Epilogue
THREE MONTHS LATER
The balmy tropical breeze wafting from the open window filled his nostrils as he straightened his tuxedo jacket. It was time. At last.
After another glance at his reflection in the mirror, he strode out of the master bedroom, one he’d recently updated to his liking and to hers. The one that had just started to feel like home.
He followed the hallway through the house until he reached the central catwalk, then descended the sweeping main staircase, one he’d never traversed all those years ago, when he was a temporary helper, and not a member of the family.
She waited for him, inches away from the last step, a bright smile on her face highlighted by velvety red lips, a green silk evening gown hugging every curve and turn of her body until the edge skimmed the floor. “How nice of you to join us, Mr. Greene.”
“I see you’ve already started without me.” He glanced at the two hundred or so guests who filled the foyer, and great room on the first floor of the mansion, spilling out onto the pavestone patio and pool deck. “And most of the guest list has arrived.”
Lila gave him a quick peck on the lips, the kind of kiss that felt so familiar and comfortable now, so easy, so different from the way it had all started between them. “Of course, they came. Not only are your parties back, but now they’re happening here.”
“And this is the best place for them.”
However, this party had a purpose. Neither of them had any interest in keeping up appearances or ensuring they stayed connected to the most influential people in society.
No, the mood had all changed, and that evening remained focused on raising money for research into a cure for Alzheimer’s.
Both wanted to make a difference, one dollar at a time.
With a grin, he swept her into the crowd, a mix of Palm Beach’s best-known residents, ambassadors, senators, tech gurus, Wall Street geniuses, East Coast socialites, a few Hollywood actors and actresses, and the old staffers who’d once made the house light up with grace and style.
He stopped in front of Oliver and greeted him, then found Delilah and Martin and spoke to them too, taking care to make sure they felt just as welcome as the five or six members of the Forbes 400 he’d spotted taking advantage of the caviar appetizers presented on silver trays by catering staff wearing red uniforms with gold trim.
Adam found Magda last, seated in one of the outdoor chairs on the patio, dressed in a black evening gown and looking happier than she’d ever been as a housekeeper at the Ibis Isle house.
“I’m glad you came tonight,” he told Magda, his arm around Lila’s waist, his shoulders relaxing. Near the pool where he’d spent so much time cleaning, a five-piece band played, filling the night sky with smooth jazz. “I wanted you to see this place.”
“It’s beautiful.” She grinned. “Too bad I retired. You’ll need a hell of a staff to keep this place running, and I would have loved to have headed that up.”
“No,” Adam replied. “You’ve done enough. After that morning in my kitchen, I couldn’t have allowed you to keep working for me, or anyone else. You earned a lifetime pension.”
Magda’s eyes grew wider and crinkled at the edges. “I think you’ve done it. You’ve finally achieved something close to perfection.”
Yes, Magda was right. This night was close to perfect. This was what he’d always wanted, what he’d searched for his whole life.
When a server arrived with flutes of champagne, he took two and handed one to Lila. “To us,” he said as they clinked glasses.
She sipped her own drink and giggled. “I still can’t believe you wanted this house. Of all places.”
“What? It meant a lot to you. We couldn’t sell it.” He drank some of the brut. “That would have been a crime.”
“Still, you didn’t have to step in like you did.” She studied him. “You know that.”
“I did what I wanted to do,” he murmured. “You know that. And besides”—he gestured at the rest of the party that swirled around them—“none of this matters if I can’t share it with someone special, and that someone is you.”
“Well, I’m glad we’ve started a new chapter for it. With us—not the past.”
Adam nodded. “I suppose I always knew I was going to live in Palm Beach full-time. New York never felt like home, and neither did having one foot here and the other there. But this”—he moved closer to Lila—“this feels right.”
“It sure does.” Lia looked deeper into his eyes, and the rest of the party seemed to fade away, as if his focus narrowed until he saw only her. “I’m glad you came back into my life, Adam. You don’t know how much.”
He smiled. “We have the rest of our lives for you to show me. And nothing between us anymore. No secrets. No misunderstandings. Nothing.”
“You’re right, Gatsby.” She closed the remaining space between them. “I guess in a way, real life is different than a book, huh?”
He put his forearm on hers, not caring that the rest of their guests could see him, that they waited for him to give the signal for the fireworks display he’d ordered. “I loved that book, Lila. I obsessed over it for so long. But maybe it’s time to give that up.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to. Not when you’ve loved that story for so long.”
“But this—what we have—you’re right. Real life is better than a book. A lot better.”
Adam kissed her then, and it felt deeper somehow, as if it was the start of something new. Whatever had happened in the past was far away from them now, and he knew it. Only the future mattered.
Adam Greene had never been surer of it.