Epilogue
DALLAS
ONE YEAR LATER
The bustling city of Austin is the hottest place in the state of Texas to go for nightlife, music, art, and tattoos.
Which is why I requested to come here for my thirty-first birthday. I have a tattoo appointment that my boyfriend scheduled for me and paid for in advance.
“So, he has no idea what you’re getting?” Dolly asks as she loops her arm through mine.
“Not a clue. And I’m so nervous for his reaction,” I say.
“What are you getting?” Rosie asks.
I pull up the picture on my phone and show it to them. Monroe and Eden lean in toward the screen.
“Oh my. Where is that going?” Eden asks.
“On my left butt cheek, in the upper-right corner.”
“Damn. Will you be upset if I get the same thing?” Monroe jokes. “I’m kidding, but that’s going to be so hot.”
“Yeah, he’s gonna freak out and wanna … gross.” Dolly scrunches her face up.
I burst out laughing. “I’ve been wanting to get this for a while. I was really hoping he’d propose by now.”
Something in me changed when Duke took a life to protect me and the twins. Old Dallas would have never gotten her boyfriend’s initials tattooed on her ass inside a heart.
I’m divorced, for crying out loud. I know how badly relationships can turn and how the person you thought you committed to can be someone else entirely, a stranger in your bed.
But I know that could never and would never happen with Duke. He’s done so much for me to protect me and the boys. If something happened with our relationship, I could never hate him, ever.
It’s early afternoon when we make it to the tattoo shop. When I pull open the door, the interior is cozy and inviting, with lots of leafy green plants and windows. I knew based on photos I’d seen that I would love the vibes in here.
“Oh my gosh, this is so cute!” Dolly says. “I wonder if they’ll have time to do any more.”
The girl behind the desk smiles as we walk in. She’s tiny, and her exposed skin is covered in fine line tattoos. She has long purple hair and pink lipstick on. Her denim overalls have bedazzled patches of cherries all over them.
“How can I help you?” she asks.
“I have an appointment with Cherry,” I tell her. “My name is Dallas.”
“I’m Cherry. So glad you could make it.” She smiles and pushes a clipboard to me. “Just fill out the waiver. Do you know what you want?”
“I want this on the top of my left butt cheek.”
I show her the picture. It’s a simple heart with the initials DJR inside it.
“Are these a man’s initials?”
I nod.
She smiles. “In that case, is DJR paying for this? Because I have a strict policy that if you’re getting a man’s initials or name, he has to pay for it. No exceptions.”
Monroe snorts. “Hell yeah, girl. That’s what I like to hear.”
Cherry smiles at her before tilting her head and frowning.
Monroe is in disguise, trying to play Clark Kent with glasses and a dark-colored wig on.
If she went out with her normal hair and no glasses, we’d be swarmed with fans everywhere we went.
It usually works, but Cherry is definitely thinking that she looks familiar.
“Have you been in here before?” she asks.
Monroe shakes her head. “Nope, first time for all of us.”
“Yes, he called earlier and paid for it when he scheduled.”
Cherry nods, still studying Monroe.
Rosie steps toward Cherry, attempting to get the attention off of Monroe. “We love all the plants. Dallas and I are both big into gardening.”
Cherry nods, gesturing around the soft camel-colored walls with tasteful decor that looks a lot like original works of art. “A benefit of owning your own tattoo shop: I can display my art and make it into a mini gallery. Do you wanna come back? There’s room for all of you.”
We follow her back, admiring the unique pieces on the walls. We pass by three other girls, who are all in various states of mid-tattooing. The buzzing of the tattoo guns fills the room, along with the Texas country playing over the speakers. It’s a song I recognize by Kat Hasty, “Pretty Things.”
“I love this song,” I say.
It reminds me of being married to someone who viewed me as an ornamental object in his life instead of a human being with real feelings.
I look around at the girls I’m with, and a tiny smile tugs at my lips.
It’s such a simple thing, but I’m not even worrying about the twins while we’re out.
I’m not stressing that I’ll get a string of angry texts about where I am or when I’m coming home.
I’m starting to enjoy small things. I’m slowly loving life again.
I’m learning that not everything is going to be ruined by an angry man.
Cherry’s station has a red leather tattoo chair and more plants and art. I take a seat while she preps the tattoo.
“What are you guys wearing to dinner?” Dolly muses.
“I was thinking about a floral, flowy dress,” Rosie says.
“Yeah, same! Something soft and romantic,” Monroe adds.
Eden nods. “I have a pretty dress to wear. It’s a pale blue, and Sterling loves it on me.”
The room grows silent for a moment before I realize they’re waiting on me to answer.
“Oh, I have, like, a pair of jeans and a halter top. I missed the memo about the dresses.”
They all take turns looking at each other before Rosie swallows. “No worries. I bet I have one you could borrow.”
“Yeah, me too! I was going to wear yellow, but I brought a pretty white one.”
Monroe nods, smiling. “I agree. If we all wear dresses, the pictures will be so cute!”
Cherry is almost ready. She rolls over on her little stool. “Can you show me exactly where you want it?”
I pull down the top of my jeans and show her.
“I mean, I guess. It’s just dinner, but I can wear something else if y’all want us all to match.”
“Yes, please match with us! It’s your birthday weekend. You should get dressed up for it,” Eden says.
“I think you would look great in the white dress. It’ll probably fit you better than me. It’s kind of long on me,” Dolly says.
I nod, wondering why they’re making such a big deal out of this. It’s just dinner and a picture.
I raise a brow, my gaze landing on Rosie’s face. She smiles, and it’s completely forced.
Oh shit.
My stomach clenches.
Duke is proposing tonight.
My hands are sweating.
I was planning to show my new tattoo to Duke as soon as we got back to the enormous house he rented for the weekend getaway, but now I’m too nervous.
He was in the heated pool with the twins when we got back, so I asked Dolly to tell him I was showering and getting ready for tonight.
I’m afraid if I talk to him, he’ll see that something is wrong on my face.
And I can’t lie to him.
The outdoor patio area is a dream. The house is up on a hill with a breathtaking view of Lake Travis beneath it. The rooms and bathrooms are all just as nice, and somehow, Duke and I got the master, which has a massive shower with water spraying out from the sides.
We’ve already had sex in it three times even though we got here less than twenty-four hours ago.
I finish pinning up my wayward curls and spritz the messy updo with some hair spray. Most of my makeup is done, and no one has come to tell me we’re leaving, so I’m not rushing myself.
In the last year, my life has made a complete one-hundred-eighty-degree change.
I’m running my own business now, selling herbal tea remedies online and at the farmers market. I even started my own little nursery, where people can buy the plants themselves and take them home.
We added another even bigger greenhouse to the ranch, giving me room to experiment with growing florals.
I’m getting more involved in the wedding industry by providing florals to the venue that’s only thirty minutes from Redford Ranch.
Rosie has started helping me keep up with it, and Dolly and Eden have started their own cake business.
The year has flown by. Now that the twins are four years old, they only have one more year at home before they’ll be starting kindergarten.
“Knock, knock! Can I come in?” Dolly’s voice is outside my bathroom.
“Yes, it’s open.”
She peeks her head in the door and smiles. “Just came to see if you wanted to try that dress on. Totally up to you.”
I gulp, nodding. “Do I need a bra?”
She shakes her head. “It’s a corset top, so no. It’s a two-piece set with a skirt and a top.”
“Wow.”
When she hands it over, I can tell by the fabric alone that it’s expensive. “Are you sure? I might get something on it. You know I almost exclusively drink red wine.”
She laughs. “I’m not too worried about it. We can get a stain out. You look so pretty.”
She smiles, her eyes twinkling. Her dark hair is in two braids that are woven around her head like a crown. I’d bet money Eden styled it. She’s a master with braids.
“I like yours too. Where are the boys? Causing mayhem?”
“Duke and Sam are playing cornhole with them.”
“Hello, hello,” another voice says from the door. Rosie pokes her head in. “Are you almost ready?”
“Oh, yeah. I just need to get dressed and put on my lip color.”
She walks in, handing me a champagne flute with bubbles rising to the top. “Brought you a getting-ready drink.”
Her nails are red, and I realize with a start that it was her idea for us all to go get manicures two days before the trip. Mine are almond-shaped in a soft pastel pink … a color Monroe chose for me.
Wow. They conspired together and fooled me, right up until today.
I sip the champagne because my throat is so dry that it feels like it might crack.
“Are we taking an Uber?”
“No. There’s a private chef team making appetizers now. They’re serving it on the patio in a couple of hours,” Rosie says.
“Oh! And the mixologist just got here. She’s making me a lemon martini. Do you want something?” Dolly adds.
I shake my head. “I’m good for now, but thank you. I’m just gonna change, and I’ll be out there.”
“Okay!” Rosie says, grinning.
They both turn and leave me alone, and I exhale a deep sigh.
I’m freaking out.
The idea of potentially getting married again is making me sweat bullets. I feel like the interior of this house is an oven, rapidly climbing up to four hundred degrees.
Why am I feeling this way?