34. Theo
34
THEO
I sit on the cottage's front porch, the familiar creak of the wooden boards under my feet grounding me. The breeze off the lake carries the earthy scent of pine and water.
Grace is beside me, her legs tucked under her as she cradles a cup of tea. It’s peaceful—something we’ve both desperately needed.
A car pulls into the driveway, tires crunching on gravel, and I glance up to see Devon stepping out.
“I’m still surprised he made the flight,” Grace giggles.
“It’s different when you’re flying private,” I chuckle.
“Hey, Devon,” I say as I stand to greet him.
“Hey, you two!” he calls out before hugging us both. “Got some great news.”
“Only visiting over something that could be a phone call?” Grace teases.
“It’s much better in person.”
Inside, we settle around the kitchen table, Grace and I on one side, Devon on the other. He’s grinning from ear to ear.
“This seems like really great news,” Grace breathes. “We could use that.”
“Let’s cut to it,” Devon says, setting a thick folder on the table but not opening it. “Andrew’s not getting out. He’s been charged with multiple counts of stalking.”
“Multiple counts?” I ask.
“Some of his other former clients have been reaching out to me, remember?” Grace says as she reaches over to touch my hand.
“When it came to light that he was my stalker, he had threatened a lot of them with death if they came forward.”
Devon nods.
“Yup, they’ve all come forward after your case made the news.
Women and a few men who said they were too scared to speak out before.
Andrew was threatening them, making their lives hell. But now, they’re telling their stories.”
“That is horrible, but it’s also good news.
Like, I don’t want to wish these things on anyone, but this is great for us.”
“It really is,” Devon nods.
He leans back, rubbing a hand over his face.
“It’s bad. He’s looking at serious time for stalking alone.
But it doesn’t stop there.”
I clear my throat. “What are all the charges?”
He lifts a brow at me.
“Home invasion. Multiple counts of breaking restraining orders.
There’s even one charge for keeping someone from calling 9-1-1.
He’s left a trail of destruction.
The courts were lenient the first time, sent him to a mental facility thinking he could be fixed, but as we know, he walked out and went right back to terrorizing people.”
“Do you think he’ll argue mental instability again?” I ask, leaning forward, elbows on the table.
“Can he walk away if they deem him unwell?”
“Not this time,” Devon replies.
“He’s being charged with so much that even a plea of insanity wouldn’t get him out of this.
And given the damage he’s done—including attempting to kill more than one of his victims?—
he should be locked away for life.”
Grace breathes out, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Good. It’s what he deserves. What we all deserve.”
“It’s been a long time coming.”
We sit in silence for a moment, letting the weight of Devon’s words settle. Finally, Grace looks up, her expression softening just a fraction. “What about Alexia? Any updates on her?”
“Alexia’s been charged with a laundry list of crimes, as well.
The most severe being embezzlement and blackmailing.
She’s not getting out, either.
Between the evidence we found and the testimonies from people she manipulated, she’ll be going away for life, too.”
Grace closes her eyes, her lips curving into a small, relieved smile. “Thank God.”
I reach across the table, taking her hand in mine. It’s over—finally over.
Devon leans forward. “I’d say you two deserve to celebrate. The crazies are going away, and you can finally breathe again.”
Grace squeezes my hand, her eyes meeting mine. “We’ll definitely celebrate. But first, I think we owe you a drink, Devon. For everything.”
He chuckles, standing and stretching. “I won’t say no to that.”
As she gets up to grab a bottle of wine, I lean back in my chair, the tension in my chest slowly unraveling. It’s a happy ending—the kind I wasn’t sure we’d get. But here it is, and I’m not letting it slip away.
Devon shoots me a funny look before nodding at Grace as she pours two glasses of wine and then gets water for herself. I chuckle to myself and make a face back at him.
I clear my throat, pushing back the sudden nervous energy that bubbles up. “Grace.”
“Yeah?”
“Now that all the craziness is over…” I pause. Her brow furrows slightly, and I press on. “Can we get married?”
Her lips part in surprise, and then she giggles. “Absolutely. We can start planning right away!”
I shake my head, a grin tugging at my lips. “About that. I wanted to take the stress off you. I already have it planned.”
Her eyes widen. “You already planned it?”
“You can veto, of course,” I say quickly, holding up a hand. “But with everything going on, I was hoping you’d agree to something simple. Here, in the garden, with just a few friends and family.”
She blinks, and then her face lights up in the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. “That’s a lovely idea. I love it.”
I lean back, relieved. “Really?”
She nods enthusiastically. “Really. Did you plan the date, too?”
“Why do you think I’m here?” Devon laughs. “You didn’t really think I flew over here just to tell you something that I could have told you over the phone, did you?”
Grace turns to me, her eyes wide and sparkling. “You didn’t!”
I shrug, trying to play it cool. “I might have.”
She giggles, jumping out of her chair and into my arms. I catch her easily, laughing as she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me softly.
“This is amazing,” she murmurs against my lips. “I can’t believe you did all of this for me. It’s perfect. I’m so thrilled.”
I cup her face, brushing my thumb along her cheek.
“You deserve perfect, Grace. And I wanted to make sure this was as easy and joyful as possible.”
She pulls back slightly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It’s perfect. All I need now is a dress.”
As if on cue, the front door opens, and Sarah walks in, holding a garment bag in her arms. “Already taken care of,” she announces with a wide grin.
Grace’s mouth drops open. “What?”
Sarah sets the bag on the back of the couch and unzips it slightly to reveal a glimpse of lace and silk. “I found the dress of your dreams straight off your vision board.”
Grace stands frozen, her hands covering her mouth. Tears spill down her cheeks, and she shakes her head in disbelief. “Are you serious right now?”
Sarah nods, her smile growing. “Completely. I knew you’d need something beautiful, and this is it.”
Grace steps forward, her fingers grazing the edge of the dress. “It’s… it’s perfect.” She looks at me, then Sarah, and then back at the dress, her grin spreading even wider.
Her voice trembles as she speaks. “This is all so perfect. I can’t believe it.”
I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Believe it,” I murmur against her ear.
She turns, her eyes locking with mine. “Thank you,” she whispers, her voice thick with emotion.
I press a kiss to her forehead. “You don’t have to thank me. I just wanted to make you happy.”
“You have,” she says, her voice firm despite the tears in her eyes. “You’ve made me the happiest woman in the world.”
Sarah sniffs dramatically from the couch. “Okay, if you two don’t stop, I’m going to start crying, and nobody needs to see that.”
Grace laughs through her tears, the sound pure and full of joy. She hugs Sarah tightly, then turns back to me. “I can’t wait, Theo. Is it just Devon and Sarah?”
“No, the few other guests are all arriving in town as we speak.
“I just…I just can’t get over this. You are really something special, Theo Rossi.”
“I had help.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Sarah gushes.
“It was all his idea.
He asked for help and a few of us chipped in, but everything is of his doing and grand ideas.
This is the grandest gesture of love I’ve ever seen and needs to be in a movie.”
Grace giggles as she hugs me tightly. “I love you so much, Theo.”
“I love you, too. It’s my job to make sure that you know that daily.”
“I definitely do,” she sighs as she reaches up to kiss me softly.
“This... this is so special.
With the Andrew stuff and the shelter and the Creative Commons...
This is the best thing that anyone could have done.”
“Just making sure you couldn’t put off marrying me any longer,” I tease.
She slaps at me playfully. “I am dying to try on that dress.”
“I’m dying for you to try it on,” Sarah squeals.
She grabs the dress, and the two girls rush up the stairs. Devon looks back at me with a wide grin.
“This is really happening.”
“That it is,” I chuckle.