Epilogue
Maria
“Who’s the hunky man who looks like a million bucks and is checking you out?” I asked Jade from my place behind the wheel as she slipped into my SUV.
Jade threw a look over her shoulder before closing the door and turning back to me. “Reddington Lyons, my boss.”
Meanwhile, Reddington must’ve sensed he was being talked about because he walked over, all sex appeal and swagger, and raised the corners of his lips as he leaned against Jade’s window. “Jade,” he said, acknowledging her, before turning his attention to me. “You must be her sister.”
“Maria,” I supplied and smiled.
“ Che bella ,” Reddington intoned and winked at me. Oh, yeah, this guy knows he’s hot. “Reddington Lyons,” he said and reached across the car, draping himself over Jade to shake my hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Well, this is fun, but we need to get going,” Jade said, clearly ready to kick this man to the curb—literally. “Thanks for dropping by, Mr. Lyons.”
“Please, we’re not in the office”—he tapped the window frame—“you can call me Red.” Then he stood up tall again and turned around, taking a few steps before calling out, “Have a nice afternoon, ladies.”
I inhaled sharply and dropped my sunglasses from the top of my head to my eyes. “ That’s your ex-boyfriend’s brother?”
Jade bit her bottom lip. “Yeah. He’s whatever, though.”
A whistle escaped my lips before I could stop it. “Sure.” Whoa, I was sounding like my sisters. Maybe that was the result of being in love, you saw love in everything you did and wanted everyone around you to be in love, too. Man, was that messed up. I’d have to rewire my brain posthaste because that was annoying.
Jade raised a brow and eyed me from head down. “Just drive, would ya?”
Laughing, I closed the windows, switched the air conditioning on, and pulled away from the curb outside Jade’s new place of employment. Since Jade worked in the city, we weren’t all that far from our destination. Which, by the way, was one of the largest Catholic cemeteries in Queens where Mom was buried.
“Hey, thanks for doing this with me,” Jade said, her eyes never once leaving the passenger window, taking in everything we were passing by.
Nodding, I spoke my truth, replying, “Of course. It feels like the least I could do, given everything we’ve been through.”
Jade sighed. “Am I horrible because I didn’t want to do this before now?”
Ahh. . . self-loathing, I knew the feeling well. I’d felt similar before I’d finally forgiven Mom for keeping her secret from us. I was about to tell her exactly what Dom had told me, but Jade pulled the seat belt away from her chest and turned to me.
“Seriously, I’m a little nervous. This feels like a big moment. In some ways, it’s been a long time coming, but in others, I think maybe it’s still too soon.”
“Everyone’s pace is different. You can’t be too hard on yourself. None of this has been easy.” I made the turn into the cemetery and drove through the gates and up the hill to find parking.
As we got out, Jade stopped and turned to me. “If this was going to happen in my life, then I’m glad it happened with the Morellis. You guys have turned this weird nightmare into a dream come true.”
“That’s the sweetest thing ever!” I felt myself blubber and knew the tears were going to come. Jade laughed at me, but it was the pregnancy hormones. When I had been pregnant with Isabella I had always been crying. It was just what happened with me. Pulling a tissue out from my handbag, I followed Jade into the cemetery.
Stepping aside, Jade said, “Lead the way.”
That’s right, she doesn’t know where Mom is.
We took it slow, my heels hitting the marble and echoing with every step I took. Jade wore flats, so she was as quiet as a church mouse. That, and she was amazingly light on her feet, it was like she walked on clouds. Meanwhile, my sisters and I all walked heavier and could be heard coming from miles away. Jade must’ve gotten that from her father’s side.
After a few minutes and many, many steps, we made it to the area where Mom had been laid to rest. I looked up and pointed. “Third one from the top.”
Jade craned her neck. “So high.”
Nodding, I said what Dad always said, “She’s an angel in every way, so her body had to be close to heaven, too.”
Jade couldn’t seem to break eye contact with Mom’s marble slab.
I adjusted my purse on my shoulder and knew I needed to take my leave. I’d done what I came here to do. Well, almost. So I quickly said, “Jade, meet Mom.” Then I looked up. “Mom, meet your daughter, Jade Logan.” Now I did what I came here to do.
I tapped Jade on the shoulder and nudged my head to the nearby marble bench erected in someone’s honor before walking away so she could have the time she needed with Mom. While it would never be enough, I’d been lucky to have almost three decades with Mom already, so it was time it was all about Jade—in more ways than one.
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