Epilogue
Sebastian
Four hours later…
W atching Darcy lead the way through the ocean so effortlessly, gliding through the water like a damn mermaid, was magical. Instead of being fascinated by the colorful fish that swam around us, I couldn’t pull my attention from her. Everything about her, from how her hair floated in the water to how vibrant her eyes became when she excitedly turned and pointed out some unique fish to me, made my heart swell.
There was nothing more precious than this moment and being with her again. The silence of the deep water underneath all my scuba gear allowed my mind to absorb the beauty of the woman I’d fallen so deeply in love with and revel in the gratitude that she’d not turned me away like she had every right to do.
I found everything about our love story fascinating, especially that it’d come about despite us wanting nothing to do with each other in the beginning. Perhaps that was what intrigued me about my feelings for her. Initially, they scared me, but not anymore. Now, I did not doubt that Darcy was the woman I’d been looking for my entire life, even when I didn’t realize I was. I’d so foolishly thought I could walk away, telling myself I was sparing her a life of discontent, but what I didn’t know was that I could never be content without her . How was I to know she would be the only glue that could ever hold together the fabric of my heart?
My mistake could’ve meant a permanent end to me ever finding happiness if she’d cast me away when I showed up here, but, thank all the gods, she didn’t. And although I agreed with the friendship part of her plan to secure a deeper relationship, I wanted things to move more rapidly than that.
I knew precisely what I wanted with her, a lifetime of loving and supporting each other in everything we did, but the pain our breakup had caused forced me to understand it may take time to get to that point.
I was a patient man, but I wasn’t sure I had the patience to be only friends for an extended time. I wanted her to fall asleep in my arms every night, and I wanted to call or text her whenever I was at work or away on business; however, I wanted to stay true to my word to love and support her in every sense of the word, so abiding by her wish to take things slow and easy would be the way to prove that.
“Okay, my friend will be here any moment,” I smiled at Charlotte’s blank expression. “She had to go home and shower because she took me swimming in the ocean to show me lots of pretty fish.”
“Darcel?” Charlotte answered, not letting go of that damn name no matter what I tried to do to get it out of her head.
“Darcy,” I said.
“Darcy isn’t the name of a monkey, though,” she answered.
“I know, and that’s why we must call her Darcy instead of Darcel because Darcy isn’t a monkey,” I answered with a hopeful smile.
My daughter was as stubborn as she was adorable. She would make a fantastic litigator one day because she could argue with me all day long…and probably would if I let her.
“You will hurt her feelings if you call her Darcel,” I said as Charlotte nibbled on her snack of pineapple chunks.
“I don’t want to do that,” she answered, but I still wasn’t convinced of how she would honestly react once Darcy was here.
Which should be any?—
“Sebastian, Darcy has arrived and is in the living area,” Callie said. “I can stay with Char until you’re ready for introductions.”
I smiled at the elderly nanny. “I will take Char with me. The days of Melissa’s and my mother’s preferred formalities are over but thank you. If you’d like, you can have the hotel security escort you anywhere you’d like to go?”
“Oh, that’s quite all right. I have no plans but to care for Char,” she smiled.
“And you do it better than anyone,” I said, “but I hope you will use this time to relax and enjoy a lovely vacation. There are plenty of shopping centers here at the resort that I know you would love. You do so much for us and deserve time for yourself, Callie. You haven’t had much of it because of my absence since Melissa passed.”
“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you and Char. You are my family, and I have never felt imposed upon. I want to make that clear,” Callie said before loosening her posture and smoothing her hand over the back of her hair to ensure no stray hairs had escaped her low bun. She was always poised and demure, and now she looked like a cross between flustered and excited. “I just—well, I think this is very lovely.”
“What’s that? Taking a vacation for the first time since you were my nanny ?” I teased.
“Pretty much,” she chuckled, her cheeks flushing.
“Go enjoy yourself. While you do that, I will book you a private suite and promise to only call upon you if I need you to watch Char if I go out.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. The poor woman’s only idea of a vacation lately was one spent corralling my daughter. Seeing the excitement in her eyes at the thought of having alone time felt nice.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because you know I will?—”
“Go. I’ll not hear another word about it,” I smiled. “I’ll inform you of your new room and have your things brought there once it is prepared for you.”
“I appreciate this, Sebastian. Thank you,” she said.
“It’s entirely my pleasure, and it is long overdue.” I looked at Charlotte, “Come with me, Char. I am excited for you to meet Darcy.”
With that unexpected moment behind me, I took my daughter’s hand, feeling an odd sense of comfort that I would have her all to myself without help from the nanny to pick up the slack.
We walked into the foyer, and I smiled at Darcy as she stared at the paintings on the wall.
“I haven’t quite made out what those images are?” I said, finding her more beautiful than ever. She wore a simple sundress, and her hair was filled with natural beachy waves flowing freely down her back.
“Daddy, they’re mountains,” Char said with annoyance. “Even I know that.”
“You are very observant,” Darcy said, smiling vibrantly at my daughter. “But the big question is, which mountains are they?”
“I don’t know?” Char answered with intrigue as if these were incredibly important mountains, and she wanted to know everything about them immediately.
Charlotte’s tenacity was one of the many things I adored about her. She loved to learn, and I loved seeing the wheels turn in her head when she did.
“I didn’t know either, not until I moved here. They are called the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range,” Darcy said as she walked over to the windows that lent the views of the hills and lush mountains that framed the entire city of Puerto Vallarta. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“It’s like a jungle?” Char asked, rushing to Darcy’s side, looking up at her as if Darcy were Minnie Mouse at Disneyland.
“Yes, a lot like a jungle. They even have ziplines that people use to fly through the forest like a bird.”
“No way,” Charlotte said in little more than a whisper, almost like she saw it in her mind’s eye. “Do you go to the jungle?”
“I do,” Darcy answered her.
I loved watching the two loves of my life bond so easily, and I hadn’t even contributed a single word. Darcy was much better at this than I was with Charlotte, and I busted my ass to make my daughter find me interesting. With Darcy, Char seemed effortlessly intrigued by her.
My heart was filled with love and happiness, and I couldn’t express it as I watched the magic fly between the two people I loved most.
“I went down a zipline and even saw monkeys ,” she said so excitedly that I feared my daughter’s response.
All sense of love and adoration of this moment was replaced by sudden panic and fear.
“Like at the zoo,” I interrupted my daughter before she could respond. “And I’m sure there are snakes and frogs up there, too.”
That should do the trick. Charlotte hated the reptile exhibit at the zoo, so her mind should easily veer away from the monkey aspect of this conversation.
“A monkey like you were named after?” Charlotte asked Darcy, not having heard a word I’d said as usual.
Darcy’s eyes roamed over to my dumbass and arched her eyebrow, making me brace myself for what might come next.
“Why, yes,” Darcy said.
“I like your name, Darcel.”
I closed my eyes and admitted defeat. I would’ve been a natural-born idiot if I didn’t think this would bite me in the ass.
“I absolutely love it, too,” I admitted.
I was now being ignored by both women I loved more than anything in this world.
“Well, I hate that name,” Darcy said. “I like it better when people call me Darcy.”
“Hate is a bad word, Darcel,” Charlotte chastised as I watched their adorable connection rapidly dissolve.
“That’s very true,” Darcy answered. “I shouldn’t say that word, but because I did, maybe it shows how much I don’t like that name.” Darcy eyed me, then looked at Charlotte, “In fact, I think some people tell people that’s my name because they’re mean or angry with me.”
“Oh no,” Charlotte said. “My daddy told me that’s your name.”
“I kind of guessed that,” Darcy answered her, and I could tell she was trying not to smile at the innocent cuteness of my daughter’s direct and honest communication.
“He wasn’t angry or mean, though,” Charlotte said. “Please, please , don’t make us eat dead bugs because he did that.”
Charlotte’s eyes were wide as she pleaded for Darcy’s mercy.
“Why would I make you eat dead bugs for that?” Darcy eyed me, looking like she’d never been more confused, before bending down to look at Charlotte with a pleasant expression.
“Daddy said you made him eat dead bugs because he was being mean like I was being to him on the plane,” Charlotte said truthfully.
“Is that so?” Darcy said, standing up straight and looking at me. “I fed you dead bugs because you were mean ?”
“Well, that’s not exactly how I put it,” I said, not knowing how to untangle the knot of shit I’d created.
“You did, Daddy,” Charlotte said, frowning at me like I was a filthy liar. “You said that angry and mean people have to eat dead bugs in Mexico. You said it.”
Darcy smirked while I shrugged in defeat.
“I was merely trying to get her to behave on the flight here,” I said. “And let’s face it, I was an unbearable jerk before I ate those grasshoppers, so?”
“That’s true,” Darcy said as she looked at Charlotte. “ And your daddy told you I was named after a monkey?”
“He did. I like your name,” Charlotte answered.
“I would rather have your name,” Darcy said, folding her hands in front of her. “I love the name Charlotte because it’s so beautiful. Darcel is quite weird, I think?”
“I think Charlotte is weird,” Char said with cute annoyance. “That’s why everybody calls me Char.”
“Do you like when people call you Charlotte?” Darcy asked. “Even when they think it’s beautiful?”
“No,” Char answered directly.
“I feel the same way about my name,” Darcy said. “I’d rather be called Darcy because that name makes me feel pretty.”
“But the poor monkey,” Char answered, looking torn as if she would betray the monkey’s memory by not using the name.
“You heard what Darcy said, Charlotte,” I said, trying to end all this.
I knew my daughter well enough to know that if you got her started on something she believed in—like defending a monkey’s honor, I guess—she wouldn’t back down.
“She’s fine,” Darcy said. “If you want to call me Darcel, you’ll be the only person on this planet I’ll allow to call me that.”
“Thank you,” Charlotte said triumphantly, making me roll my eyes at how easily Darcy had given Char her way.
“Only if I get to call you Charlotte, though,” Darcy followed up. “Deal?”
“Oh, no,” Charlotte said.
“It’s the only way,” Darcy shrugged.
“We can just call the monkey Darcel,” Charlotte finally conceded, and I couldn’t help how much I loved this interaction.
I knew Darcy would give me shit for it later, but for now, she’d managed to pull off a miracle and get my three-year-old to see logic. Savvy fucking skills right there. So savvy, in fact, that it made me consider our conversation this morning.
Darcy was proven to be quick-witted as well as charming. When she wanted to start this whole thing over again with me on a friends-without-benefits foundation, I agreed without hesitation, but now, I began to wonder what that entailed. Where would things go from here? Darcy was skilled and effortless in how she managed to forgive me and give us another chance; I just had to hope it wouldn’t be a friendship and buddy system that lasted for years before she could trust me again.
“Do you guys want to go grab some food?” Darcy said, breaking through my thoughts. “I know a great little place where you can eat all the tacos you want,” she smiled at Charlotte.
“I never ate a taco,” Charlotte answered her.
“Huh?” she looked at me.
“She eats what the chef prepares her: roast chicken, beef, fish. You know,” I admitted with some embarrassment.
“Oh, dear,” she looked at Charlotte. “Well, then you must try tacos. And chips and salsa?”
“Um,” Charlotte looked back at me.
“If you don’t like them, you can eat dead bugs?” I said, knowing that would change her mind.
“Gross,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“I’m sure you’ll love them,” Darcy said. “And if you don’t, you can just eat the meat. It’s meat like you’re used to eating, but it has a lot of different flavors. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
As it turned out, Charlotte loved every taco Darcy had her taste, and the chips and salsa were a huge hit for my girl. Things were turning out better than I’d hoped for, but now, I needed to address the boundary line Darcy had drawn earlier and figure out how far she and I would be able to go.
“So,” I said, sipping on my tequila and staring over at where Darcy sat, enjoying the final hours of the evening with me on the balcony. “How long must we remain friends before we can go further?”
Darcy smiled over at me. “Char is so adorable. And so very intelligent,” she answered me, avoiding my question. “I love how cute you two are with each other.”
“I’m learning as I go with her,” I said. “Putting her to sleep tonight was a first for me because the nanny always does that.”
“Where is your nanny?”
“She’s here in a suite, but I wanted to give her time off while we are here,” I said. “The poor woman has many nanny vacation days stored up, and she needs this after picking up all the slack in this house since Melissa passed.”
“You never gave her a vacation?”
“She’s always been able to take whatever time she’s needed, but since Melissa has been gone, she’s been with Char every day,” I answered. “I feel horrible about not taking this initiative sooner, but trust me, a lot has changed in the months I’ve been out of contact with you. I’m learning to be like a real human being instead of some asshole who’s allowing a nanny to raise his daughter alone. I’m trying.”
“I can see that. I’m very impressed.” She sipped her margarita. “You’ve grown as a man, you know?”
I laughed, “Well, I knew you would want a man in your life and not some wimp afraid to leave you a voicemail.”
“I’ve truly missed you,” she said with a sincerity that made my mind stop in its tracks. “But this new you that I find so damn attractive might mean trouble if I’m not careful.”
I grinned, thankful that the changes I’d made for myself and my daughter when I was away had made a positive impact.
“There’s no way you and I will get into any trouble unless, of course, we go back to the days when we were afraid to contact each other,” I chuckled. “Whatever we do, we can’t allow fear to get between us again.”
“What if I say I’m afraid to be more than friends with you?” she questioned, showing me the fear in her eyes.
“Come here,” I said, taking her hand and guiding her to stand with me and stare at the ocean sparkling in the moonlight. I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her. “Many people fear that ocean, you know?”
“Oh, please,” she said.
“Hear me out,” I said, kissing her neck and smelling a new fragrance that smelled like peaches. “People fear the ocean, and because of that, they will never experience the beauty of what I saw on our dive today. It’s a whole other world filled with life and intrigue, something they will only see in pictures and read about in books. Fear keeps them from an amazing experience they will never know.”
“I know, but?—”
“Baby, what we have can only be painted in portraits and hung in the Louvre.” I grinned at how dumb that sounded. “Or read about in novels, leaving the reader wanting to obtain that profound love. All I know is that we’ve been blessed with this opportunity to have the rarest kind of love, something most people will never experience. If we allow fear of the unknown to stop us from pursuing this timeless love, imagine what we will miss?”
She turned to face me. “I was fearless with you before,” she said, her eyes studying mine while her hand ran over the stubble on my cheek. “Because of that, I got hurt.”
“I understand,” I said. “All I can give you is words until my actions prove otherwise.”
“Exactly,” she answered.
“Have you ever trusted your scuba gear only to have it fail on your diving excursions?”
“Why else do we carry backup tanks and respirators?” she chuckled.
“But have you experienced a situation where you were hurt or feared for your life while diving?”
“I have,” she said more seriously.
“And yet, you still dive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I love being in that world. It’s worth the risk every time,” she answered.
“That is how I feel about you.” I kissed her nose. “For you, I would risk everything a thousand times over.” I stepped back and cradled her face in my hands. “I beg you to look at this in the same way you do diving. Allow us to be worth the risk you would take every time.”
“You’re good,” she said, arching her eyebrow.
“I’m a skilled businessman,” I played back. “I was raised to convince people to trust me.”
“Dear God,” she said, poking my ribs. “You’re a dick.”
“You know I’m teasing,” I grinned, loving her fighting personality. I traced her bottom lip with my thumb, aching and yearning for more of her, “You and Charlotte are the most important people in my life. You are treasures that bring me happiness I can’t put into words. You are the only woman I’ve ever loved, and if it is your wish, I will keep things on a friendship level, so you feel safe and protected. I just want you to know that you have nothing to fear anymore. From this moment on, your heart will always be safe with me. I will protect and tend to it each day you allow me the privilege.”
“I…”
“I know you’re nervous,” I said. “I am, too, but I love you profoundly , Darcy Burke. I would marry you today if you would allow me to.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist, and I saw the renewed love and trust return to the blue eyes that I’d missed so desperately all these months.
“I love you, Sebastian, and I trust you. I believe in us,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “Let’s follow our hearts,” she smiled. “Together.”
“I love you so much,” I said, bringing her tightly into a hug and never wanting to let her go again.
Her head rested against my chest, and I stared into the moonlit ocean. I inhaled deeply, knowing this was one of those precious moments in life that changed everything, and I wanted to appreciate every ounce of it. I had the other half of my soul wrapped securely in my arms, and she loved me as I loved her; it gave me a level of contentment I probably didn’t deserve but would never take for granted.
Funny how being sent to save the winery had felt like a prison sentence, but in the most unexpected twist of fate, it ended up being the thing that would ultimately save my life. I would be forever indebted to this woman for showing me how to live and be the best version of myself.
One day, I would beg her to be my bride, but until that time came, I was happily contented with having her in my arms again and loving me in return. I was the luckiest man in existence, and I planned to work every day to show my gratitude. I had so much love to give her, and I was only getting started.
Stay tuned….an extended Happily Ever After continuation of Sebastian and Darcy’s love story is coming. I wanted to stop here, but these characters aren’t done sharing their lives with us yet.