Epilogue
The next autumn
If she was honest with herself, Maggie had never really liked weddings.
She’d been to a handful in the last five years: mostly friends from college.
None of her closest circle of girlfriends was married yet.
This might make today’s wedding the first where she was really, deeply invested in the couple.
That was the only logical explanation for why, when Andrew promised to commit his life to Zane, she teared up from her spot on the white folding chair in the third row.
It also explained why she kept getting a lump in her throat at the sight of Blake standing up there as Andrew’s best man, dapper as can be in a charcoal-gray suit, grinning ridiculously.
It could be the environment, too: the boutique hotel on the North Shore, the grassy lawn overlooking the ocean, framed by trees resplendent with color.
Or maybe it was the joy: the happy grooms sharing their first kiss as a married couple, the tangible celebration of love surrounded by one’s family and friends.
She couldn’t help but get emotional, and she decided to forgive herself for it.
The year had been better than she’d expected in many ways, honestly.
She could afford to get a bit sappy on occasion.
Not only was her relationship with Blake thriving, but they’d both had professional success as well.
She had several editing gigs in the pipeline and had written for a few new outlets, and Blake had closed several record-breaking quarters at PlantSeed.
Cora was still with Vanessa and still working too hard at the medical research lab, but Maggie liked seeing her sister doing what she loved.
Best of all, her parents’ estate had been cleared of any wrongdoing, and apparently there hadn’t even been grounds for an investigation in the first place.
It looked like Chauvel had tried (unsuccessfully) to orchestrate the whole thing, but fortunately, they hadn’t seen or heard anything from him since that night at the restaurant.
The wedding of Andrew and Zane seemed like a perfect capstone to her first year with Blake, and if it made her think of the future, well, that was only natural.
Her thoughts turned in that direction when they left the reception that evening, after the dinner and drinks and dancing wound down, and she wrapped her arm with Blake’s as they walked into the cold October night.
They were far enough from the city to let the night get properly dark.
With a million stars overhead, it was easy to lose herself in the larger questions she usually set aside in favor of the here and now.
She stared up into the inky darkness, letting Blake guide her on the short walk from the reception hall to the hotel building.
“You’re deep in thought tonight.” He nuzzled her hair and dropped a kiss in the dark brown waves. “It isn’t like you to go silent.”
“Mmm.” Maggie made a quiet noise of assent and leaned into him. “Just thinking about today. About Andrew and Zane.”
“It was a great wedding.” Blake wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?”
“I’m fine.” She had a wrap, and after the heat of the reception, it was nice to be a bit chilly.
“Well, you’re about to be better than fine. I have a surprise for you.” He fished in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped through to a video of a local reporter standing in downtown Boston, clearly recorded earlier that day. He hit play and turned up the volume so they could hear.
“—outside the offices of Chauvel Enterprises, where federal investigators have announced the indictment of Arnold Chauvel, Boston media mogul.”
Maggie grabbed his arm. “What?”
“Watch.” Blake gestured.
The reporter continued. “The investigation has apparently been proceeding quietly for several months, but enough evidence has been found to indict. Charges include money laundering, tax evasion, and racketeering. This isn’t the first time Chauvel has faced scrutiny, but unlike previous accusations, these charges have the might of the federal government behind them.
According to the prosecuting team, an anonymous source close to Chauvel has turned over records of documents dating back to Chauvel’s father, the late Victor Chauvel, indicating a legacy of questionable business dealings. ”
Maggie stared, watching as the tiny screen flicked through images of Chauvel and his father, as the reporter continued to talk about the investigation. Finally, the video ended, and Blake put his phone away. “I just found out about it. Thought it might cap off the night.”
“Holy shit.” Her mind reeled. She’d thought Chauvel had given up.
This was much better.
“Chauvel said he always gets out of these things. Maybe he got too cocky.”
Blake nodded. “Whoever that anonymous source was, it sounds like they got him good.”
Maggie thought of Giselda’s email and her promise that Chauvel would get what was coming to him. “Sounds like that, indeed.” She grinned. “That seals it, then. Best wedding ever.”
He squeezed her closer. “It’s the company, obviously. I’m a delight.”
She rolled her eyes, but he got a chuckle out of her. “Well, obviously.”
She let herself get quiet again, trying to formulate her thoughts. “I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it myself, I think. The whole marriage thing.”
His eyebrows went up. “You wouldn’t?”
“No, I wouldn’t.” She gave him a smile. “If I found the right man, of course.”
He used his grip on her waist to pull her flush against him, tugging them further off the path, into the shadows. “Oh, is that so?”
Maggie draped her arms over Blake’s shoulders.
“Mm-hmm. He’d have to be very sexy. And smart.
And I would want him to be committed to doing charitable work, too, something to make his community better.
Oh! And incredibly patient, because I have it on good authority that I can be a huge pain in the ass. ”
“I don’t know about that.” He grinned more broadly, playing along. “I’d say no more than a moderately sized pain in the ass.”
“You’re too kind.” She slid her fingers into his hair. “Also, he’d have to be a total freak in bed.”
“That’s quite a list.” He dipped his head down to kiss her, a light, teasing kiss meant to entice rather than satisfy, and slid a hand down to cup her ass and bring her closer against him. “Where do you think you’ll find somebody like that?”
She scratched his scalp with her nails. “I’m not sure. But if you know anybody, maybe you could send him my way.”
Blake smiled against her mouth. “I’m sure I can find somebody.” He kissed her sweetly, softly, like she might dissolve any moment, and her heart could burst from the tenderness.
She brushed her nose against his. “I love you.” She had said it before, probably hundreds of times by now, but she would never get tired of seeing his eyes crinkle in happiness each time.
His expression was open and honest and incredibly kind.
“I love you too.” He cupped her face in his hands and studied her in the dim light, like he was memorizing her features.
“I love all of you. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you.
” His lips parted and he hesitated for only a moment before adding, “I’ll love you forever if you’ll have me. ”
Maggie smiled, all the happy emotions rolling through her one after another. “Yes.” She nodded. “I’d like that.” Then she paused. “But this better not be a proposal.”
“This?” He shook his head. “Of course not. There’s no flash mob, no skywriter, no embarrassingly public display in front of thousands of strangers.”
Maggie couldn’t help laughing. “I’d murder you.”
“I know.” Blake returned her grin, dropping his hands to her waist. “But trust me. When I propose, you’ll know it’s a proposal.”
Maggie pursed her lips. “When? Not if?”
“Of course, when.” He had that inscrutable grin on his face that he always wore when he was teasing her, but that she’d learned was often more than teasing. “You think I’ve been living with you a whole year and haven’t been plotting about spending the rest of my life with you?”
Maggie stepped back, her heart quickening, suddenly dizzy. “Be serious. Are you serious? Because you shouldn’t joke about these things.”
“I would never joke about something like that.” Blake’s smile didn’t waver. He wore that confident calmness she’d come to know as the intersection between Blake and the Scarlet Pimpernel. He was talking about spending forever with her, and she knew he wasn’t lying.
She loved him so much.
And, fuck, she wanted him.
She pulled him against her by the lapels of his coat, stepping back into the shadows and dragging his lips to hers.
He went willingly and kissed her deeply, his lips parting hers immediately and sending a shiver of hunger down her spine.
It was a kiss that had no place occurring in public, and the heat between them took her breath away as fast as the careful, methodical play of his tongue over hers.
They broke apart at the sound of more people walking from the reception, the final stragglers making their way back to the hotel, laughing and talking, voices echoing through the night.
She struggled to catch her breath, her nerves already singing for more.
Blake caught her chin and brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “Do you have our room key?”
Maggie nodded.
His eyes flashed with something dark and wicked, the look she now knew and loved.
It had taken months for her to get used to the dichotomy between the two versions of this man she’d thought she knew, and now, she understood the delicate overlap between his generous, compassionate spirit and his mischievous, sadistic inclinations.
She understood the difference between being kind and being nice, and oh, she loved it very much when he wasn’t nice.
“I packed a few things.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “There’s a black zip-up bag inside my suitcase.”
“Oh, is there?” Her heart was still racing. “Do I get to know what’s in there?”
“You certainly do.” He turned her hands palm side up and kissed the inside of her wrists. “Because I’m going to go to the bar for a nightcap, and you’re going to prepare yourself for me. I expect you to use everything in the bag.”
Maggie’s knees went weak, her mouth making an oh shape where no sound came out.
Blake checked his watch. “I think twenty minutes should be long enough.”
“Twenty minutes.” She looked at the time on his watch.
He held out his arm to her, leading her out of the shadows and around to the front of the hotel. “I’ll walk you inside.”
Later that night, relaxing with Maggie in the oversized bath, Blake felt completely at ease.
He would never get enough of his woman. A year ago, he would never have dreamed he could have all this: the beautiful simplicity of their day-to-day life and the erotic gift of her submission.
He’d never have known what a great team they’d make, and he was grateful to have found out.
“Did you mean what you said earlier?” Maggie asked after a long stretch of comfortable silence.
“When I told you I didn’t care whether or not you come?” He kissed the top of her head. “I have a slight preference toward you coming, but I do also enjoy torturing you for days on end sometimes.”
“Yes, I remember.” Maggie turned in the water to look him in the eyes. “No, earlier than that. I meant the part about you wanting to marry me.”
Blake had been thinking about marrying her from their first months together, back when everything was new and they were still finding their way.
He had known back then. He still knew now.
At some point in the near future, she would come home and find a ring waiting for her on a miniature rose plant.
After all, houseplants were a gift that showed you trusted someone to take care of something.
Like his heart. Like their future.
He brushed a lock of her hair back behind her ear. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”
She nodded. “Good. Because I’ll probably say yes.”
“Probably?” He drew back with mock affront.
Maggie shrugged and gave him a grin. “I can’t take away all the uncertainty, can I? Where’s the fun in that?”
Blake laughed. He loved this woman with all his heart. “I hope you always keep me guessing.”