Epilogue
Two Months Later
Elisabetta
“I can’t believe that we are all sitting here, happy in love.” Skye sips her cocktail and looks around the table. “Especially you, Marie.” Skye gives me a knowing look and I try not to giggle. Juniper and Lila exchange glances and we all turn to a blushing Marie.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She sips her water, her eyes wide and innocent. “I am?—.”
“Give it up.” I grab a couple of almonds and give her a look. “You forget that Gabe confided in Liam about his feelings for you.”
“Oh yes.” Marie smiles widely and leans back in her seat. “I guess the cat is out of the bag. Gabe and I are dating and he wants to marry me before I have the baby.”
“So many upcoming weddings.” A feeling of contentment settles in my heart as I think of my own upcoming nuptials. “How fun.”
“Did you and Liam figure out a date yet?” Skye asks, leaning forward, a sparkle in her light eyes. “And is it still in Italy?”
“Yes!” I grab my handbag and pull out a stack of invitations. “In fact, I have the official invites with me.” My heart races as I stare at the cream linen envelopes. “The wedding will be in Florence, so that my mom can attend. I’m not sure if I told everyone, but my father has hired two nurses to work in his home and he’s going to attempt to have my mom live with him.”
“Ooh wow.” Lila’s eyes widen. “What does your stepmom think of that?”
“And Romeo.” Juniper adds.
“Well, Romeo thinks it’s fabulous.” I grin, thinking of my brother. “He has been amazing about everything, considering all of my dads secrets have affected his life as well.”
“And your stepmom?” Lila prods.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you guys?” I take a long gulp of my wine and shake my head. “Turns out she has been sleeping with a D list movie star and they’re about to go on one of those survival reality TV shows in England.” I laugh. “She demanded a couple of million from my dad, which he willingly gave her.” I make a face. “Well, Liam gave it to her, but Liam considers my dad his dad now that we’re going to be married.”
“That is so romantic.” Marie lets out a low sigh. “You guys are perfect for each other.” She rubs her belly. “I want to give my baby the best life.”
“You will.” I say softly. “Gabe loves you with all his heart.”
“I know.” She nods. “I got very lucky. I’ve always loved him and I’m glad he is not jealous I’m carrying another mans child. He has been so great about everything.”
“He is a good man.” Lila rubs Marie’s shoulder. “Max is excited to have him as a brother.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Marie giggles. “He was so mad at first.”
“I know.” Lila grabs her phone. “So Elisabetta, when are you and Liam headed to London?”
“In a few days. We’ll be there for about five weeks. He’s finishing up the Brigade buyout and he has to meet with his new business partners. Plus he wants me to work with some graphic artists on the vision for the resorts he’s invested in. I’m really excited to start to see everything coming to fruition.”
“He really is an amazing businessman.” Juniper looks impressed as she grabs some fries. “Remington was telling me that there were so many billionaires hoping to work with Liam, that he was having to turn people away.”
“I suppose he’s got a good head for business.” I say proudly, thinking of the love of my life. Liam had been willing to lose everything to win my heart and that touched me more than he would ever know. It was a sweet reward that he was actually positioned in a better financial position than he was before. He’d been slightly over leveraged before, but now he was able to step back and not be so financially tied to all the projects he was a part of.
“You’re going to continue working for him then?” Lila asks in surprise. “I thought that now you found out he had a real assistant, you’d step away from his business life.”
“I definitely don’t want to be his assistant, but I am finding that I’m loving the marketing aspect of his business. In fact, I’m thinking about taking some grad school classes to learn a bit more.” I grin. “That is if I don’t get pregnant right away.” I blush slightly. “Liam and I are both thinking we want a large family, so we might get started soon after the wedding.”
“Get started?” Skye raises an eyebrow. “Like you haven’t already started?”
“Ssh!” I laugh out loud. My phone beeps then and I pull it out of my purse. “Talk of the devil, it’s Liam.” I answer the phone quickly. “Hey honey, I’m with the girls. Everything okay?”
“I just wanted to see if you wanted me to make you dinner tonight?”
“Oooh, what are you thinking of making?”
“Lasagna and garlic bread.”
“Uhm, yes please.” My stomach grumbles and I lick my lips. “I’m already hungry, so please make a big lasagna and make the bread cheesy.”
“Will do.” He chuckles. “By the way, your dad called and he said your mom wrote a song for you and she’s looking forward to singing it to you. He said that the doctor okayed a short trip to England, so he’s going to bring her over for a long weekend when we get there.”
“Oh that’s awesome.” My heart jumps for joy. “I’m so happy to hear that.”
“I know. So was I. Anywho, tell the girls I said hello. I know you’re most probably talking up a storm. I’ll let you go now, but I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, I should be home in a couple of hours.”
“I love you, Betta.”
“I love you, Liam.”
“I miss you and can’t wait to hold you in my arms.”
“Miss you, too Liam.”
“I can’t wait to be inside of you tonight.” He lowers his voice. “And maybe we can practice that one move where you?—.”
“I will see you later, Liam.” I giggle. “I have to go. Love you.” I hang up and I notice that all the girls are staring at me with wide grins. “What?” I ask innocently and take another sip of my wine.
“You love that man.” Skye laughs. “Like love love.”
“I do.” I beam. “He may have started off as my grumpy boss, but now he’s the man that holds the key to my heart and I will never let him go.”
Thank you for reading Grumpy Boss of The Year.