Epilogue
One year later…
Randi still sometimes caught herself standing in the middle of it all. Sunlight glinted off the water and laughter echoed across the park
And now it was two worlds wide.
TimeOff had grown beyond anything she could have imagined back when she was sketching out plans in Tampa.
Her visions now stretched not only across Florida but across the Iskara Northlands where strategically placed indoor resorts now rose like warm, glittering sanctuaries against the cold edges of a very different landscape.
What had once been Florida waterparks had become something bigger that bridged worlds, just like she had.
And today, standing at the edge of the original Tampa location where she had met Chance, the one that started it all, she felt that full-circle moment settle into her bones.
Sven and Bryn were floating down the lazy river while their infant floated between them in a special raft designed especially for little ones. While they missed their home, they were soaking up the Florida sunshine without many complaints.
The park was alive with energy, far more than usual.
This wasn’t just another day of guests and attractions.
It was a charity event, one that had drawn crowds, donors, and families from everywhere, all gathered to support children escaping domestic violence.
The goal was to give them something safe and joyful that felt like a beginning instead of an aftermath.
She waved as Josh walked by with his arm around Marissa. They had broken the news of their budding romance when TimeOff threw a surprise engagement party for them when they returned from Noriveille.
Celia had been promoted to general manager of the Tampa office since Chance would be spending most of his time in the Northlands.
For the time being, they had put a hold on buying anything new until things found their new normal.
It gave their dedicated staff time to bolster the parks that they already owned.
Randi adjusted the light fabric of her outfit and her gaze swept over the crowd with quiet satisfaction as she took in the details. Some of the volunteers were guiding kids toward rides and there was laughter bubbling up from the lazy river.
“This is your doing, you know,” a familiar voice said behind her.
She didn’t turn right away, a smile already tugging at her lips. “Pretty sure I had some help.”
Chance stepped into view beside her. He was dressed in the same board shorts and T-shirt that had made him look far less like a corporate executive and more like a tourist, neither of which looked like a dragon-shifting king.
He had been playing the role all morning, blending into the operations side of things in a way that would have been almost convincing if she didn’t know him as well as she did.
Almost.
“You built this community,” he said, his tone quieter now, more sincere as his gaze followed hers across the park. “All of it.”
“I think you hit your head on the mountain because you bought this park long before our little adventure.”
“I bought the park. You brought the people and made it what it is now.”
Randi glanced at him and her expression softened. “I started this event,” she corrected. “It became this because people believed in it.”
“People believed in you,” he said.
She held his gaze for a moment. “Careful,” she teased. “You keep sweet talking to me like that and we’re going to skip the event and head to the nearest bedroom.”
“Don’t make promises you’re not willing to keep.”
She laughed. “But, I guess you are right. People think I’m the one in charge anyways when you dress like that.”
Chance smiled. “I thought I was doing a good job blending in.”
“You were, just like the day you first allowed me to misidentify you and gave me a hard time.”
“Old habits.”
“Dangerous ones,” she murmured.
There was a pause, comfortable and easy, the kind that came from a year of building something together. Not just a kingdom or a business, but a life that somehow held both without breaking under the weight of either.
“And yet,” Randi added, her tone shifting as something more playful sparked in her eyes, “you still look entirely too composed for a man standing next to a wave pool.”
Chance’s brow lifted slightly. “Should I not stand here?”
“Oh, you absolutely should not.”
And before he could question that or even react, she shoved him hard enough that it caught him off guard.
There was nothing but surprise on his face as he stumbled backward and then disappeared into the wave pool with a splash that sent water surging outward and a ripple of startled laughter through the crowd nearby.
Randi crossed her arms, entirely pleased with herself. She knew there would be retribution but for the moment, she took the victory.
Chance surfaced and pushed wet hair back from his face as water streamed down his shoulders. His expression was caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement.
“You did not just do that,” he said.
Randi grinned. “Oh, I absolutely did.”
“I’m feeling history repeat itself again.”
“Except this time, I didn’t go down with you.”
Chance tilted his head and studied her in a way that made something in her stomach flip. Then he smiled, and that was her only warning.
Too late.
He moved fast and water surged as he reached the edge. His hand caught her wrist before she could even think about stepping back.
“Chance, don’t! I’m not dressed for swimming like you are.”
He pulled and suddenly she was falling. The world tipped sideways and then water crashed around her as she hit the pool. The shock of it stole her breath for half a second before she surfaced. She wiped the water from her face just in time to see him right there in front of her.
“You were saying?” he asked, his voice threaded with something that made her pulse jump.
Randi opened her mouth, fully prepared to fire back, but she didn’t get the chance.
His hand slid to her waist, pulling her in as his mouth found hers in a kiss that was anything but careful. It was the kind of kiss that didn’t ask permission because it already knew the answer.
The world around them faded, not completely because there were still distant sounds, still movement, still the splash of water and the echo of laughter. But none of it mattered in the way it had seconds before.
Because this was real. This was theirs.
And when she leaned into it and let herself meet him with the same fire, it wasn’t just about the moment. It was about everything that had led them there.
He was a dragon king and a waterpark corporate executive. Two lives that should have never fit together, and yet here they were, somehow working.
And, as she smiled against his lips, she knew without question that she had never once made the wrong choice.
Life had a way of working out, and they had made it happen.
THE END