Epilogue
MIA
Six Months Later
My fingers are so damn cold. Even with the heater turned up inside the store, I’m so nervous my limbs are going numb. I take a deep breath, trying to relax, but it’s so hard to put myself together when tomorrow will be the very first day of my own boutique.
Kennie ambles closer, a champagne flute in hand. “Ready?” she asks, sipping from the bubbling liquid. She inspects me, then offers me her glass. “You sure you don’t want some of this?”
“Pretty sure.” It would make me puke. For the past week, I’ve only eaten because Grayson has forced me.
Alcohol wouldn’t help. The one thing I can drink is my favorite iced tea.
Grayson bought a huge part of the beverage company’s stock just to force them to keep making the tea.
I wish I could say I wouldn’t miss it, but it has become my comfort drink.
Kennie curls her nose and twists her mouth.
She then slides an arm through the crook of mine, pressing our bodies together.
“Mia. The time for worrying is gone now. You’ve done everything you could.
The marketing is working its magic. You have a bunch of people following you on Instagram and Facebook, and the newspaper will be here tomorrow to interview you... ”
My stomach plummets. “Oh, God. I had forgotten about the newspaper.”
Kennie rolls her eyes, and it almost makes me laugh. I’ve seen her do this so many times already. We’ve been friends for so long that I got used to her eye-rolling antics... but that’s not funny, not really. I’m just laughing because I’m so nervous.
“Mia, stop worrying so much. If you over-worry, you’ll get sick, and you won’t be able to work.”
Blood drains from my face. “I can’t get sick. Not in the next year. I have to make money to pay the rent, and the loan...”
Kennie clucks her tongue. “Girl, you got a loan from your man. He won’t mind if you get sick and can’t pay him back.”
“He only loaned me the money so I wouldn’t have to pay interest. It’s still a loan and I take it seriously.”
“I know you do,” she says. “But I don’t think he does. Grayson would have paid for everything if you had let him.”
He definitely would. He offered so many times I lost count, but I don’t want to owe him. I want nothing to get in between our relationship, no bad feelings, no insecurities. We work so well together, and he makes me feel loved every single day.
Amanda, Kennie’s now-fiancé, approaches with a smile. Kennie lets go of my arm to hold her by the hand. Amanda presses a kiss to Kennie’s face before smiling at me.
“Is she bothering you, Mia?” she asks. “It looked like she was bothering you.”
“How could you tell?” I tease, trying my best not to be the bothersome friend who worries too much.
“I saw her rolling her eyes like three times in a row,” says Amanda, shooting a glance at her fiancé. “She does that when she’s being nosy.”
“Oh, my God,” Kennie says in a high-pitched, dramatic tone. “I was not being nosy. Mia’s here, worrying too much, trying to gain an ulcer or something, and I’m just telling her she should celebrate more and worry less.”
Amanda twists her lips at me. “Well, it’s your first store. You must be so nervous about the opening tomorrow.”
“I am!” I tell her, sighing. “I keep thinking that no one will show up. Or that they will show up, but something will go wrong.”
Amanda grips my shoulder, squeezing it. “You have all the right to be nervous. But we have to be rational, too. The marketing is so intense people are forced to show up to check it out. Besides, your custom dresses have had so much success on social media that you have fans!”
“I wouldn’t call them fans...” It’s such a loaded word. Those people enjoy my work; that’s all. They’re not my fans or anything.
“Many of them commented they’re literal fans of your work.
” Amanda grins. “And it’s okay if you have low clientele tomorrow.
There will be other days, and you’re still selling through your custom store.
And, if something goes wrong, Kennie, Grayson, and I are all here, ready to take over and help you out. ”
Her words are a balm to my heart. I smile at her. “Thanks, Amanda.”
Kennie’s jaw drops. “I’m your best friend!” she tells me, arching an eyebrow in an insulted look. “How dare you accept advice from anyone else?”
We laugh at her, and she joins after giving up on pretending to be offended.
Other people have come to this small celebration—former colleagues, some friends, and people I met when I started doing custom work.
Grayson brought some of his friends, too, since he told me he wanted to show me off.
I slide a glance in their direction—four of his friends circle Grayson, and they’re all chatting in low voices.
Sometimes one of them sneaks a glance at me.
I frown. Why are they doing this? This is not the first time I meet any of them, and they’ve always been nice to me.
Why are they acting suspicious? My stomach turns.
Did they think we would not last? Are they surprised Grayson and I are still together?
A shiver of fear slides down my spine. What if they’re talking Grayson into ditching me?
Grayson looks our way, and his jaw is locked tight.
Fear becomes a real, slimy thing, climbing my throat.
What’s going on? He wouldn’t break up with me right now, would he?
We’re so happy! We get along so well, and we laugh together, and he always tells me how much he loves me... Did he change his mind?
His gaze slips past me to somewhere on my left and he nods once. I arch an eyebrow, following the direction of his eyes. Kennie? Why is he looking at her?
Kennie shoots a huge grin at me. “You sure you don’t want a bit of champagne?”
My stomach flips. Am I going to be sick? Really? “Yes,” I reply dryly, my voice coming out in a knot.
“Okay.” And Kennie shrugs. She wouldn’t be this upbeat if she knew Grayson would break up with me. I watch as she steps back, dragging Amanda with her. The two exchange a glance I can’t read, then Amanda pulls her phone out of her pocket, pointing the camera at me. What?
“Everyone,” Grayson says, his voice booming in the small space of my store.
He puts his champagne glass away, almost untouched, then turns to us.
My friends and his friends step away, closer to the walls, leaving me standing in the middle of the room.
By myself. Oh God, he wouldn’t break up with me in public. Right? “I need a moment of your time.”
I swallow, my heart thundering in my chest as Grayson walks closer. “Everything okay, love?” I ask, putting on my best attempt at a reassuring smile.
Grayson takes my hands, gazes into my eyes, and his expression is so full of love and so calm I can’t help but relax.
My shoulders droop, the knot between them going away, and his warm skin on mine soothes me like nothing else.
Everything disappears. The worries, the fears, the place.
The store vanishes, as do my friends. It’s just Grayson and me standing here.
Not for long. Grayson drops to one knee.
Someone squeals. I blink several times. What?
“Mia,” he starts, and his eyes veil over.
He blinks tears away. “You are the single most important person in my life. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you’d have me wrapped around your finger.
You are beautiful and smart, and the bravest person I’ve ever met.
” His hold tightens, then he picks up a velvet box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a diamond ring.
“Mia Price, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”
More squeals. Men hoot. My brain takes an awkwardly long time to process what’s going on. I gasp and tears spring from my eyes as I nod vehemently. “Yes!” I cry out. “A million times yes!”
My friends celebrate and Grayson shoots to his feet, a huge smile on his face. I throw my arms around him and kiss him hard. He kisses me back, smiling, then pulls back to slip the ring into my finger. I hug him again and he lets me, a hand in my hair, his lips on my temple.
“You looked surprised,” he says against my skin.
“I was,” I murmur in reply. “I thought you were going to break up with me.”
He chuckles. “Never. Absolutely never.”
THE END OF BOOK 8