EPILOGUE
Six Months Later.
I’d never been more nervous in my whole life.
My entire adult life was spent in boardrooms, taking meetings with countless people, and selling my business to complete strangers.
None of that ever scared me.
But what I was about to do scared the absolute shit out of me.
“You look like you’re going to vomit,” Noah said. “Doesn’t he look like he is going to vomit?”
Olivier nodded his head. “Most definitely.”
“Do you want me to grab you a paper bag to be sick into?” Noah barely hid his teasing tone.
“Or we can find a trash can and leave it beside you?” Olivier chuckled.
“Fuck the both of you.” I pulled the black bow tie looser. Was it just me, or was it getting hotter? “Go away and make yourselves useful elsewhere.”
Both of them laughed and busied themselves by talking to the others in their seats.
Checking my watch for the sixth time in five minutes, the blood pumping around me started to bubble. The usual crawling sensation settled along my skin, and the only thing I was able to focus on was the heavy thud of my heart in my ears.
What if she wasn’t happy?
What if she saw what I had done and ran away?
The last six months with Evelyn were perfect. We took our time resurfacing the foundations of our relationship, discovering new things about each other, and letting Evelyn learn how to trust me again.
After five months, we moved back in with each other. Not to the house in Tribeca. We wanted a fresh start and bought a three-story townhouse close to Evelyn’s new job.
Which was booming.
Her publishing house was an overnight success, with her first published novel making the New York top ten list within the first week of publication.
She deserved it.
She deserved every good thing that happened to her.
She spent so much of her life putting those before her, ensuring the happiness of others, that she forgot to do the same for herself.
“You’re looking handsome,” Grand-mère’s voice muddled through my deafening heartbeat. “Olivier said you’re feeling nervous?”
I was going to kill my little brother.
My father stood at her side, arms linked to offer the support that she refused to admit she needed. Her recovery was better than anyone could have expected. Though she outright denied it, her mobility wasn’t the same.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “It’s just a bit stuffy in here.”
The gazebo we erected in the gardens was anything but stuffy. The front was wide open while people arrived. Despite it being winter, the weather was surprisingly milder than usual in Monaco.
Grand-mère pursed her lips, hiding a smile. “I’ll get you a glass of water.” She turned to my father. “If you insist on babysitting me everywhere, come along.”
He rolled his eyes with a timid smile.
It was strange seeing him in an attentive role. He was still attempting to make amends with us all and tip-toeing along the line of knowing his own limits with us.
Penny came sprinting into the gazebo, her blonde hair adorned with flowers, and a blush pink dress that she described as a princess dress when we went out to buy it together. Honestly, the kid was smart, she went for the most expensive dress in the shop without realizing.
“She’s coming!” Penny jumped up and down. “She’s outside right now!”
Noah and Olivier jumped into action, settling everyone who had traveled all the way to Monaco to sit down. Standing at the top, I spied Violet and Lola taking a seat right at the front, both of them giving me thumbs up.
It turned out that not only regaining Evelyn’s trust was important.
Her two best friends were harder to impress.
But we got there, after having to buy one of the most expensive pieces in Nirvana Gallery and offering to sponsor Lola at her next competition event.
Flynn joined the women and gave me an awkward wave.
He remained getting help in rehab, and though it wasn’t common for patients to leave the facility, I knew Evelyn would never forgive me for doing this without her brother.
I was still a long way off from forgiving him, but I’d be willing to do whatever to make her happy.
Even going as far as busting her brother out of rehab—temporarily. He was going straight back the next day, private jet and car straight there.
The only person missing was Frederic.
After torturing myself on whether or not to invite him, I caved. He still hadn’t made amends with Evelyn, and despite my protests that he needed to apologize, he refused.
Either he was too ashamed or too stubborn.
Swallowing against the tightness of my shirt collar, I itched to tear the thing off.
Was it a stupid idea? Flying everyone all the way out here when I didn’t have the faintest clue if she even was going to go along with it?
Fuuuccck.
This was a mistake.
I shouldn’t have done it without talking to her.
Everything went silent the second I spotted her in the veranda. Time itself stopped moving. Elliott guided her down the steps, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the gazebo.
She was wearing my favorite floral dress.
My heart stilled. The collar no longer choked as I watched her face light up brighter than a sky full of stars. She squeaked with excitement, waving at all those who came to see her—to see us.
When she finally looked my way, her beauty stole the air from me like always.
She truly was beautiful inside and out.
I was the luckiest man in the world to be able to call her mine.
“Hi,” she said softly. “What’s going on?”
“We didn’t get a whole lot of things right at the start,” I said. “One of those things was that we never got a proper wedding.”
She bit her bottom lip.
“Last Christmas, I told you that I’d never be able to let you go,” my voice croaked. “I meant what I said. I never want to let you go. And if you’ll have me, I want to marry you again surrounded by those who love you most.”
She failed to blink back a tear. “You never fail to surprise me.”
Olivier appeared in my eyeline with a shit-eating grin. He’d become completely unbearable since I asked him to be my best man. You would have thought I gave him a piece of the moon when I asked.
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.
Opening it, a sapphire and pearl encrusted engagement ring sat in the middle alongside a new white-gold wedding band.
New rings for a new start.
“Evelyn,” I cleared my throat. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me again?”
I laughed as she threw her arms around me and landed her lips firmly on mine. “Yes! One hundred times, yes!”
We kissed like our lives were dependent on it.
Pure, hopeful, and filled with nothing but love.
“Hey, lovebirds! You’re meant to wait until you say I do before sucking the face off each other,” Lola joked, causing the guests to laugh.
Laughing mixed with joyful sobs broke us apart, Evelyn wiped away the tears on her cheeks and smiled wider as I slipped the new engagement and wedding ring onto her finger.
We both listened, hand-in-hand to Olivier, who insisted on doing the ceremony. As we were still legally married, we didn’t need it to be official, but I wanted to give her what she missed out on.
All I could do was stare at her.
My wife.
She was my wife.
And I almost lost her.
“I now re-pronounce you man and wife,” Olivier cheered. “Go on and kiss her.”
Lifting her from the ground into my arms, I did just that.
The noise of everyone cheering fell away as she returned my kiss, her hands stroking my face as she giggled against my lips when someone wolf-whistled.
“You know the best part?” she mumbled between kisses. “The best sex is apparently honeymoon sex.”
I chuckled. “Is that so, Mrs. Dade?”
She nodded. “Looks like we’ll be having plenty more sex on the beach, Mr. Dade.”
Holding her in my arms, calling her my wife once more, the rest of the world could have burned to ash around us, and I wouldn’t have cared.
I had everything I ever wanted and needed right here in my arms.