Epilogue
Ariana
One Year Later
“I feel like this should be shocking, but alas… I feel nothing close to surprise,” Vince said, smirking as he took in the ridiculous chapel we were sitting in.
He had one arm around Maven, who was holding fast to the hand of Rowan, who was no doubt planning her escape so she could run around freely.
“I mean, nothing screams Grace quite like bedazzled pews and an Elvis officiant,” Livia agreed.
We were in Las Vegas, the whole crew, to finally celebrate Jaxson and Grace getting married. Grace had been reluctant to set a date at first. As much as she couldn’t wait to marry Jaxson, the very act of “settling down” went against every fiber that made up who she was as a person.
She was meant to roam, to travel, to spread her wings and fly.
When she finally did decide on a plan, Chloe had been too pregnant to fly during the offseason. And so, Grace had handed us all a very conspicuous save the date with the Las Vegas sign on it.
Here we were, one year later, each of us dressed in our sparkliest outfits — at Grace’s insistence — ready to celebrate the newlyweds.
Jaxson stood at the front of the chapel, hands clasped behind his back, wearing a white suit jacket that glittered under the lights like a disco ball. Rhinestones traced the lapels. His loafers shimmered. I was fairly certain there was actual fringe involved.
“This is the happiest I’ve ever been,” he announced to no one in particular. “If I die today, tell my story. Carve it on my gravestone. Write it in the obituary.”
“You’re not allowed to die until after the honeymoon,” Grace shouted from somewhere behind the curtain behind us. “I’ve already packed your outfits.”
Livia chuckled beside me, her gaze flicking up to Carter like they were sharing an inside joke.
Then, a dramatic crescendo of piano played over the speakers before Grace stepped through the curtain behind us. The song was a classical remix of “100,000 People” by Kings of Leon.
Grace stepped out wearing something that could only be described as art. There were layers of tulle, sequins in at least three clashing shades, and a dramatic high-low hem that revealed sparkly boots. Her hair was piled high, unapologetically wild, with a short veil pinned in at a crooked angle.
She looked stunning.
She looked ridiculous.
She looked exactly like we all imagined she would on her wedding day.
Jaxson turned, took her in, and promptly started laughing even as tears flooded his eyes.
None of the guys in the pews around me dared to tease him for getting mushy — Shane already told me before the ceremony started that none of them had any room to shit talk when they were all so weak for their women.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaxson said reverently as Grace literally skipped down the aisle to him. “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint.”
“And I’ve never seen anyone look so dashing in sequins,” Grace replied, and against all the rules, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, Jaxson dipping her dramatically as we all whisked and clapped like the ceremony was over.
Elvis cleared his throat into the microphone. “Ahem. Thank you, thank you very much.”
A chorus of laughter followed, then we all fell quiet, listening as Elvis gave a surprisingly heartwarming speech about love and commitment before he launched into vows.
In the back of the chapel, Chloe bounced baby Everett on her hip.
He was nearly one now, all chubby cheeks and bright eyes, and had learned to walk far sooner than either of his parents were prepared for.
Will, retired from playing for just over a year now, looked happier than I’d ever seen him where he stood beside his wife, ready to take over should she need a break.
He’d recently accepted a coaching position with the Ospreys in the fall, a fact Shane had told me with so much excitement I thought he’d won the lottery.
In his eyes, he had.
Beside me, Maven knelt to whisper something in Rowan’s ear that made her giggle.
Vince and Maven’s daughter was two-and-a-half and already plotting chaos.
But it was Lennon — Carter and Livia’s daughter — who was the true wild one of the pair.
They were already inseparable, two tiny forces of nature who would undoubtedly terrorize us all for years to come.
Mia looked the most at home in her bedazzled pink dress, one I was fairly certain she’d worn on tour before.
She and Aleks sat across the aisle from us, Aleks’s hand possessively holding Mia’s thigh as she leaned into him and did her best not to cry at Jaxson’s vows.
Her latest album had just dropped, and she was heading out on tour in August. She and Aleks were glowing in that dual-income, no-kids way — both sun-kissed from their getaway before tour, relaxed in the way Aleks could only be during the offseason, and both of them wildly in love.
Life had kept moving for all of us after the craziness of last season.
As Elvis continued the ceremony, I felt Shane’s hand slide into mine.
The past year had been everything I expected it to be.
It had hard times and soft ones, too. It was scary and exhilarating, happy and sad in tandem.
And maybe that was the biggest lesson I’d learned through all of this — that duality existed in all of us, and it was okay to hold all the emotions at once.
I’d rebuilt my life piece by piece. I lived on my own in a space that felt safe and entirely mine.
I helped support Georgie through school and he helped by applying for scholarships.
I was growing in my job working at the hospital in social services, advocating for families navigating domestic violence, especially children.
After just one year, I’d moved into an executive position.
Some days were heavy. But I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Shane and I had taken our time. We were still dating, falling in love, relearning each other.
He’d shown me the world, flown me to places I’d only ever seen on postcards, took me out on the water in the bay, introduced me to the Tampa he loved.
With Georgie cheering him on, he’d dragged me out for multiple beach days.
And while I still didn’t have the kind of skin that would ever catch a tan, I enjoyed our time in the sun.
But my favorite moments were the quiet ones, the way we would lose entire afternoons or evenings at each other’s homes. I loved how things started to be forgotten — toothbrushes left behind, pajamas found in the wrong dryer. Our lives were blending whether we named it yet or not.
We’d started talking about moving in together, about what home could look like, and I’d never felt so excited for the future as I did thinking of that.
Nathan had been charged with multiple counts of fraud, conspiracy, and coercion tied to the betting scandal and financial crimes uncovered in the investigation.
He was sentenced to twelve years in prison, though we were fairly certain he’d serve half of that when it all came down to it.
It wasn’t nearly enough to erase the damage he’d done — but it was enough that the world finally saw him for who he was.
I hadn’t seen him again after that night at my birthday party.
I didn’t want or need to.
As Elvis pronounced Jaxson and Grace married and the chapel erupted into cheers, confetti cannons went off, startling the kids and sending Rowan shrieking with laughter.
Grace kissed Jaxson like the world was ending.
They were running off for a two-week honeymoon immediately after this — no plans, no itinerary, just them and a little game of airport gate roulette.
I squeezed Shane’s hand, emotion swelling in my chest as he turned to me with tears in his eyes. He pulled me under his arm and kissed me, helping the butterflies in my stomach take flight even after all this time.
There was so much we still had in front of us. We’d talked about what it might look like if we started a family — not in the conventional way, but in the way that felt right for us. We had Georgie’s graduation to look forward to, a home we would build together, and who knew what else.
I’d gone from a life where I woke up every day wishing to disappear to one where every hour filled me with hope and possibility.
A lifetime ago, in that psych class where Shane and I had first met, we’d talked about resilience. About grit. About whether it was something you were born with or something you built.
I’d thought strength meant standing alone. I thought it meant enduring and surviving when all the odds were stacked against you.
Now I knew better.
Resilience wasn’t just internal. It was shared. It was found family and steady hands and people who refused to let you fall through the cracks.
I had grit.
But I also had them — this chapel full of friends who had become the best family I could have ever imagined.
And standing there, surrounded by love and laughter and a man who chose me every day, I knew something deep and unshakable.
I wasn’t just surviving anymore.
I was living.
And the best was yet to come.
· · ·
One Year Later
The auditorium was packed, heat and anticipation pressing in from every side.
Folding chairs filled every aisle, programs fluttering, names whispered and repeated like talismans.
I sat on the edge of my seat, hands clasped tight in my lap, my heart already racing even though Georgie’s name hadn’t been called yet.
Shane, on the other hand, looked like he was preparing for battle.
“I need you to promise me something,” I whispered, glancing sideways at him.
He didn’t look away from the stage. “Depends.”
“Please don’t get us escorted out.”
He grinned before sucking a breath through his teeth. “Afraid I can’t promise that, my love.”
I arched a brow and poked his side in warning, but truthfully, I was smiling inside.