Epilogue #3
"You did?" Shepherd asked, looking suspicious.
"Easy peasy," Maeve said with a shrug. "I just told her that Oliver can stay over two nights a week if his parents are cool with it, there's to be no discussion of marriage until she's at least finished her A-levels, and if she breaks these rules I will personally tell Oliver embarrassing stories about her until he loses the will to live. "
Iona took a step back. "Wait, you told her Oliver could stay over?"
Maeve shook her head. "She's almost seventeen, Iona. Do you remember what we were like at seventeen?"
Christ, did she? That thought didn’t make her feel any better at all. "That's different."
"Is it?"
Iona thought about it. Thought about being seventeen and desperate and so in love with someone that it felt like dying. Thought about how she would have done anything, promised anything, just to be close to Maeve. "I suppose not that different."
"Better to be supportive parents than the kind she has to hide things from," Maeve shrugged. "That's what Glinna always said, anyway. Worked for her six. Mostly."
Outside, someone shouted. Iona glanced out the window. There were photographers at the gate, cameras flashing despite the privacy hedge.
"Paparazzi," she said.
"Comes with the territory," Shepherd said. "We should get you some security. I’ll have a word with some people." He glared at Maeve. "Or at least I will when I’ve forgiven you for letting my teenage daughter share a bed with her boyfriend."
"Who said anything about sharing a bed," Maeve said. She flashed him a cheeky grin. "I’ve already ordered bunk beds for Mo’s room."
???
Maeve watched Iona from across the room.
Watched her tuck her dark hair behind her ears in the way she did when she was tired and starting to fade.
Ellie, Cam and a couple of Mo’s school friends were messing around on instruments.
There was dancing in the living room. The party was in full swing and looked like it might go on all night.
Well, they were rock and roll stars now, weren’t they?
She slid through the crowd until she was pressed up against Iona’s back, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
"Tired?"
"A bit," Iona whispered back. "But there’s currently more amps than beds in this house."
"There is that," Maeve agreed. She pulled Iona closer to her. "I do, er, know a little hotel."
Iona’s eyes widened. "You want to run away from our own housewarming party?"
"I'm an expert at running away. Might as well use the skill for good."
They left through the back door, avoiding the photographers at the front. The hotel was fifteen minutes away, sleek and modern and blissfully quiet after the chaos of the day.
In the elevator, Iona leaned against Maeve's shoulder. "Do you miss the cottage?"
"Sometimes," Maeve said, holding her close. "But it’s there when I need it."
"No regrets then?"
Maeve pulled back a little so that she could look at Iona’s face. "About what?"
"Any of it. The band, the album, the moving, the…" She gestured vaguely. "Everything. The second chances."
Maeve was quiet for a moment. The elevator hummed. Somewhere below them, the city glittered on, oblivious. Yes, she had regrets. Of course she did. But not the sort that Iona was asking about. "The only thing I regret," she said finally, "is not having all this sooner."
The doors opened. The hallway stretched ahead of them, soft-carpeted and silent.
"What about you?" Maeve asked, more casually than she really felt the question.
"I love my life," Iona said. It came out fierce, almost surprised. Like she was realizing it for the first time. "I actually love my life."
Maeve took her hand. Led her toward the room. Paused at the door and turned, her eyes bright in the low light. "Are you sure? Because we can always change. There’s nothing wrong with change. Whatever you need, whatever we need, we can change it."
"Absolutely sure," Iona said, leaning against Maeve in a way that made Maeve’s body too hot and her blood pound too fast. "There’s nothing that I’d change in the slightest. Not now."
"But in the future…"
"In the future, we can change anything that needs changing," said Iona.
"As long as we do it together." She pushed open the hotel room door to reveal a suite with a large bed in the very center.
"I love my life," she said again. "But if this is an option, I’m not going to rule out running away every now and again. "
And Maeve took her hand and led her to the bed and laid her down and was about to give in to her quick pulse and her warm center and her restless hands when Iona yawned. Maeve grinned and leaned down to kiss Iona’s forehead. "How about we get some sleep?"
Iona checked her watch. "Ten o’clock. That’s not very rock and roll, is it?"
"Check out isn’t until two tomorrow, we’ll have plenty of time for other activities in the morning."
Iona smiled the same smile that had made Maeve fall in love with her all those years ago and snuggled into Maeve’s arms. "That’s the thing, isn’t it?" she said sleepily. "There’s always a second chance."