Epilogue
TESSA
Tessa laid on the beach lounger, truly relaxed for the first time all week. For once, she wasn’t going anywhere and didn’t have a thing to do.
Nothing but enjoy the day.
“Turned out to be a pretty nice day, didn’t it?
” her father asked, stretched out on the lounger next to her.
They had parked themselves by the pool as soon as they had the chance.
Her mother, on the other hand, was in her element, directing the caterers as soon as they showed up, not to mention mingling with guests as soon as they appeared.
She had wanted their anniversary party to be a fun, casual day full of family and friends. Leaning into the barbecue theme, they had plenty of food, games in the backyard, and fireworks for later on in the evening.
“It sure did,” Tessa agreed, squinting at the sun peering at her from underneath the patio umbrella.
The night that Tessa and Greer finally made their way back after their epic road trip, she could not wait to tell her father the good news.
She hadn’t been updating him much over text messages, simply because she’d had too many close calls, making her wonder if they’d ever get the necklace back after all.
But when they walked into the empty house, her parents having apparently gone out to dinner that night, it left only Tessa, Greer, and a mysterious black box.
One they opened together, both staring at the antique necklace and letting go of breaths they’d been holding since the day they left for New York.
Tired and anxious to get settled, Tessa left the box on the dining room table, figuring she’d present the necklace to her father later. However, when she came back downstairs after hearing them drive in, she and Greer walked in on a surprising sight.
Her father, standing over the table, completely aghast to hold his grandmother’s necklace again.
Her mother, hand at his back, rubbing gently through his emotional response.
Then, he turned to her, mouthing words quietly as he held the piece between them. Her mother nodded in understanding, turned her back to him, and he clasped it around her neck.
Then they kissed. And hugged. And Tessa realized that every moment of her trip had brought them to this moment.
And now she had one more reason that made it the best decision ever.
“Looks like Greer is getting on pretty well here,” her father said, still motionless with his sunglasses on.
“Seems to be,” she agreed, tossing another glance at her man. He was in the pool now with his brother, playing some sort of throw-together game that looked half football, half water polo. They were clambering after one another and dunking each other while trying to go after a small ball.
When Greer finally wrenched it away, he held his arms up in victory, and he threw a grin at her.
Followed by a wink.
And the crowd went wild.
Tessa swooned a little, watching everyone love on her man, all while he loved on her.
“Your mother and I knew you two would be good together,” her father said, pulling her out of her lovely fantasy. “You just needed a little push.”
The words snapped her back into reality. Turning her head in her father’s direction, she asked, “What are you talking about?”
He shrugged as if it weren’t obvious. “Your mother and I could see something special between the two of you. We figured the problem was that you were both so focused on being in a fake relationship. We wondered if things might change if you had something else to think about for a time. Somewhere far away from here.”
The realization crashed over her like a tidal wave. “The road trip.”
“Exactly.” He grinned. “Seemed to work out pretty well, too.”
Tessa sat back, dumbfounded that her parents had played them like a couple of violins. Though one glance at Greer climbing out of the pool, toweling off his wet hair, and grinning at her like she was his favorite person on earth, she didn’t have the heart to be angry about any of it.
“Is that your mother calling?” her father asked, slowly sitting up. “Yes, yes, I definitely think I hear her.”
Greer lifted his head in greeting to her father as he vacated his chair and walked toward the house.
“What was that?” Greer asked, watching her father greet people as he made his way across the yard.
“Apparently, thirty-five years of marriage just makes you weirder,” she said, grinning up at him. He took a seat on the neighboring lounger, wiping the final remnants of pool water from his chest. “Having fun?”
“The best,” he said, looking around at the group that was now gathering in the backyard. “That was really sweet of your parents to invite my mom and brother.”
“Well, we’ve loved meeting them,” Tessa said, though she couldn’t deny the butterflies that filled her stomach when the moment came to meet Greer’s mother.
She needn’t have worried, though, given that she was a lovely woman who embraced her like family.
She couldn’t believe she ever thought that his family would be anything other than wonderful, considering the man that Greer was.
“So,” he said, leaning forward on his knees and bringing himself closer to her. “We’re pretty much at the end of this vacation now. Tomorrow’s the last of my long weekend, and I’ll be heading back to train tomorrow night.”
“I know,” Tessa said, reaching for his cheek and trying not to pout. “But I understand you’ve got things to do.”
Like, get ready for the fight of his life against her weaselly ex.
“True,” he said, turning his head and kissing her palm. “But I was more thinking that we’ve been living in our own little bubble here. It’s been a great bubble, though, don’t get me wrong.”
She chuckled, but felt a little uneasy about where he was going. They’d been together every day since they’d started the drive to New York. They’d admitted their feelings for each other. Gone on adventures. And shared countless tender moments together.
“It almost feels like we’ve lived a lifetime all in just a few short days,” she admitted. “We’ve been all over the Northeast. Traveled through the most rural areas imaginable.”
“Been trapped in storage rooms.”
Tessa laughed. “Been stalked by exes.”
“Exes we’re taking care of,” Greer said, giving her a knowing look. “Without the watch and the tracking app, he’s got no way of reaching you. The only time you’ll ever have to see him again is when you’re sitting in front of the cage, watching me win against him.”
Tessa smiled, actually feeling ready for Greer’s fight. “I can’t wait.”
Greer smiled back. “I know it’s taking time, but we’ll get the message across to him. If he ever approaches you in person again, I’ll make sure that’s the last time he does it.”
“I know you will,” Tessa said, taking a moment to drink Greer in. “I’ve loved every moment we’ve had together.”
“Me too.” He smiled, taking her hand and kissing it before he lowered it to hold onto. “I guess what I’m asking is, do you want the bubble to pop?”
“What do you mean?”
“Up to now, the Tessa and Greer everyone’s seen has been for show. Fake.”
“Even though it’s real.”
“It is,” he assured her, looking down as he slid his thumb over her knuckles. “Do you want people to know any differently?”
She studied his expression, realizing the thread of vulnerability that seemed to flash in his eyes. He wasn’t wrong. Even though things had dramatically changed for them, to the rest of the world, they were still a picture-perfect couple.
And all of that had been manufactured.
So to the ordinary person outside of their world, their careful, curated appearances and photographs weren’t probably much different than what they were now.
And he was wondering if she wanted any of that to change.
“I don’t know about you,” she said, unable to stop her grin. “But I’m ready to give them something to talk about.”
Instantly, his unease vanished as a slow grin mirroring her own spread across his lips. “And how do you plan on doing that?”
Tessa held his gaze as she reached for her phone. Flipping on the camera and changing it to selfie mode, she caught a quick glimpse of the two of them before she reached her arm out long over Greer’s shoulder.
Sliding her hand behind his neck in a practiced move she’d learned from him, she didn’t bother with words as she pulled him in to her, briefly glancing at the screen to make sure they were in frame before shutting her eyes and giving herself over to his kiss.
It was passionate, consuming, and told exactly the story she wanted to tell.
She had moved on from her past mistakes.
She was embracing her future, not to mention the man in it.
If anyone was bothered by that, she couldn’t care less.
Because even though they’d spent days together looking for something, it was what they found in each other that made all the difference.