Epilogue

" I t's perfect."

"Exactly how I pictured it," Liam agreed, squeezing her hand.

She turned and smiled at Liam's side profile; in an unsurprising turn of events, the slicked back hair, ruffled white shirt, and sweeping black cloak were really doing it for her. But it was the black leather-style gloves and white plastic mask covering half his face that really brought Liam's Phantom of the Opera costume to life—and it was those she'd be asking him to keep on when they got home later. She wasn't a big fan of the musical, but Liam was, and she couldn't resist the chance to see him in the mask. Even she could admit that the mustache only added to the look.

Jazz had curled her hair into tight ringlets, adding long extensions that fell down her back. She'd pinned the front away from her face, and painted her cheeks and lips scarlet red. The Christine to Liam's Phantom. Her dress was white lace, falling off her shoulders, and showing off plenty of cleavage that Liam was struggling to keep his eyes from. It was almost bridal. Which was, of course, the point.

Jazz stared out at the party; cobwebs, bats, LED candles, and twinkling lights hung from the ceiling. Black lace tablecloths covered every table, and bloody hand and footprints had been stuck to the floor. Servers milled around, dressed in intricate clown costumes, serving shots with gummy eyeballs in them and strawberries dipped in white chocolate, decorated to look like ghosts. It was exactly as she'd imagined, when she'd dared to let herself dream of her and Liam's Hallowedding.

"Look at you two," Maggie said, approaching them with a grin. Cal had chosen their costumes—Shrek and Fiona—and Maggie looked good painted green. "You look amazing. Is this why you were forty minutes late to your own party?"

"Oh, no. We were late because?—"

"Maggie doesn't need to know what we were doing, darling," Liam interjected, and Maggie just rolled her eyes, smiling.

"That's answer enough. Now that you're here," she raised a brow at Jazz. "Did you seriously hire clowns to serve food at your Halloween party even though your brother is terrified of them?"

"Maybe."

"They're following him around. Wait, did you tell them to do that?"

Jazz almost felt guilty. Almost. She shrugged. "I'm just saying he should've thought twice before hiding in my closet and jumping out at us after we watched The Blair Witch Project when we were twelve."

"We'll call off the clowns," Liam said, but his mustache twitched like was trying not to laugh.

"Thank you," Maggie said. "I don't see why you need clowns any…" She trailed off, her eyes pausing on Jazz's dress and widening as it clicked into place. They had promised to have clowns at their wedding. "Oh my God. Am I—is this—are you?—"

Jazz grabbed her hand and pulled her back through the crowd. "We'll be back," she called to Liam—her fiancé, she supposed, even if they had skipped the engagement. They'd known they'd have to factor in time for Maggie to freak out. It's how she worked through things. Jazz had even pre-planned a quiet spot for them to hide away. They'd chosen the venue Cal used every year for the firm's New Year's Eve party, and even the lobby outside the function room was gorgeous. Marble floors, with high arched ceilings and swooping faux-cobwebs over the doors.

She dragged Maggie into the storage room she'd heard about from Sierra, who had seen two paralegals sneaking off together last New Year. It was pitch black, but she felt around the wall for the light pull and tugged, illuminating them both in harsh fluorescent light.

"Okay. Let's talk," Jazz said, dusting the wall with her hand before leaning back against it.

Maggie took a deep breath. "You're getting married."

"Yep."

"This is your wedding."

"It is."

"I'm dressed as an ogre at your wedding."

"I bet the green really brings out Cal's eyes," Jazz offered, and Maggie palmed her forehead. "I know you probably need to freak out and ask a million questions. Go for it."

"I say this with all the love in the world, but you've only been together for two months, Jazz. This is unhinged, even by your standards."

"Liam's been on board for longer than that," Jazz pointed out. "And when you know, you know."

"Sure. But why the rush?"

"Why wait? We already know we're going to be together forever." She wasn't trying to convince Maggie. Jazz and Liam both knew everyone would think they were rushing things, but they loved each other and that's all they cared about.

They didn't want to wait the expected two to three years before starting the next stage of their life together; they wanted marriage, and babies, and a house with a backyard for Bray to sunbathe in because he was too lazy to run around. Jazz had found a new OBGYN to get to the bottom of her inconsistent cycle so they could start trying for a baby, they'd hired Nadia—who she actually liked a lot, now that she'd stopped being a jealous asshole—to help them find a house, and they would be walking out of their party as husband and wife.

She saw the moment her best friend recognized the resolve in her expression; Maggie's panicked eyes softened into a smile, her shoulders relaxing .

"You're sure? You're really ready for this?"

Jazz nodded. The coiling panic that she shouldn't bother with anything, because she'd only fail, was nowhere to be seen. This was Liam; as far as she was concerned, they were a guaranteed success. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Jazz and Maggie stared at each other, Maggie's eyes glistening. "Holy shit," Maggie said, with a watery laugh, a tear slipping down her green cheek. And like cascading dominoes, Jazz followed suit. "You're getting married."

"You're going to be my mother-in-law."

Maggie groaned. "Great, but let's not make that a thing."

"I'll think about it," she lied. She absolutely was going to make it a thing. Maggie was getting Mother's Day presents for the rest of their lives, as far as she was concerned.

"I'm so happy for you. For both of you. This is how it was always meant to be," Maggie said, squeezing her in a tight hug. "I love you so much, Jazz. You deserve this."

Jazz didn't think she could ever, in a million years, truly deserve Liam. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to hold on to him for dear life and treasure every single second they had together.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Maggie opened it to find Liam. She threw her arms around his neck, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm so happy for you. If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"I'd expect nothing less," Liam replied with a chuckle, hugging her back. They broke apart and Maggie grabbed a paper towel from a shelf and dabbed at her cheeks, wincing when it came away green.

"Do you need anything? What can I do?"

And that was reason number one they hadn't told her. They wanted Maggie to actually enjoy the night, not exhaust herself worrying about what needed done.

"Everything is taken care of. Are you ready, darling?" Liam held a hand out to Jazz and she threaded her fingers with his.

"I'm ready."

The three of them headed back into the party, the light from the mirrorball dancing across the floor. Everyone they loved was there: Liam's moms, Sierra and most of the Michaelson and Hicks team, Nadia, Rose, Xan and his best friend Kami. Kami's brother Leon, and his business partner, were catering the party and were the only people they'd told about the wedding ahead of time.

They'd gotten lucky that Halloween fell on the same week the Michaelson family had planned a reunion, making the trip to Seattle from Ireland to celebrate Liam's grandma's birthday. They were loud and chaotic and Jazz loved them.

And then there were Jazz's parents. As promised, they'd given her space and been patient while she thought through their apology, while she talked things out with Maggie, Liam, and her siblings. Xan and Rose had been as surprised as she was by her parents admitting they'd fucked up. Rose had been more distrustful of their apology, but the three of them had met their parents for dinner and started clearing the air. They had a long way to go to be like the kind of family Liam had grown up with, if they ever could be, but they were trying. Jazz no longer hated being a Cannon, but that didn't mean she wasn't excited to officially become a Michaelson.

Every single person in attendance had taken their dress to possess instruction seriously. There were ghosts and vampires, princesses and witches, a menagerie of creatures, and no less than three Han Solos. It was chaotic and beautiful and exactly what they'd hoped for.

They stopped in front of Cal and Liam's moms, Cal's gaze falling to Maggie's face. His eyes widened.

"Have you been crying, love? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Maggie assured him, clinging to his arm. "Happy tears."

"About what?"

Liam grinned at his parents. "Don't freak out."

To give Cal and Danisha their credit, they held it together when Liam told them why they were there. Eliza, on the other hand… Her blue eyes immediately filled with tears, a smile stretching over her face. She bounced up and down on her heels. Apparently, they needn't have worried about Liam's parents' reactions.

"I'm so happy. My babies," she blubbered, pulling both Liam and Jazz into her arms.

"Don't cry on the bride, honey," Danisha said gently, but, when they all pulled back, Jazz noticed her dark chestnut eyes were lined with silver too. She grasped Liam's shoulder. "Happy for you, kiddo. I can't imagine a better partner for you. We love you both so much."

Jazz swallowed, her throat thick with emotion. She held her tears at bay until she met Cal's eye. He was looking between her and Liam with nothing but love and pride on his face.

He said nothing, just folded them both into crushing hugs.

"We'd like you and Maggie to be our witnesses," Liam said, and Cal nodded, wrapping an arm around Maggie's waist as she took her place beside him.

"We'd be honored."

Liam helped Jazz up to the small stage. He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand, accepting a microphone from the DJ, and nodding. The DJ cut the music and Liam took a deep breath.

"Hi everyone. Thank you for coming out tonight. You all look incredible." Every eye in the room was trained on the stage as he spoke, their guests listening with rapt attention.

"A couple years ago," Liam continued, turning his gaze on Jazz, "at my dad and Maggie's wedding, Jasmine told me she was going to force me to marry her so she could be a Michaelson, too." Jasmine, not Jazz. He always called her Jazz when he was talking to other people, but this wasn't for everyone else in the room. This was for them. "Little did she know, I've been absolutely obsessed with her since the first time we met. We spent the next few months joking about our hypothetical wedding, and, along the way, it all started to feel a little real. And you see, because this is Jasmine we're talking about, our hypothetical wedding was always going to be complete chaos. A Hallowedding, we called it. So with that in mind," Liam turned back to face the room. "We're so excited to welcome you all to our wedding."

The room erupted, but Jazz hardly heard it. All she could focus on was Liam, on the love and joy in his eyes. He handed the mic over to the officiant—another clown—and, with their arms wrapped around each other, they said their vows.

She could barely take it all in. It was… chaos. But the good kind. The kind that was full of love and joy and pride. The kind that made her heart race and her palms sweaty, and her jaw hurt from smiling so much.

Life with Liam, she'd learned, was made of many things, but mostly it was a mix of the fiery chaos she'd had inside her for thirty years, and the steady, warm peace that Liam personified. It was a give and take, meeting in the middle and finding the sweet spot they'd both been searching for long before they'd met at the office. Chaos and peace were not the natural enemies she'd once thought they were. And the life she and Liam were building promised both.

As the clown declared them husband and wife, and Liam captured her lips in the kind of kiss that was half kiss half smile, Jazz thought about Liam's favorite painting: Nothing Lasts Forever .

But they would. And Jazz couldn't wait to spend the rest of their lives proving that painting wrong.

THE END