Epilogue
Max
Two Years Later…
“It came.”
I lean forward and turn around in my chair in a rush, my eyes widening as my gaze zeroes in on the package in Flynn’s hand. Turning back around to take in the view of the Pacific from our balcony, I take a deep, cleansing breath and hop out of my seat. Flynn hands me the package, then follows as I head past him to the living room couch.
After a year of working with Barnard to write his memoir, then another six months of edits and rewrites, our publisher has approved the final version and sent it to be printed. And the first two copies were sent out––one to us and one to Barnard, himself.
Ripping the tape off the box, I set it on the coffee table and slowly pull open the flaps. Flynn takes a seat beside me, bouncing slightly as he waits for me to remove the packaging paper from the box and pull out the hardback.
“ The Sky’s No Limit: The Barnard Roxberry Story ,” Flynn reads, his lips turning up into a bright smile. “We did it.”
“We did it,” I repeat, my own grin as bright as his. “The advanced copies will go out soon, and then we’ll find out if it’s any good.”
“Oh, it’s good. I hear Maxine Nolan is a brilliant writer.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “But I hear the real genius is Flynn Nightingale.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but a knock on the door cuts off whatever he was about to say. His brow wrinkles as he looks from the door back to me.
“Are you expecting someone?”
I shake my head and shrug, but my heart starts to thump in my chest. I am expecting another delivery, but it’s one that Flynn knows nothing about. I’ve been keeping a secret, and it’s about to come out.
Flynn answers the door and signs for the package I made sure was addressed to him when I set up the delivery. Closing the door to the beachfront apartment we’ve shared for the last year, he walks back over and retakes his seat on the couch.
“It’s from our publisher,” he says as he opens the box. “I guess they decided to send us each a copy.”
I hum in response, a noncommittal sound that doesn’t reveal how nervous I am. Flynn has no idea I’ve been working on something else while we wrote the biography. I kept it to myself, finishing the passion project I started years ago…with a few tweaks.
I see a flash of pink inside the box just before Flynn frowns and pulls a thick paperback from inside. His frown melts away as he reads the cover, then looks over at me with a shocked expression.
My eyes start to water as I nod at him, and he looks back down at the book in his hands, saying, “ Kissing Flynn by Maxine Nolan. What is this?”
“It’s a love story,” I say as his finger traces the models on the cover, a dark haired-hero with a bare chest and piercing blue eyes holding onto a crimson-haired maiden in period clothes on a deserted beach. “A story of second chances, redemption, and sacrifices.”
Flynn’s eyes snap back up to mine. “You wrote this?”
I nod. “I did.”
“And it’s about us?”
“Well, loosely based on us, anyway,” I say with a shrug and a watery laugh.
“This is amazing, Max,” he says, his voice laced with wonder and pride. “Why’d you keep it a secret?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” I whisper.
“I can’t wait to read it,” he says, then sets the book on the coffee table with careful hands before sliding off the couch to kneel before me.
“I have a surprise for you, too,” he says, digging into his pocket and pulling out a small velvet box. “I planned to take you out to a nice dinner tonight to celebrate and give it to you, then, but I can’t wait.”
Popping open the box, he presents it to me. A glittering diamond ring rests nestled in a crushed velvet nest, and when my eyes move from the box to meet Flynn’s, I can barely see him through my blinding tears.
“I love you, Max. You are perfect in every way. I want to spend the rest of my life cherishing you and making you the happiest person on Earth. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, Flynn,” I cry, diving forward to wrap my arms around him. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Then our lips meet, and it feels like the beginning. Our real love story starts now, and I’ll be kissing Flynn for the rest of my life.
Thank you for reading Kissing Flynn! I hope you enjoyed it! If you have a moment, I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave a review. Thank you!