Epilogue
GIA
“This feels awfully fancy for dinner,” I say as I twist in the mirror to take in my long-sleeved red dress.
The tight material hugs every curve and stops mid-thigh.
My legs look a mile long now that I’ve slipped on my red heels.
I take a quick picture to send to Holt. He’s having a guy’s night with Knox, Gray, and Emmett, while us girls go out to the Chateau for dinner.
“That’s the point,” Gwen teases me. “How often do we get to dress up and go out on the town?”
I concede her point. The past year has been insane for us both.
Her book took off like a rocket on social media and she’s been working like crazy to finish the series for her very avid readers.
And because of her success, I have been booked solid for character art, not to mention all the other graphic design projects I usually do.
I walk into the closet to grab some earrings, running my hand over Holt’s clothes that are hanging next to mine.
It’s been almost eight months since I moved in with him and the girls.
I’ve loved every single minute of our days together, even though they’ve gone by way too fast. I still can’t believe the school year is already over.
Lauren decided to give soccer a try, and I learned that the life of a sports family is not for the faint of heart.
These kids are only eight, and they’re already taking it as seriously as if they’re professionals.
Thank god she decided to quit at the end of the season, although I have no doubt her next interest will revolve around another crazy schedule. I just hope it’ll be indoors this time.
Leah fell in love with the piano after her first-grade music teacher taught her to play. She’s taken to it like a fish in water and plays for us most nights. She’s not Mozart, but it doesn’t sound like nails on a chalkboard when she plays, so we’re taking the win.
Over the last year, Holt and I have only seemed to grow closer.
He’s taught me how to communicate openly with him when I’m annoyed, and I’ve learned to listen instead of getting defensive when he tries to share his frustrations with me.
There are moments when I watch Holt and the girls in disbelief that this is my life now.
They’ve brought so much joy into my life that I can’t even begin to describe.
And every single day that I get to wake up in Holt’s arms makes me the luckiest girl in the world.
As I’m getting my earring back into place, my phone buzzes with a message.
Cowboy
Jesus woman. You look incredible.
Me
Thank you, Cowboy. I can’t wait to show you what I have on under this dress.
Now that was just mean.
“I think I’m finally ready.” I come out of our closet to find Gwen in a black, lowcut dress. “Damn, woman. You clean up good.”
She laughs, her cheeks flushing. “Thank you. I’m ready too.”
We walk outside to get in Gwen’s car. I offered to drive so she didn’t have to take me all the way back home later, but she just waved me off as if it wasn’t a big deal.
The sun is starting its descent, and the summer air is cooling off.
This has become my favorite time of year.
I love the snow around Christmas, but it becomes more of an annoyance than anything when you have to be somewhere and there’s a pile of it on the roads.
Summers, on the other hand, are the perfect, tepid temperature.
It’ll get a bit hot sometimes, but it’s never stifling like it was in North Carolina.
Gwen and I chitchat the whole drive over to the restaurant. I tell her about all the plans for the Independence Day extravaganza. I think it’s going to be even bigger than last year’s event.
Holt got growly with me when I told him I wanted to help again. He told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed to be so stressed out I get sick this time. I might’ve shown him exactly how I felt about his command. On my knees. With my mouth.
But he also had a point. I’m not quite as worried about everything being perfect this year. Having gone through the whole process once before, I have a good idea of what to do now. Plus, I’ve got plenty of help this time.
As Gwen pulls into the full parking lot, my eyes widen. “It’s freaking packed.”
“I’m glad I made a reservation. I almost didn’t.”
I open my door once Gwen’s parked. “I doubt we’d have gotten seated tonight.”
“I actually reserved one of the special tables tonight. I thought it would be fun since Farrah’s finally done with her semester too.”
“The special tables?” I ask as we walk to the front doors.
“Yeah, they have these private spaces you can rent for special events and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”
“I had no idea they did that.”
We get up to the hostess stand, and Gwen gives her name. She digs around in her bag for a second. “Oh, shit. I left my phone in my car. I’m going to run out to grab it.”
“Want me to wait for you?”
“No, you go ahead.”
The hostess leads me down a hallway I’ve never been in before.
She opens the door to a beautifully decorated room.
Fresh flowers are strategically placed around the space while the lights are dimmed just enough to make it feel intimate without being too dark.
The table sits in the middle of the room, decked out with four shiny place settings.
Did Charlie change their mind and decide to come? Gwen didn’t mention it, but maybe it was last-minute. I move to place my clutch at one of the chairs when the door opens behind me. “Who else is coming tonight?”
“That would be us,” Holt’s deep voice makes me gasp. I spin around to find him standing in the doorway in a perfectly tailored navy suit. As he walks into the room, Lauren and Leah bounce in behind him. They have matching pink dresses on with full tulle skirts. All three of them look wonderful.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“We wanted to celebrate!” Leah says with an excited wiggle.
Holt comes striding over to me with the girls flanking him.
He grabs my hands in his, an intense expression on his face.
“Gia, the moment you walked into my life changed me forever. I was a ghost, going through the motions of my life without realizing it. Then a rainbow of color threatened to throat punch me, and suddenly, I saw a life where happiness still existed. Fate knew we needed you in our lives, so she brought you back to me, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. ”
Holt looks down at his girls, who are grinning at us. “We love you with every breath in our lungs and can’t imagine what life would look like without you in it anymore.”
And then he’s kneeling on the wood floor, pulling a black velvet box out from his suit jacket pocket.
I gasp. “Are you serious right now?”
Holt smirks. “Gia, will you marry me?”
“Say yes!” Lauren shouts as Leah nods in agreement, jumping up and down.
“Yes! Yes, of course I’ll marry you,” I reply with a hoarse whisper.
The girls squeal as Holt stands up to wrap his arms around my waist and spins us around in a circle. He sets me down again to put the ring on my finger. It’s a gorgeous oval diamond set on a simple silver band. It’s exactly what I would have picked out for myself.
I sniff and wipe under my eyes, being careful of my eye makeup. “Gwen is a sneaky, sneaky woman. I’m going to kick her butt for keeping this from me.”
Holt laughs, gesturing for us to sit down at the table.
“She was a great coconspirator. She and Farrah are having dinner together, so don’t worry about her.
She asked me to tell you that she wants all the details tomorrow after we’re done celebrating.
” The last word is said with so much innuendo, I’m already squirming at all the dirty things Holt has planned for us.
I turn to the girls. “How did you keep this a secret from me?”
Lauren grins. “Dad only told us this afternoon.”
“Which was smart,” Leah says with a giggle. “I never coulda kept it secret.”
My ring sparkles under the glowing lights in the room and I can’t help but stare at it.
If anyone told me two years ago that I’d be sitting at a table with the love of my life and his two daughters, I’d have laughed right in your face.
This was never in my plan for my future.
I was perfectly fine to be the crazy aunt who never got married and spoils her nieces and nephews rotten.
To be fair, I still am the crazy aunt who sends way too many packages to all the babies in our family, but the beautiful part is that I also get to be incandescently happy with a man who loves me with his whole heart.
There have been many moments in my life where I walked away to protect myself. I’ve never questioned those decisions because I knew it’s what I needed.
But this time, I’m really glad I stayed.
THE END