Epilogue
JANE
Four months later
‘ Mmm. This smells amazing!’ I gushed as Barbara put a plate of roast chicken, roast potatoes, peas and Yorkshire pudding all covered in gravy in front of me.
‘Wait until you taste it!’ Barbara said.
‘It’s true. The Seaview Arms does the best Sunday roast,’ Jess added as Barbara and Bob distributed the rest of the plates around the table.
I was in the pub with Jackson, Jess, Theo, Marcus and Sarah, who’d come down for the weekend.
We’d all got together for lunch to celebrate the sale of Jackson’s mum’s house, which was completed on Friday.
I still couldn’t believe it’d finally happened. It’d been a busy few months.
When Jackson told Jess and Theo about his mum and the challenges he’d faced with trying to sell his house to pay for her care, Theo immediately stepped in to help.
He came to look at the house, made some calls and literally a few days later, a team of workmen were there, renovating the kitchen and bathroom and giving the entire house a new lease of life with a fresh lick of paint.
The transformation was incredible. And Theo didn’t ask Jackson for a penny. Said he’d called in a few favours and not to worry about it.
Theo also told Jackson to get rid of the estate agents he’d been using and arranged for another hotshot agent to list it instead. Jackson received an offer a few weeks later. In fact, the longest part of the process was the buyer arranging stuff from their end.
And now it’d been sold, Jackson finally didn’t have to worry about his mum’s care.
I’d been with him to see his mum, Yolanda, multiple times.
The first time was the day after the D.D. Desire signing. We were blown away because she seemed to remember me from all those years ago when she’d come into the school, which I thought was a great sign. But since then, she hadn’t recognised me. It wasn’t her fault. I knew that Alzheimer’s was a cruel illness that robbed her of her memory, so I quickly got used to Jackson introducing me at the start of each visit. And when she was having a good day, I loved seeing her get excited every time Jackson told her that I was his girlfriend.
Jackson had continued making his videos to pay for Yolanda’s care, and not only did he have my blessing, I’d become his director .
Yep .
Whenever he had a new batch of videos to make, I’d be right there not just watching him, but directing Jackson from behind the camera too.
I took great pleasure in telling him when I thought he needed to thrust his hips more vigorously, shake his arse more or change the pace of how hard he was wanking.
And, yes, watching him definitely got me going, because I knew that when he was stroking himself or doing his dirty dancing, it was me that he was thinking about.
As soon as I stopped filming, he’d pick me up and fuck me so good, which definitely made it worth it. And I wasn’t bothered about the fact that other people saw his dick. I was proud and maybe a little smug too because I knew that they only got to watch him for a few minutes on a screen and fantasise about him. But I got to feel him and experience his incredible dick in real life, which was a massive thrill.
Now that the house was sold, technically Jackson no longer needed to make more videos. He hadn’t decided yet whether or not to continue, but whatever he wanted to do, I’d support him one hundred per cent.
We’d also told Jess and Theo about the videos. We did it over dinner at their place and they almost choked on their food.
Jess said she had no idea that it was Jackson when Celeste showed us the video in the pub, but now that she knew she felt icky. Not because she was bothered about what he’d done (in fact, she was really cool with it) but because she said it was like watching your brother wank. Which was why Jess assured us that she would definitely not be checking out any more of his videos .
Theo agreed, but joked that maybe we could develop some new divisions of The Romance Library, suggesting that he could branch out into audiobook production and Jackson could film himself recreating spicy scenes from popular romance novels instead of just stroking himself with a feather duster.
That suggestion made us erupt into fits of laughter. But then Jess pointed out that for that to work, I’d also need to participate and as much as I was enjoying every single second of my fantastic sex life with Jackson (and recreating scenes from our favourite books), I preferred to do it off camera and not for the audience of thousands of strangers like Jackson had racked up.
It was crazy to think that it wasn’t so long ago that I was still a virgin. That felt like a lifetime ago now.
These days Jackson and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I didn’t think there was a surface in his house that we hadn’t made love on. And we still occasionally got up to no good at the library after hours too, of course always making sure that we cleaned up thoroughly afterwards.
Speaking of the library, after the success of the D.D. Desire signing, things really took off.
As well as the flurry of members that flocked to the library every day to borrow books, romance lovers came from far and wide to buy books from our shop too.
Jackson had built some great relationships with publishers and authors and negotiated deals where we got lots of signed copies and exclusive swag that readers couldn’t get anywhere else, which encouraged them to buy from us instead.
The events were going from strength to strength too. We hosted a weekly romance book club, ran silent reading parties every fortnight and had hosted two more author book signings, with more on the way.
Love & Lattes was also a big hit. Maddie and her team couldn’t make the bookish biscuits and cupcakes fast enough. They’d become almost as big of an attraction at the library as the books, with visitors posting photos on social media and taking home the new gift boxes they sold, which of course were shaped like mini books.
Jess and Theo had hired two new part-time team members to help out in the library and the bookshop, which had been a lifesaver. Now they were busy looking at plans for expansion, including developing the first floor, and Jess said they also wanted to hire another full-timer too.
I was so glad that the library was now financially stronger and everyone’s jobs were safe.
Speaking of safe, now that Mrs Davis’s son had been locked up for his attacks on our library, we could all focus on growing the business instead of worrying about being sabotaged. Which was a massive weight off everyone’s mind. If anything, it had made us even more determined to make the library a success. Like D.D. Desire eloquently put it, if someone fucked with The Romance Library, they fucked with all of us.
‘This food is tasty,’ Marcus said, tucking into his roast lamb. ‘I can see why you like this place.’
I’d also met Marcus several times. I could see why Jackson had been friends with him for so long. He was a good guy and the way he’d helped Jackson out was amazing. I’d thanked him every time I saw him, but he said it was no big deal and that it was just what friends did .
‘You’re right,’ Sarah said as she slid a forkful of her roast beef into her mouth. ‘It really is delicious! What is it about Sunshine Bay? It’s like everything here is perfect.’
‘It’s a pretty cool place to live,’ Jess said. ‘Wait until you try May’s Fish and Chips!’
‘If I didn’t have to go back tonight, I’d be heading straight there after this. It’s not fair,’ she sighed. ‘I wish I could live here too. I wish I could live anywhere but back home. It’s so boring there. You guys are living the dream. You get to talk about books all day. If you wanted to, you could just sniff thousands of books for hours. You get to read books before they come out. You get to plan events for books. Aaargh! I’m so jealous!’
‘Well… if you really want to live here and work with books all day, I might know someone who’s looking for a new person to join their team full-time.’
‘What?’ Sarah’s eyes bulged. ‘Seriously? Work here ? In Sunshine Bay? With you guys? At The Romance Library?’
‘Yep!’ Jess beamed.
‘No fucking way!’ Sarah shouted so loudly practically the whole pub turned around to see what the commotion was.
‘ Yes , fucking way!’ Jess said. ‘Me and Theo have got big expansion plans for this year, so we’re gonna need an extra pair of hands to help Jane and Jackson out in the library and the bookshop, spend more time on the marketing and social media and get our online shop up and running. So what d’you reckon? Fancy joining The Romance Library team?’
‘A million per cent, yes!’ Sarah jumped out of her seat so quickly she nearly knocked over her glass of Prosecco. ‘Thank you!’ She hugged Jess tightly.
‘Obviously you’ll get a good salary too. Theo can send you all the official details.’
‘Don’t tell Theo, but I’d work at the library for free! It’s my dream job.’
‘We absolutely won’t hear of you working for free.’ Theo shook his head. ‘You helped Jess out so much with the social media when it was just starting out and never asked for a penny, so now the library’s in a much stronger financial position, you’ll be paid, just like the rest of us.’
‘Amazing! Thank you!’
‘You’re welcome. We’re also looking at bringing my brother Ben onboard too,’ Theo added.
‘So you’ll finally get to meet him…’ Jess raised an eyebrow.
Jess had told me that ever since she got together with Theo and Sarah found out that he had brothers, she’d been asking Jess to set them up. Looked like now she’d get the chance to do exactly that.
Like Theo, Ben was handsome, so I was sure she’d find him attractive. But from what I could gather, he was a bit of a ladies’ man, so it’d be interesting to see how that worked out…
‘It’s great that you’re hiring people that you know and trust.’
‘Exactly. Sometimes it’s good to keep things in the family. Not always, though…’ His voice trailed off.
‘I know exactly what you mean,’ I said.
I hadn’t seen either of my parents since I’d met up with Mum the morning after I’d walked out of the house. And I felt better for it .
Last I’d heard, Dad’s campaign to get elected as a local MP flopped. Usually I hated to see people fail, but in this case it was a relief. The last thing a town like Shamwick needed was someone like him in a position of power, inflicting his toxic views.
To her credit, Mum had messaged a few times to check how I was. I always replied, but texting was as far as our relationship would go.
For years I’d tolerated them because I believed the stuff people said about the importance of family. In many cases that was true. But I’d realised that some people weren’t willing to change. So to preserve my sanity and protect my mental health, I had to cut them out of my life. And that was okay.
I’d learned that family wasn’t about being bound by blood. It was having people around you that truly cared about you and loved you.
Family were people that had your back, no matter what. Who didn’t try and stifle your growth or manipulate you for their own gains like Dad did.
The famous saying that friends are the family you choose was true. Jackson, Jess and Theo and so many of the residents of Sunshine Bay were my true family. They were the relatives I’d always wanted, but never had. Until now.
The bond we had was much stronger than blood. It was real and everlasting.
‘Where have you two moved to?’ Sarah asked.
‘We’re staying in the B&B for a few weeks, then we’re renting a house in town for a couple of months whilst the owner’s away. After that, we’re not sure. It’s really hard to find accommodation in Sunshine Bay. ’
I moved my hair back over my shoulders. Although I occasionally wore it in a bun, I’d been wearing it down a lot more lately. And when Jackson took me shopping to replace the blouses he’d ruined, I’d chosen some less conservative options. The days of worrying about what my parents would say about my clothes were long gone.
‘Tell me about it!’ Jess said. ‘We’re lucky the owner of our house decided to stay in the States for longer, but we’d still like to find somewhere permanent.’
‘I’m sure something will come up soon,’ Sarah said. ‘I’d better start looking for myself too. I can’t believe we’re going to be neighbours! And if I’m here, I can help you plan the wedding too!’
I was still so excited that Jess and Theo were getting married. Hopefully one day that’d be me and Jackson, but there was no rush. We had our whole lives together to look forward to.
Once we’d finished lunch, the others stayed to have more drinks, but Jackson asked if I wanted to come for a walk with him on the beach.
The weather was still cold, but today was much milder than it had been the past few weeks.
‘Still trying to get my head around the fact that the house is sold and this is where we live now.’ Jackson took my hand.
‘I know, right? It’s like a dream. It doesn’t matter how many times I walk on this beach, it still feels like I’m staring at a postcard. Minus the sun, of course.’
‘I’m looking at the sun right now.’ Jackson stroked my cheek and I laughed. ‘What? Too cheesy?’
‘Cheesier than a pizza with extra mozzarella. ’
‘I happen to love extra mozzarella on my pizza.’ Jackson grinned. ‘And anyway, I don’t care if it sounds cheesy. It’s how I feel. You’re my sun, my moon, my stars, my everything.’
‘ Awww .’ I kissed him on the lips. ‘You’re my everything too.’
‘I mean it, Jane. I love you more than all of the Jammie Dodgers and Party Rings biscuits in the world.’
‘Wow. That’s a lot !’
‘Yep. And I love you more than all of the digestives and rich tea biscuits in the universe.’
Jackson leant forward and pressed his lips on mine. And when he kissed me, fireworks erupted inside me.
I knew he meant every word.
I loved romance novels with all of my heart. I loved the warm, fuzzy, fluttery feelings they gave me. I loved the joy I felt when the couple got their happy ending.
But there was one thing I loved more, and that was Jackson.
After spending years living vicariously through the characters in my favourite romance novels, I’d finally got my own happily-ever-after.
And it was even better than I’d ever imagined was possible .