Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Sabrina
August, a year later. US Open. New York.
Watching Noah on the court will never not be nerve-racking.
Maddie squeezes my hand as our heads swivel from side to side. It’s the final match, and Noah and Elias are battling it out. Their rivalry is still alive and well, but these days, they’re good friends.
“This is intense.” Lucy sits beside me with my goddaughter, Grace, strapped to her chest and fast asleep. She’s almost a year old, but she still loves it when either of her mamas wears her.
I grasp her hand with my free one. “You have no idea.”
Noah and Elias are neck and neck. Elias has grown on me this year, but obviously I want my boyfriend to win.
My boyfriend.
We made things official a year ago, yet I still get giddy over that term. I never expected to fall for a man like Noah. Hell, I never knew men like Noah even existed. But he’s shown me day in and day out that true love exists and that I’m deserving of it.
“Come on, Noah,” I whisper. “You’ve got this.”
When the long rally comes to an end and the point goes to Noah, I clap loudly so he knows I’m right here where I belong, cheering him on.
When play resumes, my anxiety surges, making my chest ache.
For the rest of the set, I’m practically on the edge of my seat. The US Open is a best-of-five format. Elias and Noah are so evenly matched that they’ve played all five.
“I’m stressed,” Maddie says, her back ramrod straight and her knees bouncing.
Warmth blooms in my chest when I take her in. It’s been one of my life’s greatest privileges to watch this girl go from a curious and fun eight-year-old to a still curious and fun bookworm who’s about to hit double digits. It makes my teacher heart happy that she’s found a love of reading. It keeps her entertained during boring travel days and in the time before and after matches, while all we do is sit and wait. I still homeschool her, and I also teach a group of five kids online. My roster may be small, but I love it. The format allows me to better cater to their individual needs than I could in a traditional classroom.
“I am too.”
“At least I have new stickers.”
I laugh. That she does. She picked up a pack of sparkly, glitter pink smiley faces at the drugstore this morning when we ran in for snacks.
“Al,” Lucy says to her wife. “I think I like tennis now. This is way more interesting than I thought it would be. And they’re so sweaty.” She turns back to me and lowers her voice. “I might not want to be with a man, but even I can appreciate a sweaty, hot, well-muscled man.”
“I’ll make tennis lovers out of you both. Give me time.”
Noah and I play for fun and even though I still don’t have a full grasp on things (the point system will probably never make sense to me), I enjoy it.
This is the first time Lucy and Alyssa have come to a match and they sure did pick an exciting one.
To our left, Ebba says, “If my brother loses, he’s going to gripe about this for ages.”
Her mother swats her gently. “Shush. You’ll make them think your brother is a sore loser.”
“But he is,” Ebba insists in a hushed tone.
Down on the end of our row, Whimsy, Elias’s ever-trusty assistant, snorts, though she tries to brush it off as a cough.
The game goes into a tiebreak, and acid churns in my stomach. I take deep, calming breaths, but it does nothing to slow my racing heart. I don’t think a day will come when I don’t get worked up watching him play.
It happens so fast that it takes a moment to realize that it’s over.
Noah sinks to the ground, hands splayed and head pressed to the court, almost like he’s praying, while Elias drops his head and shakes it. At first, it looks as though he’s upset, but then I swear I see his lips turned up.
“He did it!” I clap and cheer, so incredibly proud of my boyfriend as he shakes Elias’s hand, then moves on to greet the umpire. He’s worked so hard, and it shows.
Tears spring to my eyes as he accepts his trophy, and they continue to flow as he gives his speech.
That’s my man.
The stadium clears out and since Noah will be occupied with interviews for a while, the rest of us pile into cars and head back to the hotel.
In the hallway outside our suite, Ebba ambushes me.
“You’re coming with me.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry,” Lucy says. “We’ll keep an eye on Maddie.”
Despite my protests, my pushy friend drags me back to her suite.
“Your man is taking you out,” she says as she herds me toward her bathroom. “He asked me to help you get ready.”
“He’s really gotta stop doing this,” I grumble, dragging my feet.
He likes to surprise me with fancy dinners and whatnot. I should have expected this. He’s always scheming with Ebba because he knows it’s more fun for me than getting ready on my own.
“Hop into the shower.” With a final push, she shoves me into the bathroom. “I’ll get your dress.”
With a shake of my head, I start the water. It was hot today, so she won’t get an argument from me.
She knocks on the door a moment later, and when I open it a couple of inches, she passes a garment bag along with a bag from a fancy lingerie store to me.
“Wow.” The white dress is gorgeous, fitted through the bodice and hips but flaring out before it gets to the knees.
Though it takes effort, I try not to read too much into the color. Noah and I have talked about marriage, though only in terms involving phrases like “someday.”
More than likely, he knew that if he won, he would want to take me out to celebrate. Yes, that’s much more likely.
After showering, I take the lingerie out of the bag, discovering that it’s lacy and white too. I can only get the zipper halfway up on my own, but I’m impressed with how well it fits. For a moment, I study my reflection. The garment is simple but beautiful. Even though I didn’t choose it, it’s exactly what I would have picked if I was going for elegant.
In the main space, I find Ebba watching reality TV with makeup products spread out on the coffee table in front of her.
“Zip me up the rest of the way?”
She hops up and tugs the zipper deftly. “You look gorgeous already.”
I turn back around to face her, chest getting tight. “Ebba, do you… do you know something?”
“Know something?” She tilts her head, playing coy. “You’re going out for dinner like the two of you often do.”
“Please, if you know something, will you give me a heads-up?”
Chin lifted, she points a firm finger at the chair. “Sit.”
Huffing, I obey and let her go to work on my hair and makeup.
By the time she’s done with me, I feel like a whole new person, and as I assess my reflection, I can’t help but pull her in for a tight hug. I never thought of myself as a super affectionate person, but since I met Noah and Maddie and Ebba, my heart has opened and I’ve found myself softening a bit. For so long, I closed myself off to everyone but Lucy because I was scared of being abandoned. Now, I’ve built a solid group of friends that feel more like family.
“Thank you.” Tears swim in my eyes. Ebba has truly become my best friend, right alongside Lucy. I don’t know what I’d do without her on the tournament circuit.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for you.”
I fan my face, willing myself not to cry. “I appreciate it so much.”
Her phone chimes, and she scurries to the coffee table to check it. “There’s a car waiting for you outside.”
With one last hug, I’m off.
Out front, the only car waiting is a sleek black Range Rover. Any doubts about whether it’s here for me disappear when Noah slides out, dressed impeccably in a suit.
“Don’t you look fancy? Where are we off to?”
“You’ll see,” he says, guiding me into the back seat with a hand on my lower back. “You’re beautiful.” He leans over and gives my cheek a kiss when he settles onto the seat beside me.
The car pulls away immediately, and from here, I can’t get a good look at the navigation system on the dash.
“Congratulations, baby.” Determined to stop wondering and enjoy myself, I lean over and kiss Noah.
“I can’t believe I did it.” With a grin that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners, he weaves our fingers together, and I could be reading into things, but I swear he looks at my empty ring finger a little longer than necessary.
Thirty minutes later, we arrive. Rather than a restaurant, though, we pull up outside a garden.
Noah slips out of the car, then helps me out. When I stumble a little in my heels, he puts a steadying hand on my waist.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers.
Yeah, he does. He’s proven time and time again that he’s always got me.
Side by side with our fingers entwined, we make our way through the gardens. They’re truly spectacular, each area more beautiful than the last.
But the whole way through, I keep waiting for something more. The racing of my heart tells me I’m either spot-on or I’ve lost my mind entirely.
Near the center of the property, we encounter the most beautiful fountain. The water that trickles from it only adds to the ambiance of the quiet evening.
Noah tugs me over to the edge of it.
“Sabrina,” he says, looking suddenly nervous. The boyish look I love so much has returned. “I can’t begin to tell you what you mean to me.” He clears his throat. “The second you walked into my house the day we met, you called me out. You had me pegged. You said I was attracted to you and you were right.” His lips tip up just a little. “I thought I could resist you, and maybe I could have if you hadn’t turned out to be so goddamn incredible.”
Eyes fixed on me, expression earnest, he gets down on one knee.
I can’t stop the high-pitched gasp that flies out of my throat. With a hand slapped over my mouth, I gape. “Oh my God. This is really happening, isn’t it?”
Chuckling, he slips a hand into his pocket and pulls out a ring box.
Tears spring to my eyes, but before they can fall, I fan my face, keeping them at bay. I want to memorize every detail of this moment, and I can’t do that with blurred vision.
“I love you so much, Curls. Would you please be my wife?”
My fingers tremble as I bring them to my lips. God, yes. I want nothing more than to be his wife.
“Sabrina?” he prompts with a soft laugh.
Oh, right. I actually have to speak. He can’t read my mind.
“Yes.” A sob threatens to choke me. “A million times yes.”
If my dress weren’t so tight, I’d get down on my knees to kiss him, but luckily I don’t have to. He stands and scoops me up, then spins around, his lips on mine.
When he sets me down and slips the ring on my finger, his hands are shaking adorably. The diamond is gorgeous and classic. I have no idea what the cut is or anything like that, but I don’t care. He picked it out, and that makes it perfect.
“I love you.” I kiss him. “I’m so excited to be your wife.”
He strokes my cheek. “I can’t wait to be your husband.” He holds me for a long moment, then gives me a final chaste kiss and clears his throat. “All right, everyone, you can come out now.”
Lucy and Alyssa and Grace appear, and my jaw drops. Then I catch sight of Maddie and Ebba. Elias and Fisher and even Whimsy are here too.
Maddie darts for us and throws her arms around me. “You’re going to be my stepmom.”
I squeeze her tight. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I hope you know that.”
She beams up at me. There’s nothing quite like being adored by a child. After all, children seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to the innate goodness of the people they encounter.
“Can I be a bridesmaid?” she asks.
Noah chuckles. “Why don’t you let Sabrina think about it before asking her to choose?”
Maddie’s face falls, and my heart cracks a little.
I grasp her hand and give it a squeeze. “Of course you can be a bridesmaid.”
Her smile instantly returns.
“Congratulations.” Fisher hugs me, then Noah.
“I’m so happy for you.” Lucy, with Grace in her arms, hugs me next. My sweet goddaughter buries her hand in my hair and tugs. “Happiness looks good on you.”
Alyssa shakes her head as she approaches. “I never could have imagined this would happen when I suggested you apply for a job as a nanny.”
“It’s pretty wild,” I agree, opening my arms to hug her.
Elias swoops in next and engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug. You’d never know that only a year ago, he was recovering from knee surgery. He’s back and better than ever.
“I totally knew this was happening. That’s why I let Baker win.”
“No, he didn’t,” Noah grouses.
With a wide grin, Elias gives me another squeeze. “Happy for you two.”
Ebba settles in front of me wearing a sheepish smile. “Before you ask, yes, I totally knew what was up. But I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for you. Congratulations.”
“Come here.” I throw my arms around her and sway from side to side. “You’re the best.”
I hope Ebba gets her happily ever after one of these days too, but the look of longing and regret she sends in Fisher’s direction has me thinking it might be a while.
I’ve barely let her go when Noah’s fingers find mine and he tugs me into his side. As his warmth soaks into me, he lowers his mouth to mine, and when our friends break out into a round of hoots and hollers, he smiles against my lips.
This man is going to be my husband.
I place my hand over his heart and meet his eye. I can’t stop smiling and neither can he. I see it there, in his brown eyes, a future I never dared to imagine.
Before I met Noah, I thought I had lost it all. No job, no apartment, a life going nowhere.
But really, it was only the beginning.