11. Epilogue

The girls decided to throw me a housewarming party, and now they are all here waiting for me to tell them about the incident. I honestly didn"t want to talk about it until I knew Bradley would go to jail permanently. Well, 20 years at least. But I"m in front of my five favorite faces in the whole world, and I"ve got to come clean.

I sit in a chair with a drink in my hand and look at them. I"m not even sure where to start.

"Amber, you know you can tell us anything," Hailey says.

"Yes, this is a safe space. It"s just us." Gemma says.

"I…" I clear my throat, "When we went to Vegas, I was being blackmailed by an ex-boyfriend."

There are gasps and questioning looks, and I"m ashamed of what I have to tell them.

"I had a partial scholarship for college, but even with a part-time job, I couldn"t make ends meet. I was good with numbers, and my father showed me how to cheat at cards. So I started doing that to make ends meet."

The faces are serious now, and I go on because these are my friends.

"I never got caught, and as soon as I finished college, I stopped playing. But my ex, Bradley, had evidence of me cheating."

I take a sip of my drink to calm my nerves.

"All of a sudden, he came back after all these years, threatening to expose me in front of my bosses and clients if I didn't give him twenty thousand dollars. Since we were going to Vegas, I thought maybe I could go to some of the casinos and win the money. But in the first one I went to, Jason caught me cheating. His software detected my cheating, but he didn"t turn me in."

I look at all the surprised faces and continue.

"Jason, he"s…amazing. And I stayed back in Vegas for a week after you guys returned. When I came back, I helped Gemma with her Murphy issues, and I sort of let go. Up till then, I"d been ignoring Bradley"s threatening calls and texts. But he was watching me, and he kidnapped me and tried to get more money from Jason."

"Those hours were the most terrifying I"ve lived in my life. I knew Jason would find me, but Bradley was acting like he was insane. He became violent, and I almost lost hope. I don"t know how many hours passed, but the police finally came, and they arrested Bradley. Jason took me out of that basement, and I didn"t want to look back. That"s why I"ve been so quiet until now."

"Why didn"t you confide in us, Amber? We could have helped get the money." Hailey says.

"I knew you"d probably do that, maybe even go to your father, but I would have had to come clean and tell you why I was letting him blackmail me. I guess I was ashamed of what you"d think of me."

"Damn it, Amber, you know better than that. We are your best friends." Julie says.

"I was under a lot of pressure and couldn"t think clearly. Do you forgive me?"

"There"s nothing to forgive you for, silly. Now show us that engagement ring and tell us more about Jason. Is he good in bed?" Alice says.

I put my drink on the table next to me and show them the huge-ass engagement ring Jason gave me. I told him I wouldn"t wear it every day, only on special occasions. He told me he"d spank me whenever he saw me without it. The girls said their oohs and aahs and grilled me more about Jason and how he treats me.

Needless to say, all I could give them were the most positive reviews I"ve ever given any man I"ve dated. After a few hours of drinking, gossiping, and all-around celebrating, they were ready to leave. Except they wouldn"t until Jason came home so they could meet him. I texted him to get himself back to the apartment, and they fell on him like vultures the moment he walked in.

Jason just smiled and let them hug him and thank him for saving me. By the time they filed out of our new home, I was exhausted but eager to spend some alone time with my fiancé. Said fiancé grabs me by the waist and kisses me soundly. I melt into his arms like usual, and when he stops, I hug him as tightly as possible.

"I guess you told them about your adventures?"

"And how you rescued me."

"Did you tell them about your past?"

I nodded. "They are my best friends. I needed to get it out in the open."

"Was it too difficult for you?"

"Same as pulling teeth, I think. They loved the engagement ring." I smiled.

"Damn it, I was hoping you weren"t wearing it."

"So you could spank me?"

"You better believe it." His grin was masculine and sexy. "Maybe you were naughty during the day? There are plenty of reasons why I could spank you."

"Jason!" I mock-punch him on the arm.

"Let"s elope," he says.

"What?"

"We can go to Vegas. Bring all your friends and their significant others. We can do it next weekend."

"You"re that desperate to get married?" I ask, growing excited at the idea.

"I"m desperate to make you mine. My wife, my lover, my everything. I don"t want to wait any longer. But I will if that"s what you want."

"I don"t want to wait any longer either. I"ll start coordinating with the girls. Hopefully, this trip to Vegas won"t be as eventful as the last one was."

"Don"t take it back. We found each other, and I"m very thankful for that."

I start jumping up and throw my arms around him.

"Alright! Let's celebrate… in bed."

He barks out a loud laugh as I pull him to our bedroom, where we practice saying each other"s vows for the upcoming ceremony.

They both end with forever.

Amber"s friend Julie decided to get her fortune read.