Epilogue

She ran a hand over the white satin of her dress. The vision staring back at her in the mirror barely seemed real.

“Oh, honey,” her mother said, slipping into the small waiting room.

Caitlyn turned, her wedding dress rustling as she moved.

“You’re stunning.”

She smiled. “I can’t believe today’s the day.”

“You put the poor boy off long enough. He wanted to marry you a year ago.”

Yes, he did.

She’d put him off, wanting to see what happened with their merger first. It was one thing to ruin his business and another to trap him in a relationship he might not want. Except none of her fears came true.

The board blustered about the merger, of course. Any other company in the same position would have been acquired, not treated as an equal. But Damien hadn’t wavered, and in time, everyone had started to see the benefits to his plan. Reid & Brooks Co. quickly made a splash in the cancer industry, creating new medicines and researching new breakthroughs. Their stock price soared within six months of the merger.

As for her, she’d found a nice house within walking distance from their company. It’d been bigger than her own place, but together they’d made it a home. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hadn’t. If anything, her fiancé seemed to fall more in love with her each day.

Just like I do with him.

She’d never thought they’d end up here when she hid in that hotel closet at the mere sight of him.

“I wish your father could be here to see you,” Teresa said.

Tears welled in her eyes. “Me too.”

They’d lost him months ago, and the pain still took her breath away. Part of her wondered if it always would.

But Damien had been her rock through that, too. Once he’d decided to be in, he’d taken to the ideas of family and commitment better than she could possibly have expected.

“He’d be so proud of you,” her mother continued. “You and Damien have accomplished amazing things together.”

“I hope we can help other families like us.”

Her mother wiped away a stray tear on her cheek. “There’s no doubt in my mind you will. Now, no more sad thoughts. Today is a day to celebrate.”

“Yes. Go on. I’ll follow you in a minute. Just need to take a quick breather.”

“My beautiful girl,” Teresa said, kissing her cheek. “I wish you as much happiness with Damien as I had with your father.”

With a last pat, she slipped quietly from the room.

Caitlyn turned back to the mirror when another knock sounded on the door.

“Mom, I’m fine, I swear,” she called.

The door opened, and Damien poked his head in. “It’s not Teresa.”

She smiled as she went to the door. “It’s bad luck for us to see each other.”

“I think we used up our bad luck at the start of our relationship,” he said as he entered the room. “Besides, I wanted to tell you I caught Shireen and Spencer making out in the coat check like teenagers.”

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose we do owe them. They helped play cupid right at the start.”

“Do you think Spence will ever let me forget that? Every time he needs something now it’s ‘I helped you win your future wife. Do this for me.’”

“Poor boy,” she said, running her hands over his black suit. “I feel so sad for you.”

“Yeah, I’m feeling the sympathy.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

A warm glow filled her. “Back at you.”

“Are you ready for the rest of our lives?”

She slipped her hand into his. “Yes. I love you.”

“Not nearly as much as I do you.”

Together they left the room and walked toward their future, hand in hand.

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