Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Sabrina
“I’m going to marry him,” I tell Laney, Emma, and Zen over drinks in Emma’s garage in the house she was planning to share with Chandler three weeks after Grey and I get home from an epic road trip of doing random acts of kindness from California to Colorado.
Laney squeals and bounces on her toes, finally free from her cast and now in a boot instead.
Zen grins. “I’m making you sign a prenup.”
“Make sure he gets the café in the event we get divorced,” I instruct them. “And I don’t want a dime of his money. Put that in there too.”
“He proposed?” Emma asks.
“No, but when he does in five years, I’m absolutely saying yes.”
All three of them crack up.
The men bent over what was supposed to be Emma’s wedding gift to Chandler—a ’57 Cadillac convertible that he had apparently been telling her he wanted for years and also apparently knew was supposed to be his wedding gift—all pause and look up at us.
So does Jitter, who’s in his happy place in the corner by the garage door.
And Duke.
Yes, Duke. Grey’s dog.
He paid off the bills for his ex-wife’s birthday party in exchange for getting his dog back, and now I’m living with the very best man in the entire world and our dogs, who made fast friends.
“Should we be suspicious?” Theo asks us.
He and Grey have mostly been giggling nonstop since Emma unveiled the car and explained why she invited us over. The triplets got called in for their various levels of expertise with refurbishing and refinishing classic cars. And honestly, they’re giggling too.
“Carry on.” Zen makes a shooing motion. “You don’t need in on the girl gossip yet. Also, I vote for the doors being wings instead of attaching wings. Have you ever seen a bee wing up close? That’ll be epic on the doors when you open them.”
Grey giggles again.
Not even kidding, he’s giggling , and I’m so here for it.
“I’ll give you the door-wings, but there’s not a fucking chance I’m compromising on the antenna,” Theo says.
“ Antennae ,” Zen corrects. “Two. One on each side of the windshield.”
“But we have to make sure the top will close right,” Jack says.
“I have faith in you,” Lucky says.
Decker’s bent at the back of the car. “If you don’t put the stinger on, I’m tossing you off Marmot Cliff.”
Emma smiles over her ginger ale.
“Is this bringing you closure?” Laney asks her.
She nods. “There’s a lot of good that came out of my destination wedding. You and Theo. The kittens. Sabrina and Grey. The changes at Bean & Nugget. Zen moving here. Mimi moving here. You taking that DNA test.”
I swing around to gawk at Laney. “ You took it ?”
“Yesterday,” she confirms.
“How do you feel?”
“Relieved, actually. I know it could be hard on my mom if it comes back and says my dad’s their father, but the triplets deserve to know the truth.
So no matter what it says, no regrets. It’s not lose-lose, you know?
Mr. Super Vengeance Man over there would probably say the truth is always win-win. ”
She’s right. Grey likes the truth. “It’s Super Bee Man now, please. I have the cape on order.”
“Oh, I have a mock-up,” Laney says. “Forgot to tell you. Remind me when we go inside to grab my phone.”
“Fantastic.”
“Do your parents know you’re doing the test?” Emma asks Laney.
Laney shakes her head. “Telling them is a decision for another day. The triplets don’t want their dad to know either right now. They’ll decide what they want to do if we find out they’re right.”
Their dad being my uncle, the man who raised them.
“No matter what, you’ll all handle it great,” Zen says. “It’s the Tooth. That’s what you do.”
They’re not wrong.
Grey’s siblings descended on the town not long after we got back from California, claiming to be worried about Mimi’s mental and physical health if Grey was moving her to such a cold and nasty place and finding her a boyfriend, and the Tooth totally Toothed them.
And because they’re all a touch horrible, they were so uncomfortable with the kindness that they left within thirty-six hours after barely seeing Grey, Zen, or Mimi at all.
He has a new number now.
And he owns the company that bought out his lab.
And he bought an empty lot not far from Theo’s place where he intends to build a better lab for research on bees at elevation.
And the cherry on top—I didn’t have to threaten Theo or any of the triplets to convince them to be friends with Grey. He just fits here. Especially now that he’s found the best way to get peace with what Chandler did to him in college.
“What’s good for you ?” I ask Emma.
“This, definitely.” She gestures with her glass to the car and the men still giggling over their plans to fix it up and paint it like a bee.
Emma offered it flat-out to Grey— I know he hurt you and I hope this can give you some peace on that front —and Grey’s insisting it’ll be a communal car for all of us to share and use whenever we want.
So that the bee-mobile is driven around town more often.
Increasing the chances that Chandler will see it.
“Five strapping men in your garage?” Zen asks. “Emma. I had no idea you wanted to star in a why choose romance novel.”
She laughs. “No, you goober. Watching them be happy. That’s good for me.”
“And the revenge part?” Laney asks.
“Let’s call it closure .” Em sips her ginger ale again.
“Chandler and I hadn’t slept together since like October.
He said the wedding was stressing him out, but the truth is, he didn’t want to marry me.
He just wanted everyone else to think he was awesome.
It’s been hard to face, but also good, you know? ”
“You think you’ll ever date again?” Zen asks.
I poke them. “Seriously?”
“Maybe we ease into that kind of inquisition?” Laney says.
“No, no, it’s okay,” Emma says. “Everyone knows I always wanted the husband and the kids and the picket fence, right? Legitimate question.”
I wrap an arm around her and squeeze.
Laney does too on the other side.
“At least I’m getting part of it,” Em says softly.
Zen nods. “That’s a kick-ass white picket fence outside. Or it will be. Once we build it.”
“No,” Em says even more softly. “ Another part.”
I freeze.
Laney makes a strangled noise.
Zen squints at Em.
“Something happened on my runaway-moon.” Em’s whispering so quietly now that we’re all leaning in to listen. “Some one , more accurately. Someone good.”
“ Emma ,” Laney gasps. “ Spill . Now .”
The men all turn to stare.
“It’s over,” she says quickly. “It was one of those we’re both going through hell after super rough break-ups kind of things. Mutual support, you know? But I…brought home…an unexpected souvenir.”
I cannot actually speak.
Laney’s mouth is a perfect O .
Zen gasps and grabs my shoulder like they’ll fall over if they don’t.
Em fans her shiny eyeballs. “This is a good thing. It’s a really good thing. I think—I think this is how I’m supposed to have my own happily ever after. Just me and a baby.”
“You don’t know who he is?” Laney whispers.
“I do. I’ll let him know. But I don’t think—I don’t think he’ll want to be involved. It’s…complicated. And honestly, it’s probably better this way.”
“Oh my god, Emma,” I breathe.
The men are still staring.
My eyes are getting hot.
“And this is a good thing? You’re sure?” Laney asks.
Emma smiles through tears. “Honestly? This is the very best thing . If I can’t have everything I wanted, this is what I wanted the most.”
“Your kid is going to have the best aunts and uncles ever ,” Zen says reverently. “Can I be an honorary auncle? Please? Please ?”
“Of course,” Emma says.
“Who. The fuck. Do I need to kill?” Theo asks.
Em laughs. “Sit down and shush.”
“Not kidding, Em. I have a get out of jail free card with the sheriff. I will absolutely use it for murder.”
“I can research how to make a body disappear,” Grey says.
“Already done,” Decker offers.
Grey blinks at him.
“I’m a novelist , dude. You don’t even want to know what my search history looks like.”
Lucky and Jack both drop to a knee, then get into a shoving match.
“I was going to make an honest woman of her.”
“Asshole, shut up. I’m making an honest woman of her.”
“Get up, both of you,” Theo orders. “What do you think this is, the 1950’s? Em, tell me which house in town you want me to buy you, and it’s done.”
Emma sniffles again. “I love you guys. All of you.”
“We’re here for whatever you need,” Laney tells her.
“Including disposing of these yahoos so you can do motherhood your way,” I agree.
Theo’s still glaring, but we all know he’ll come around.
The triplets will show up for anything she asks. As will Grey and Zen. And the entire town.
It’s what we do.
Always.
“You’re sure the father won’t want to be involved?” Laney asks Em.
She nods, but not without hesitation. “I’m positive. It’s for the best. It truly, truly is.”
“But you’ll tell him?”
This time, there’s no hesitation in the nod.
“You’re having a baby ,” I whisper.
“I’m having a baby,” she whispers back.
We all burst into tears.
Tears of absolute joy.
She’s right.
Her wedding was a disaster, but it led to so many happily ever afters. And as all of the men surround us for a giant group hug, I know the next part of our stories will only get better.
No matter what complications and unexpected wrenches come our way.
Emma’s having a baby and you’re invited to discover how it happened, who the father is, and what comes next in The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire . Turn the page to get started!