27. Epilogue
Pasha
Six Months Later
T he buses were gone. Tonight was a hotel. The last stop on Sarah Telling’s tour was a relief and a weight. After this, I’d be returning to working for Mia.
“Have you decided which offer you’ll take?” I asked.
Since the dance at Mia’s wedding had attracted so much attention, Alyssa had been flooded with requests to choreograph music videos, tours, and awards shows.
Any paying job she could squeeze in while working for Sarah was one Alyssa snatched up.
Pride swelled my chest at how much she’d managed to accomplish in the last six months. Her work ethic amazed me.
“I wanted to talk to you, actually.” Alyssa flopped down on the king bed, arms outstretched.
I crawled across the mattress to lie beside her. I rested my head in my palm as I stared down, trying to catch her eyes. Something was coming. “Okay.”
“You know that TV show Sarah does? Center Stage ? It’s not just a singing show. They make the contestants dance too. Routines and such. Each j udge has their own choreographer they work with.” She glanced at him and bit her lip. “Sarah asked me to be hers.”
I couldn’t remember how long the shooting schedule was for Center Stage . Months? My chest tightened. “How do you feel about that?”
“Excited?” Her eyes lit with hope. “I think I’d love it.”
I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Could I go months without being with her? Not months. Weeks, maybe. We’d find a way. I’d been spoiled by our coinciding schedules for almost a year now. “If you want the job, say ‘yes.’” I’d promised myself I wouldn’t hold her back.
“The shooting schedule is four months long.” Alyssa turned on her side and stretched out her arm, laying her head beside mine, curled into me but not quite touching.
I rubbed my forehead and glanced in her direction. “You love dancing, and I love you. It’s a good opportunity.”
“But four months…” Alyssa tangled her fingers in the waves just starting to form at my crown.
Last night, when I’d spoken to Mia, she’d told me she could be as flexible as I needed with work, depending on what job Alyssa decided to take.
Maybe Mia had already known about Sarah’s offer.
They were best friends, and with Sarah’s rocky marriage and the tabloids picking up any story—true or not, Sarah and Mia had been talking a lot.
I’d overheard Mia telling Sarah that she needed to consider taking a break after Center Stage ended, reevaluate what she really wanted.
“We’ll be long-distance for four months,” I agreed.
“Always been a disaster for me before.” Alyssa let out a nervous laugh.
“You want us to work?” I turned to mirror her pose.
“More than I want this job. If you don’t think we can do this, I’m not taking Sarah’s offer.”
I s earched her face. There were no doubts about her, about the future, about whether we could weather the distance.
I wouldn’t enjoy it. Not even a little. But I had faith in the foundation we’d built.
It was solid, so solid I’d dragged Mia and Sarah to several jewelry stores last weekend when I was supposed to be on security detail.
My happily-ever-after wasn’t slipping through my fingers twice. “Take the job.”
“You’re not worried at all?”
“Only about how much I’ll miss you.”
Her chin trembled, and tears filled her eyes. “I won’t take it.”
A hint of a smile touched my lips as I swept up her tears with my thumb. “Are you worried?” Maybe she wasn’t in the same place I was.
“I love you so much, and long distance is so hard because I’ll miss you so much.”
“Hard but worth it.” I cupped her chin and kissed her tenderly.
When I pulled back, she met my gaze. “Definitely worth it.”
Mia eyed me and sank deeper into the couch in her living room. “You just need to do it.” She flipped her phone over on the cushion beside her. “She leaves in two days to go work on Center Stage . Pull the trigger.”
“I’m not murdering her.” At the island, I drank my second coffee of the morning. The caffeine ran through my veins, making me jittery.
“You know what I mean. Shit or get off the pot.”
I gave her an annoyed glance. “It should be romantic. Didn’t you want Tyler’s proposal to be special?”
“ Tyler could have been covered in sweat from the gym and tossed me the ring and said, ‘So, what’d ya think?’ and I would have said, ‘Fuck yeah!’ and put it on my finger.” She held out her hand to examine the sizeable rock. “Well, maybe not if he tossed it at me. This thing could put out an eye.”
“So, you didn’t like how he asked you? The stage? The song?” I raised my eyebrows in challenge.
“Come on, now. Let’s not get carried away.
I loved it. Couldn’t have asked for a better proposal.
But if he’d turned to me while we were eating grilled cheese sandwiches on the couch and said, ‘Wanna get hitched?’ I still would’ve said ‘yes.’ I wanted to be asked, to know he was in as deep as I was. ”
I shook my head. “No, no, no. Couches and grilled cheese? Sweaty from the gym? Tossing the ring? No. I want the moment to… have weight. The ring, the marriage, it’s forever.”
“Well, then, do what Tyler did. Figure out what’s important to her and give her all those things. He wasn’t just asking me to marry him. He showed me he knew me. Really knew me.”
Apples, reality TV, chocolate, and dancing. Those were her favorite things. While she might like watching other people’s “real” lives, she was a private person.
There’d be no live streaming of the proposal. I rubbed my face. So, apples, chocolate, and dancing needed to somehow be combined into a proposal.
Grilled cheese on the couch was looking more appealing. “I’ll think of something.”
“ Sure, yeah. I mean”—she checked her phone—“you’ve got like forty-eight hours to plan and execute a proposal. Who needs sleep, right?”
I ran a hand down my face and chugged the last of my coffee. That was what the caffeine was for—thinking and not sleeping. Somewhere in my mind, the perfect proposal lived.
The train station Grady owned in Little Falls wasn’t exactly the most romantic spot.
The building was a recording studio, and many famous faces had gone through here the last couple of years.
A small portion was sectioned off as a dance studio.
At one time, it had been a gym when Mia was pregnant and hiding out from the world.
Now, I would create another memory here.
In between touring and starting on Center Stage , Alyssa had been living with me on Mia’s property.
She’d rented her house out for the foreseeable future.
Secretly, I hoped we never returned to it, never had a reason to go there again.
Her sister had left Kevin again and was in therapy.
They were trying to rebuild their relationship.
Maybe someday, Oliva would move to Little Falls too.
When we pulled up to the refurbished brick building, Alyssa frowned. “Did you have to pick something up for Mia?”
A grin tugged at my lips. “Come in with me?”
She glanced down at her dress and heels and shrugged, climbing out to follow. I used the code for after-hours access, and we slipped in through the si de door. The main entrance was modern with black, gray, and steel everywhere.
My heart two-stepped, nerves seizing me. Even though I was sure she’d say “yes,” that she wanted this future as much as I did, the gravity of asking her to spend forever with me wasn’t lessened.
“This way,” I said, gesturing toward the back of the building.
Earlier today, I’d come and set up the room.
Music at the touch of my fingers. Dinner from our favorite Little Falls restaurant would be delivered in an hour.
Apples and some sort of chocolate caramel concoction Kathy’s Café had whipped up at my request were nestled in the bar fridge.
Champagne chilled. The ring in my pocket banged against my thigh in time with my hammering heart.
“Are we”—Alyssa checked the time on her phone—“going to make our dinner reservations?”
Over my shoulder, I grinned. “Yes.”
I opened the door to the dance studio and ushered Alyssa in. Her smile was hesitant as she slipped around me. Her gasp hit my ears, and my heart slowed. She liked what I’d done.
I stepped into the room behind her. Fairy lights dotted the room, the only source of light. A table set for two sat in the corner with fireless candles and a glittering tablecloth.
“What?” She turned, her eyes alight with joy. “What is this?”
I held out my hand. “Dance with me?” Over the speakers, the song Mia had written that reminded me of Alyssa, which I’d later discovered reminded her of me, too, played.
Her gaze softened. “You did this for me?”
“For us.” I kissed her hand and spun her into a dip. She laughed, and when I righted her, she cuddled into me, her cheek pressed against my cheek. The dance wasn’t fancy or fast, but I’d never felt closer to her as we swayed to the lyrics in the half-light.
“I love us,” Alyssa whispered. “Part of me doesn’t want to leave tomorrow.”
“Part of me doesn’t want you to go. But I also want the best for you. I want the world to see how wonderful you are. Half of America will be in love with you by the end.”
She glanced up and rose on her toes to kiss me. “They can keep their love. I’ve got all I need.”
From my pocket, I removed the ring and let go of her to drop to one knee. “I’m hoping to make sure you’ve got all you need for the rest of your life.”
Alyssa’s hands covered her face, and her shoulders shook. Her tears were a little startling and confusing. She cried about happy and sad things, so it was hard to know if I’d done the right thing. Here was hoping those were happy tears.
“Alyssa Miller, will you marry me?”
“Holy shit,” she whispered, wiping the tears from her face. “Are you serious?”
“I am.” I gave an unsteady chuckle. “Should I be joking?” My heart, which had slowed when we’d entered the room, kicked into gear. Sweat pooled under my armpits. Maybe she wouldn’t say “yes”?
“No, no, God, no.” She paled and then shook her head. “I meant ‘yes.’ Yes, I’ll marry you. The ‘no’ was about the joking. Oh, God! Why am I such a mess?” She sat on my bended knee and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m your mess. Forever.”
I kissed her cheek, took the ring from the box, and slipped the band onto her finger. “Forever.”
She snuggled into my neck and then stared at her ring. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Diamonds and sapphires. Mia and Sarah said those were your favorite.” I checked the fit by wiggling it on her finger. “Too loose?”
“Perfect. Seriously. You’re so sneaky.” She kissed me again, wiping the last of her tears. “We’re going to have the best life.”
“You can bet on it.” I cupped her face, my heart full. Almost a year ago, she’d made a bet on me. For the rest of their lives, we’d be betting on each other, and I couldn’t believe I’d get to call her mine forever.