Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Zoe

SIX MONTHS LATER

"He would have loved this." Walter patted my back as he gave me a side hug and looked out over the masses of people and cars packed in like sardines at the Firefly Drive-In Movie Theater. Tonight was the premiere of Fallen Hero, and the entire town had turned out. There were even people camped out on the hill beside the theater who wouldn't be able to hear the movie; they would just see the screen.

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I really think he would have."

The movie had turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined. Thankfully, I wasn't seeing it for the first time at the premiere tonight. I'd seen it at least twenty times in different stages of rough cuts. Miles had flown in an editor from Los Angeles to work with in Firefly, so Walter, AJ, and I had all given our input on edits, and we were all proud of the final cut.

It's crazy when I think about the first time that I got an email about the movie being made, and how upset I was at the prospect. That felt like an entire lifetime ago. In a way, it was. So much had happened since then.

"Well, I better go keep my lady company." Walter wagged his brows.

"Okay."

Walter leaned on his walker and headed over to Mrs. Birch's Cutlass. He'd started using his cane and his walker. And in other developments, Mrs. Birch and Walter were officially a couple.

That wasn't all that had changed; beside them, my parents were parked in their Honda Accord. Two months after I thought I'd torched all the bridges to any sort of a relationship with her, my mother apologized in her own way. She said she didn't mean to upset me, and she invited not only me and AJ back but also Kendall, Miles, and Walter to Sunday dinner. And once Walter and Anna May became official, she was also included. So now me, Miles, Kendall, AJ, Walter, and Anna May, all suffered through Sunday dinners once a month. Except it wasn't really that bad anymore. There were no more long silences, and my mother didn't have a lot of negative things to say. She still wasn't the most positive person in the world, but I could see she was trying. So that was something.

I was checking to see where AJ was when Nadia and Ashley walked over from the photo booth that was set up by the PR team. The duo had gone over to get a few shots of themselves. They'd wanted me to join them, but I wasn't really in a selfie mood.

As they were showing me their snapshots, Nadia's jaw dropped as she looked over my shoulder.

"Who is the Zaddy in the suit?" Nadia squeezed my arm tightly. "He is giving off serious Christian Grey vibes."

I turned my head and saw a man who looked like he walked straight off the pages of GQ in a tailored suit, walking toward us in measured strides. Nadia had definitely captured his essence when she said Christian Grey vibes. He had a sexy, mysterious, dominant air about him. His deep-set, dark blue eyes were trained on Ashley.

"I've never seen him before." I would have definitely remembered him.

" He is going to be my husband if I agree to his terms," Ashley stated with the warmth of Elsa in Frozen before rolling her shoulders back and taking a deep breath like she was going into battle.

Nadia and I both looked at one another and then back at our friend's retreating back. When the two were a foot away from one another, they stopped. Ashley lifted her head defiantly as her shoulders squared up. He stared down at her with a look of equal parts disdain and desire. The body language between the two of them was tense, definitely not friendly, but also very…sexually charged. I'd never seen anything like it.

"Do you know what's going on there?" I asked.

"You mean besides sparks flying that are so bright we should be wearing welder's helmets for our own protection?" Nadia clarified.

"Yes, besides that."

"No. I have no idea. But I will find out. Until then, I'm gonna go see a military man about some popcorn." She gave me a little shoulder shimmy and eyebrow wag before heading in the direction of the nearest muscled male.

The studio distributing the movie had hired models who had served in the armed forces to hand out popcorn and other snacks for the premiere.

A crackling sound came over the speakers, and then I saw Miles standing in front of the screen, holding a microphone with AJ beside him. Miles had asked if Walter and I wanted to stand with them to introduce the movie, but we'd both declined.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Miles Ford, and this is AJ James."

The place erupted in cheers.

"We want to thank you all for coming tonight to honor the man who brought us all together, Austin James. I never got to meet Austin in person, but I did spend a few months studying him and trying to be a version of him, although I know I could never fill those shoes. I will say that some of the things I learned about him were that he was funny, smart, passionate, and loyal. He was a natural leader. He loved his family more than anything in this world. He was a great friend, an incredible husband and father. And although his life was much too short, he made a profound impact on this world."

As Miles continued to speak, I watched AJ, who was looking down at his notes, mouthing the words for the speech he'd prepared. I'd asked him if he wanted to go over it, but he said no. He'd never spoken in front of an audience this large. My stomach was bubbling with nerves as Miles handed AJ the microphone, and cheers erupted again.

"Um, yeah, hi. I just wanted to say that I loved getting the chance to play my dad in this movie. And so I wanted to say thank you to my mom for that. I know that it was hard for her to say yes, and I think she only did it because of me. But I'm glad she did because I got to know so much about my dad, and I feel so much closer to him. He was a really amazing man, and I'm so proud that I'm his son, and I'm so proud that you are all going to see how great he was. But I also got to know so much more about my mom and how special my mom and dad's relationship was.

"And I really just want to thank her because even though I never really knew my dad or had my dad in my life, I never really miss him because I've always had my Papa, my Uncle Dawson, and my Uncle H. And my mom. My mom makes sure that I have everything I need, no matter what she has to do to get it. I know it hasn't always been easy for her, but I just want to thank her for always being there for me and for taking care of me. She is my hero. I love you, Mom."

Tears were falling down my face. Every time. Every time I don't think I can love that kid any more than I already do, he goes and does or says something, and he proves me wrong.

There was more applause, and Miles took the mic back.

"Okay, well, I think we might need to hand out the tissues early." He smiled down at AJ and pulled him into a hug as he smiled widely. "And now, please enjoy Fallen Hero: The True Story of Marine Sergeant Austin James."

The movie started, and AJ took his seat in the front row next to Kendall. There were four rows of chairs set up for execs in front of all the cars. Miles said hello to a few people and then made his way back to me. I was out of the way, hiding back in the old concession stand. It was used for storage now. I had a good view of everything, and it was mic'd up so I could hear the movie. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I turned around and looked up at him.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"For everything." I lifted up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his mouth.

When I lowered back down, he squeezed his arms around me, pulling me in tighter. "I know this isn't the right time to announce it, but the ring is burning a hole in my pocket."

We'd gone on a weekend trip to New York about a month ago, and Miles had popped the question. He'd asked AJ and Walter's permission beforehand, and they knew that we were engaged, but I didn't want the news to come out until after the movie. I felt like that would overshadow what the film was about, which was the sacrifice that Austin made. Also, Daphne and Harlan were having a Christmas wedding, and I didn't want to steal their thunder.

"We'll tell everyone after the new year," I promised him.

"I love you." Miles stared into my eyes. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life being your person."

"I love you, too. You are my person, and I'm yours." He held me in his arms, and I melted into him.

This wasn't the life I thought I was going to have, but I was so grateful I didn't miss it because I was living in the past instead of being in the present and looking forward to the future, which is where my happily ever after was.

Mrs. Beaumont was right; I did deserve more perfect, more special, more beautiful, and another true love, and that's exactly what I found.

THE END