the woman I love and adore, wondering if I will ever deserve her. Leaning in, I press a kiss to her head when Cooper slants my way.
“Hey,” he whispers, “I hear you have a mole in the shape of Texas. Is that something I can get a look at?”