Epilogue
Hudson
The night of the fundraiser, I find myself in my tuxedo, watching while Bri works the room like the pro she is. I don’t know whether to be more proud or grateful that she’s put her talents to use to make my dream come true. I don’t deserve her, but I’m not letting her go.
Sliding my hand into my front pants pocket, I touch the ring I’d gotten from my grandmother when I turned twenty-one.
My parents may be assholes, but my grandparents had been the best, and my grandmother had wanted me to give her ring to the woman I love.
It had sat in a safe deposit box for years. Until Bri.
She’d talked Nick Dare, the entrepreneur Dare and her cousin on her biological father Paul’s side, into donating his Miami hotel ballroom for the event.
The space is filled with the Who’s Who of Miami and other parts of the country, athletes Bri represents, actors and rock stars who are somehow related to the Dare family, and friends and colleagues of theirs.
The list went on of people all willing to shell out big money for large-ticket items and who had already paid a hefty per-plate fee.
She glides around the room in her cobalt-blue dress—I know this after making the mistake of calling it navy blue—making effortless conversation with everyone invited, thanking them for their generosity.
Every once in a while, I catch up with her and pull her into the hallway for a few moments alone.
Like now.
I need a minute with her before I make a spectacle of myself in front of the famous people in this crowd. Since the men who have her attention are her siblings, I hook an arm around her waist.
“Gentlemen, I’m stealing your sister for a few minutes.” I have already asked their permission to marry her—more like I told them I intend to do so—seeing as how they are the males in her life, and I don’t want another black eye by springing the news on them in front of a crowd.
Without waiting for a reply, I pull her away from her family and lead her out the ballroom doors, finding a corner in the front of the event hall and backing her against a wall.
“Have I thanked you yet?” I ask, my hands on her hips.
She treats me to a radiant smile. “Only a half dozen times. You don’t need to thank me. We do things for people we love.”
She links her arms around my neck and rubs her body against me, making me wish I can kiss that red lipstick off her lips, hike up her dress, and bury myself inside her, but I’ll have to put that off until we are alone tonight.
“I love you, too. You have no idea how much.” My voice sounds gruff to my ears.
At my pronouncement, her eyes glitter with happiness.
A state of being I’ve become familiar with since she managed to put my fuckup behind her and everything has been picture-perfect between us since.
“The good news is we are going to net enough money from this event, added with Braden’s, for you both to begin renovations on the clinic and purchase new equipment.”
“This is everything. I didn’t know I had a need to give back until Doctors Without Borders and then working at that run-down clinic. But it fills a need deep inside me. And so do you.”
The ring feels heavy in my pocket, which is ridiculous, but the knowledge of what I am about to do has me worked up, and I glance at my watch. “We need to get back to the ballroom. I have an announcement to make.”
She narrows her gaze. “What kind of an announcement?”
“A surprise one. Now let’s go.” Hand in hand, we stride back into the ballroom.
* * *
Brianne
I walk with Hudson as he leads us to the front near the deejay and emcee hired for the night. Within a few seconds, the music comes to a stop, which causes confused murmurs around the room.
“As you all know, we are here to raise money for a worthy cause. The Prescott Northfield Health Clinic,” the emcee begins, and the crowd claps in approval. “You’ve all had an opportunity to place your bids on the items laid out in our smaller room next to this one.”
I went through this with the party planner I hired and had walked the room earlier tonight.
Some items, such as signed football jerseys, helmets, baseballs, and the like, are visible in a protective case, while things like vacations are listed on a propped sign so people can look over their options and decide what they want to bid on.
There are also printed brochures on each seat at tables of ten.
The emcee continues his explanation. “You’ve been assigned paddles, and bidding will begin at ten p.m. Now, before I let you return to your evening and the delicious meal to follow, Hudson Northfield would like to say a few words.”
As Hudson makes his way to the podium, I clap along with the rest of the guests, surprised when my family surround me. I glance around me to see my mother and a man she’s just started dating along with my brothers and all of their wives.
I’d known they were in attendance, but why are they crowding me now? “What’s going on?” I ask.
Before anyone answers me, Hudson begins to speak.
“Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight. Braden and I appreciate the generosity you’ve shown for a project that is very close to our hearts.
There’s nothing better in life than giving back and helping others.
You are all enabling us to do that, and you have our eternal gratitude. ”
During the clapping that follows, I turn to my twin. “I can’t believe you let him have the spotlight all to himself.”
He shakes his head and grins. “Shhh,” he says, and I pivot back to face the stage.
I look up at Hudson, so handsome in his tuxedo. He takes my breath away, and he is all mine. I learned a hard lesson about listening in, jumping to conclusions, and not trusting my heart.
“Tonight wouldn’t have been possible without one person,” he says, and my face begins to heat because I know he is referring to me.
“You all know her because she’s probably called you, badgered you, begged, and pleaded to pull this fundraiser together in a short time.
Brianne, would you join me?” He extends his arm and gestures for me to come.
Amidst the clapping, I walk to the three steps leading up to the makeshift podium, lifting my dress as I make my way to Braden. I am used to behind-the-scenes work, and being the center of attention isn’t my thing, but I smile at the applause.
“Okay, so now for the big event of the evening, at least for me,” Hudson says.
I hear ripples of laughter, but I’m not sure where they are coming from or what is going on.
His gaze on mine, his expression completely open, love in his eyes, he says, “Sometimes in life, the unexpected happens, and you meet someone who completes you.”
He takes my hand in his, and my heart begins to pound rapidly in my chest. Why, I don’t know, but I have the sense something monumental is about to happen and swallow hard.
“You’re lucky in that you know what family means and how important it is to have in your life. I didn’t know what that was like until I met you.”
When he slips his other hand, the one not holding mine, into his pocket, I begin to tremble, and when he pulls out a solitaire diamond ring, my eyes open wide.
Then he drops down on one knee. “Brianne Prescott, will you marry me and officially become my family?”
“Say yes!” someone shouts from the crowd.
Laughing, smiling, and crying at the same time, I nod. “Yes. Yes! I’ll marry you.”
More applause sounds around us as he slips the ring on my finger and rises to his feet. Next thing I know, he pulls me into his arms and his lips come down hard on mine. I may have given him a family, but in him I’ve found home.
Thanks for reading Dare Nation!