Epilogue
Lizzie
Six Months Later
The paint on the sign was still wet. Lizzie stood on the front porch of The Writers Inn and watched Sarah adjust the hanging bracket one more time.
“It’s straight,” Lizzie said.
“It’s crooked on the left.”
“It’s perfect.”
Sarah stepped back and tilted her head. The sign swung gently in the breeze coming off the water. White letters on dark green wood, elegant and simple. The Writers Inn.
“Okay,” Sarah said. “Maybe it’s perfect.”
Behind them, the inn hummed with activity. Carlos was in the garden directing the placement of new plants. Esmeralda supervised two workers hanging curtains in the guest rooms upstairs. Maria’s voice carried from the kitchen, something in rapid Spanish about the new ovens.
They’d bought the property three months ago.
An old Key West mansion that had been sitting empty for years, slowly decaying.
Sarah had taken one look at the bones of it and known it was right.
Wide porches, high ceilings, rooms full of light.
Close enough to Old Town to be convenient but far enough away to feel private.
The renovation had taken every bit of those three months. New plumbing, new electrical, structural repairs, fresh paint everywhere. Sarah had thrown herself into it completely. Lizzie had helped when she could between finishing her semester at NYU and packing up her room.
Now here they were. Opening day in two hours.
“Nervous?” Lizzie asked.
“Terrified.”
“You don’t look terrified.”
“I’m very good at hiding it.” Sarah came to stand beside her. “What if people don’t like it?”
“They’ll love it.” Lizzie took her hand. “This place is beautiful. You made it beautiful.”
Sarah squeezed her fingers. “We made it beautiful.”
Stavros arrived first, carrying a bottle of champagne. He hugged Sarah and told her he was proud of her.
“You should have seen Derek’s face when I told the board about his little side project with the Gazette,” Stavros said. “He tried to deny it, but we had emails. He’d been feeding them information about you for months. Building a case.”
“Is he gone?” Sarah asked.
“Not yet. But soon. The complaints from staff and guests are piling up. He’s made everyone miserable.” Stavros poured champagne into plastic cups. “I suggested we should bring you back.”
Sarah was quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head. “No. I’m done with corporate boards and shareholder meetings. This is what I want now.”
Stavros smiled. “I thought you’d say that. Honestly, I’m thinking about following your example. Stepping down, doing something less taxing. Life’s too short to spend it in conference rooms.”
More people arrived. Chrisla came with her mother, both of them exclaiming over the front desk setup. Chrisla had left the Carlson and would build a solid front desk team before moving into nursing once she graduated.
Carlos brought Esmeralda over to show her the final garden layout. Maria emerged from the kitchen with a tray of hors d’oeuvres that made everyone stop talking to eat.
Then Jasper’s car pulled up. Lizzie’s mom got out first, then her brothers tumbled out behind her. Henry and Jack were taller than Lizzie remembered. They’d both shot up over the past six months.
Jasper hugged Lizzie and shook Sarah’s hand. “The place looks incredible.”
“Thank you. We’re pretty happy with it.”
“We have news,” Lizzie’s mom said. She was holding Jasper’s hand, looking younger than Lizzie had seen her in years. “We’re getting remarried.”
Lizzie threw her arms around her mother. “I knew it. I knew you two would figure it out.”
“It’s happening fast,” Jasper said. “We don’t want to wait. We were hoping we could use the inn grounds for the ceremony. Small wedding, just family and close friends.”
“Of course,” Sarah said immediately. “Whenever you want. It would be an honor.”
They talked about dates and guest lists while Henry and Jack explored the property.
Lizzie watched her mother and Jasper together, the easy way they moved around each other.
She’d dreamed about them living in Miami so she could be close.
That hadn’t happened. Jasper had chosen to move back to New York instead, back to the apartment he’d kept all these years.
But Lizzie had moved to Key West anyway. Left NYU for a writing program she could do remotely, left Brooklyn for this island and this woman and this new life they were building together.
She was writing about it all. A fictionalized version of the past year, changing names and details but keeping the heart of it.
The story of two women who found each other in the worst possible circumstances and decided to fight for what they wanted anyway.
The tale had a villain, of course. Cynthia, whom she’d renamed Celeste in the story.
The real Cynthia had left NYU after rumors about her actions in Key West had bubbled up after spring break.
The last time anyone had heard from her was a month ago, when she’d been picked up by police in Thailand over a suspicious package in her luggage.
Lizzie’s friend Maya had read the first fifty pages and declared it brilliant.
She was flying down next week to visit, dying to see the famous Carlson Island.
Since Sarah still technically owned it along with the rest of the Barnes hotel chain, they’d planned a few days out there.
Just the three of them, sun and water and no responsibilities.
After settling her lawsuit with Jonathan, Sarah was the majority stakeholder of Barnes Hotels.
The two had had a conversation the day they’d signed the papers and it had been surprisingly cordial.
Jonathan had truly believed Sarah a gold digger but seemed to change his mind now.
Who knew, in the future, they might find a way to be friends.
It would be nice to have someone in her life who had known Billy and loved him as much as she had.
“Speech time,” Stavros announced. He clinked a fork against his champagne glass. “Sarah, get up here.”
Sarah climbed onto the porch railing. Everyone gathered around.
“I’m not good at speeches,” she started.
“You’re great at speeches,” Esmeralda called out.
“I’m really not. But I’ll try.” Sarah looked out at the crowd. Friends, family, people who’d stood by her when everything fell apart. “Six months ago I lost my job. My reputation. Nearly lost everything I’d worked for. Some of you were there. You saw it happen.”
The crowd went quiet.
“I could have given up. Probably should have given up. But someone very stubborn refused to let me.” Sarah’s eyes found Lizzie. “She gathered evidence, tracked down witnesses, built a case that proved what happened. She gave me the tools to fight back.”
Lizzie felt her face get hot.
“We released everything to the newspapers. My real story. You all know it by now, I don’t need to repeat it. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank a few people. Like Stavros, who defended me more fiercely than I could ever have imagined.”
“Damn right I did,” Stavros said.
“And Carlos and Esmeralda. And Chrisla. Maria… All of you who came together. Some people I only knew superficially like Jasper Bennet, or not at all, like Maya Rodriguz, who isn’t with us today, but who worked hard to get us here.
All your help allowed me to settle an unfortunate lawsuit in my favor.
And to start again, doing something I love.
And of course, the most important person who worked to clear my name even when I wasn’t sure I wanted it.
My love, my darling, Lizzie.” She held up the scissors. “Lizzie, come here.”
Lizzie climbed up beside her. Sarah handed her one handle of the scissors and kept the other.
“Together?” Sarah asked.
“Together.”
They cut the ribbon. It fell in two pieces to the porch floor. Everyone cheered.
Sarah kissed her. Right there in front of everyone. Lizzie kissed back, not caring who saw, not caring who might take a photo or write a story. Those days were over.
When they broke apart, Sarah was smiling. “Ready to check in our first guests?”
“Ready.”
They climbed down and headed inside hand in hand. The Writers Inn was officially open.