Epilogue
Gracyn
THE LETTERS
“I s this thing on?” Charli wags her brows at me as she clutches the mic in one hand and a champagne flute in the other.
I lean over to Brooks, stifling a laugh. “Ignore her. Nothing she says is true.”
“As the maid of honor, I have a duty to say, you’re welcome . But we’ll circle back to that later. First, let’s start with the obvious. How y’all met. Has everyone heard this story?”
My face heats as I drop my head, silently pleading for her to stop. Nobody’s heard this, and she knows it.
“So,” she continues, flashing a mischievous grin, “there we are, grabbing my afternoon coffee fix, and this one over there”—she tilts her glass toward me—“let’s just say, she thought she was part of Ocean’s 8. If you’ve seen the movie, you understand. If not, it’s worth a watch.” Everyone chuckles. “But in a bold move, she decides to steal his coffee right off the counter.”
Gasps, laughs, and cheers ripple through the room as I bury my face into Brooks’s arm. I’m going to kill her later.
Brooks leans down and whispers, “You were the sexiest thief ever.”
“Right?” she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air dramatically as the crowd roars in laughter. “For a second there, I was afraid I was going to jail for being an accomplice.” She pauses, waiting for the room to settle before continuing, “But then he told her ‘Gray was his favorite color,’ and she didn’t throw his drink in his own face. That’s when it became clear he was a keeper.”
The cheers shift to a chorus of “aww.”
“And apparently, she thought so too, because next thing I know, my girl decides she doesn’t just want his coffee, she wants his last name.”
I gasp, swatting at her leg as I burst out into laughter. “That was his idea,” I protest, my cheeks flaming as the room erupts.
“But people … don’t try this at home. Because I did . Yep, I tried to steal a hot guy’s coffee. I thought maybe this was the new way to meet a man, you know, like Tinder, but with caffeine.” She shakes her head dramatically. “Nope. All it got me was banned from the coffee shop for a year.”
I tilt my head. Huh? Is that why she always says no when I mention Brewed Awakening? I giggle just imagining her trying it.
“But with love, sometimes you can’t see what’s in front of you. You need a little help.” She picks up an envelope that I didn’t notice was there earlier. “Jump ahead to the first court date, and the judge told Gray that he received two letters, pleading with him not to grant the annulment. Let’s just say they worked.”
I had totally forgotten about those.
“Um? What is she talking about?” Brooks asks, glancing at me with a raised brow.
Oh, guess I forgot to tell him, too.
“Gray’s mom thought this would be a great time to share them.” She pulls out two letters from the envelope and waves them in the air. “We’ll let the person who wrote this do the honors.” Flashing a wide grin, she holds it up in the air. The DJ plays a drumroll as Brooks and I exchange a puzzled glance, scanning the room.
Suddenly, Presley jumps up in her chair beside Brooks. He reaches for her to steady her. Wait. Presley wrote a letter ? How? I glance at Brooks, and he looks equally stunned as he stares at his daughter. She giggles. Charli, grinning from ear to ear, strides over and hands her the letter and mic.
“It was me,” she squeals into the mic. Claps and cheers ring out.
Charli gestures to the crowd to quiet as she stands behind Presley, placing a steady hand on her hip. “Remember, keep it close to your mouth,” she whispers to her.
Presley nods excitedly as she opens the letter. Tears already gather in the corner of my eyes, watching her. I lean my head on Brooks’s shoulder.
“I want to thank Aunt Jade for helping me,” she starts and points to Jade at the front table. Jade blows her a kiss back. “Dear Judge, thank you for taking my letter. You will see my daddy soon. His name is Brooks Handley. He’s pretend married to Gracyn. Sorry, I don’t know her last name.” Her voice lowers at the last part, getting a laugh from the crowd.
She straightens the paper and continues. “But you don’t know this, I have always wanted a mommy. A mommy to do fun things with me, or a mommy to hug me when she picks me up from school, or a mommy to lie with me when I don’t feel good.”
Brooks sniffles beside me, quickly wiping a tear running down his cheek. It’s useless to fight my own tears as they stream down.
“I want a mommy like Gracyn. She helped me find my doggy, and she’s really nice, and she likes to dance. I really like her, and so does my dad. He gets this weird smile when he talks about her. That’s how I know. Please don’t let them get an—” She hesitates and looks back at Charli over her shoulder.
“A-nul-ment,” Charlie pronounces in her ear.
“Annulment,” she repeats slowly. “You can even tell Santa, because I’m sure you know him, he doesn’t need to get me any presents this year if you let me have Gracyn as a mommy. Love, your new best friend, Presley.”
The room erupts in soft laughter, sniffles, and applause, but all I can focus on is Brooks pulling Presley into his arms, holding her tight. She turns and throws her arm around my neck, drawing me into a tight hug.
“I love you, sweet girl,” I cry, my voice cracking. “Thank you for accepting me into your family.”
“I love you, Gray,” she cries with us. She started calling me Gray because that’s what all my friends called me, and I love it.
“I should’ve let the other person go first.” Charli chuckles, dabbing under her eyes. She hands me a tissue, and I blot my tear-streaked face.
We let go of Presley and sit back down. She nestles in between Brooks’s legs as we watch Charli wave the next letter in the air. “I’d hate to be the person to follow that,” she teases. “But, I guess I’ll have to.”
My eyes widen, and I slap her legs again. “Charli!” She acted so surprised in court when the judge announced he wouldn’t grant us an annulment. And she was partly to blame.
“Yeah, yeah, it was me. Unfortunately, mine is not as good as Presley’s, but here it goes.” She clears her throat. “Dear Sexy Judge, do you really wear nothing under your robe?”
Oh. My. God. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle my loud laugh.
“I’m kidding. I did not write that, but you all know damn well we’ve all wondered.” She takes a breath, controlling her laughter. “All right. For real this time. Dear Judge. This is probably one of the weirdest letters you’ve ever received for an annulment case. But please hang in there with me. This is about our friends Gracyn and Brooks Handley.
“You know the moments when you make impulsive choices like eating gas station sushi or, I don’t know, getting married to a guy after a few shots of tequila? Yeah, we’ve all been there. At first, I thought this was one of those moments. But then something unexpected happened.
“Gracyn’s smile got brighter like she was suddenly living in a toothpaste commercial. And despite her extensive lists of reasons why it wouldn’t work (some valid, some questionable), you could tell her heart and head were in an epic tug-of-war. She can deny it all she wants, but she’s falling for him.
“I know what you’re thinking, why can’t they keep dating after the annulment? Sigh. Because Gracyn is stubborn. You’re familiar with her! She’ll see the annulment as this cosmic sign that they weren’t meant to be. Meanwhile, Brooks’s ego will take a big hit, and the next thing, they’ll both be miserable, second-guessing everything, and stuck wondering, ‘What if the judge hadn’t given us an annulment?’ for the rest of their lives.
“So please, Judge, give them the time they need to see what the rest of us already figured out. That this isn’t just a drunken mistake, it’s the first chapter of their love story.
“And if it doesn’t work out, then we did the best that we could. But honestly?”
She pauses, glancing down at me with a soft smile as tears spill freely from both our eyes.
“I’m betting on these two,” she says, folding the letter.
I jump up and pull her into my arms. “I love you! Thank you. You are the bestest friend on this earth.”
Brooks gives her a hug next and whispers something in her ear that I didn’t catch over all the applause. She blots her tears again and holds the mic to her mouth.
“And here we are, full circle. You’re welcome to the best two people here.” She holds her flute up high. “Here’s to years of happiness and endless cups of coffee.”
When I look at Brooks, an overwhelming wave of love hits me. I was stupid to not see what was right in front of me. He winks at me, and in a heartbeat, his hand wraps around my neck, pulling me into a kiss that’s all fire and feeling—raw and passionate.
As someone shouts, “Get a room,” we break apart, laughing and breathless.
He rests his forehead against mine. “ My wife . I love you,” he whispers. “Are you ready for chapter two of our wedded chaos?”
I smile, rubbing my thumb across his bottom lip, wiping off the gloss. “I’m ready for forever.”