Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
Fiona finishedoff the birthday coffee Stella had brought her and reviewed her calendar. She’d tried to take the whole day off, but a couple people had snuck on the schedule earlier that week. Not that she minded; it distracted her from the huge party Porter was throwing her at Hearth that night. He’d gotten her friends involved too, which had led to weeks of questions about flowers, playlists and dress colors.
Fiona had insisted on a casual dinner out, but Porter, Stella and Cassie insisted that she do something more for her thirtieth birthday.
“Cass is picking up the dresses for the clients,” Stella said, arranging her makeup for their first client. “And we should be done with plenty of time to primp.”
They heard a loud pop in the hallway, followed by swearing. Stella ran to the door and opened it for a very flustered Cassie.
“Birthday pastries,” she said, setting the box on a table. “And two balloons, plus the two that popped when I was coming up the stairs.”
Fiona wrapped both of her friends in a suffocating hug. “You guys are insane, and I love you. You’re doing way too much.”
They heard the door open downstairs.
“Oh good, our client is here,” Stella said, and stood by the door to greet their guest.
When she arrived, Fiona nearly fell to the floor.
“Mom?”
“Happy birthday!” her mom said, beaming.
Fiona hugged her, looking to her friends for any answers.
“How did you – when did — “
She trailed off, trying to piece it all together.
“You’re our client this morning?”
“I hope so,” her mother said, touching her hair. “My hair is still a mess from the airplane. Stella promised you all would make me look beautiful for the party tonight.”
Fiona shook her head, laughing.
“Was this your idea?” she asked Stella.
“I can’t take credit for it,” she said, smiling warmly. “It was all Porter.”
“I’m so excited to meet him in person, finally,” her mother said.
“You can start here, Angela,” Stella said, motioning to her chair. “I have an amazing hydrating mask that I use every time I fly.”
“Unbelievable,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “I’m not normally too easy to surprise.”
“We are masterminds, so it wasn’t too hard,” Cassie said.
“Finn wanted to come,” Angela told Fiona. “But he’s got finals.”
“We’re seeing him in two weeks for his graduation anyway,” Fiona said. She and Porter had booked their tickets months ago to go back to Illinois for her brother’s graduation. She wasn’t sure if Porter was more nervous to meet her brother, her dad or her crotchety old grandmother, but she couldn’t wait for everyone to meet him.
The door opened again, and Fiona let out an ear-piercing shriek.
“Norm?”
“Surprise!” he said, holding out his arms.
She ran over to him, nearly toppling him in the process.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
She’d seen her former boss a couple times since he’d moved out to California, but it was never long enough.
“You didn’t really think we were going to make you work on your birthday, did you?” Cassie asked.
Fiona looked at her friends, tears in her eyes. “I’m the second client?”
“You sure are, FiFi Newson.”
At Cassie’s comment, Stella shot her a glare. “FiFi Newson, Cassie? I said to make it a believable fake name on the schedule.”
“It’s the best I could do at the time,” Cassie said, and returned to unpacking dresses.
Fiona was showered with gifts, champagne and snacks as her friends got her ready for her party. She was certain that hearing all of their laughter in their very own space was the best sound she’d ever heard.
Cassie had stuck to black for Fiona’s dress, but it had some iridescent shimmer that looked indigo, violent or burgundy, depending on the lighting.
Stella opted for Fiona’s standard cat eye liner, but added lashes and highlighter for an extra pop.
And Norm worked his magic with his signature blowout, which made Fiona truly feel like a supermodel.
“You are all ridiculous,” she said, admiring her and her mother’s looks in the full length mirror. “And I love you so much for doing all of this.”
She and her mother caught up while her friends got ready, and before she knew it, it was time to head down to the party.
Porter had been very tight-lipped about everything, but Fiona knew he had enlisted Jen Thompson’s help for the party, so she knew it was going to be fabulous.
Once they were downstairs and about to walk in the front door, Cassie stopped Fiona.
“You actually need to go to the lounge,” she said with a wink, and pointed to the lounge’s front door.
“Why?” Fiona asked, but she obeyed anyway.
The large black curtains that hung on the side of the lounge had been pulled across the windows and in front of the door, so Fiona had to step in through them.
It was dark inside, but as her eyes adjusted she saw several candles framing a path to the end of the room, and flower petals on the floor.
There, at the end of the path, was Porter, looking very Bond-esque in his tux.
“Porter, what the hell?” was the first thing she managed to say, even as tears filled her eyes. “You are setting the bar way too high for future birthdays, I hope you know that.”
“I hope so,” he said, and got down on one knee.
Fiona gasped. They’d talked about marriage plenty of times. She knew he was going to propose eventually. But seeing him there, and knowing it was happening for real, filled her with a sense of such overwhelming joy that she wondered if she might pass out.
“Fiona Amelia Newton, will you marry me?” He presented a ring with a solitaire diamond flanked by smaller black diamonds, and Fiona knew it was stunning even through the tears in her eyes.
“Of course I will,” she said, fully blubbering as he slid the ring on her finger. He stood, and wrapped her in the safest, most satisfying hug of her entire life, before wiping her tears and kissing her senseless.
“So, this party…” she said, sniffling.
“It’s part birthday party, part engagement party,” he said, grinning. “I was feeling confident.”
Fiona laughed, and took his hand, and together they walked into a room of cheering people who had become their family.
***
Thank you so much for reading Smitten in Savannah!