Epilogue
Conor tapped the golf ball into the putting cup and raised the club as if he’d just won the British Open.
I clapped and whistled through my teeth. “Huzzah! What a shot!”
He balanced the club on one shoulder. “You’re taking the piss, aren’t ya, Nollaig?”
“Me? Never.” I patted my chest. “I’m your biggest fangirl.”
He propped his club against the small stone wall that ringed his property and dropped into the chair next to me.
“You’re going to have stiff competition for that role once you get our reunion tour on the road.”
“If I get your reunion tour on the road.” I picked up my glass of lemonade and surveyed the rolling green lawn that Conor called a backyard for his country home in lush County Wicklow, south of Dublin. “Jay still hasn’t made a decision, and there’s no Five2Go without Javeed Patel—you all agreed.”
“That we did, and we stand by it.”
I hunched forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “You guys decided on your band, right? Rhys Bevan made the cut?”
“Absolutely. Everyone agreed on that one—even if he did put Jade up to releasing those photos.”
“I made my peace with Jade. She didn’t know what she was unleashing. She’s still dancing though, and I think both she and Tomo landed the gig on Ariana’s tour.”
“If Five2Go used dancers, maybe we’d hire them.”
I giggled. “You guys always did your own dancing, as crazy as it was, although Sam and IP have gotten better. But you, Charlie, and Jay are as hopeless as ever.”
“Hey, I’ve got my moves.” He stretched out his leg and tickled my calf with his toes. “But even if we don’t launch this tour, your company is off to a great start with Ji-yoon as your first client.”
“I know, but she’s on strict rest right now. The talk you had with her really helped her set some boundaries with her manager. She’s going to be a superstar—just wait.”
“With Martine Media overseeing her career, I have no doubt.”
I kicked my feet in front of me, my skirt fluttering around my legs. “A year ago, I couldn’t imagine sitting here planning strategy for my own clients instead of thinking up goofy PR stunts to satisfy Dina.
“Feels good, yeah?” Conor held his glass of water in front of him and tipped it from side to side. “Does your dad know about your company?”
“He does. Of course, he tried to give me advice about how to run it and tried to talk me out of selling my shares of Baker Street to finance it.”
“Of course, he did. Do you...forgive him?”
“I forgave him—let him take me out to dinner at one of those five-star restaurants in Paris after you left.” I stared at the emerald-green landscape. “But I’ll never forget what he did, Con.”
“We won’t forget. We won’t forget what we almost lost.” He scratched his chin. “I did forgive Louise, though, for both of us.”
“If she hadn’t answered my DM’s and texted you clues as anonymous, we probably wouldn’t have figured everything out. It wasn’t her fault.”
“Speaking of the blame game...” Conor tapped his phone on the arm of his chair “...did you see the latest about Ashley?”
I clasped my hands between my knees and nodded. “She’s now claiming vocal fatigue and taking steps to rejuvenate her voice. Heard she hired someone out in LA who Charlie used.”
Conor sputtered, spewing water out of his mouth. “Yeah, that woman’s a quack. That’s why Charlie sent her there.”
“Charlie is naughty, but I was happy to find out that Ashley is finally admitting the truth. And guess what?”
“She’s getting her fans’ sympathy...” Conor wiped his mouth on his arm “...she’s spinning it like burnout now. PR machine still in full effect.”
“She’ll always land on her feet. She’s also apparently getting back together with Nico Ferrari.”
“Another second chance romance.” Conor patted his thigh. “What are you doing way over there when you can be here in my lap?”
“I thought you were going to chip a few balls?”
He quirked his eyebrows up and down. “The only balls...”
I held up a hand. “Stop right there.”
I put down my glass and sauntered toward his chair, running my toes through the grass. Then I settled into his lap, curled my arms around his neck, and kissed him.
“And how do you think this second-chance romance is working out?”
He hugged me close. “Never been happier, but let’s not try for a third chance...I don’t wanna have to get another tattoo if this one doesn’t work out.”
“Nobody and nothing will ever come between us again, Con.”
He clamped me against his body as he stood up from his chair. “Where’s a bloody tour bus when ya need one?”