31. Epilogue

Epilogue

Evie

6 years later

"Whose idea was it to give the kids ice cream?" I yell over the six off-the-wall children, ages three to six, running around screaming their heads off.

"Guilty." Liam raises his hand and laughs.

"I'm so glad that five of them are leaving with you when the awards ceremony is over!" I shake my head and rub my temples. I didn't know that boys' screams could get this high pitched.

I don't know how Penny survives with Liam and the twins. Lucas and Liam, Jr. and Sr., are full of an endless amount of energy.

Usually, their daughter Sarah is pretty relaxed, but today, she and Emilia, my three-year-old, are under the spell of their older brothers and cousins.

Oh wait, here comes Penny running out of the kitchen chasing after the kids with Tex and Snoopy, Sean and Jessica's Golden Retriever, barking behind her.

I can't stop the groan that comes out of my mouth.

A pair of arms slide around my waist and I'm pulled up against a solid warm body. In spite of the chaos, I feel the corner of my lips lift.

"Just remember having a party for the Golden Globes was your idea." Jamie leans in and kisses my neck. His husky voice sends shivers down my spine. I feel the chuckle rumble through his chest as he rests his chin on my shoulder.

I turn and slip my arms around his neck. "Well, next time I have an idea I think is brilliant, please stop me." I press my lips to his and enjoy the peace that I feel in my husband's arms while chaos swirls around us.

A tug on my pants grabs my attention. I look down and see Emilia, one hand still tugging and the other rubbing her eyes. I scoop her in my arms.

"What's the matter, sweetpea?"

"When is everyone going home? I'm tired." She rubs her eyes with both hands and yawns.

It's almost eight thirty and way past this little girl's bedtime.

Jamie runs his hand over his daughter's hair and kisses her forehead. How tender he is! Will there ever come a time that I am not moved by this man? I hope not.

Jamie and I got married six months after Penny and Liam. And although it isn't always completely blissful, there isn't any other man that I'd want to spend the rest of my days with.

"Do you want to go to sleep, princess? You don't have to wait for everyone to go home," he says it so sweetly my heart melts. She puts her one arm out to her dad and nods. When he's securely holding her, she rests her head on his shoulder and sticks her thumb in her mouth.

"I guess that's a yes." I giggle, gently rubbing her back with my hand and kiss her on the cheek.

"I'll take her up and get her tucked in."

"Do you think she'll be able to sleep through this?" I throw my arm around to highlight the five kids, two adults and two dogs acting crazy, with a raised eyebrow.

"She would sleep through a tornado. This is nothing." He grins and gives me a quick peck, then heads toward the stairs to put Emilia to bed.

"Say good night to everyone," Jamie tells Emilia. She lifts up her hand and half-heartedly waves.

"Good night, nugget," Penny and Liam shout.

"Why are you going to bed, Melia?" Lucas asks, following Jamie to the stairs. "Don't you want to play anymore?"

I walk over to Lucas and kiss his sweet head. "She's just sleepy. It's past her bedtime."

"Oh," he responds. Then he yells at his cousin. "Hey John. Do you want to play hide and seek?"

"And they're off," I mutter, chuckling to myself at how quickly they bounce back.

John, Mark, and Liam go hide while Sarah and Lucas count. "Seven, eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!"

"Where are we going, Lucas?" Sarah asks.

"To find them."

"Oh." Sarah follows her brother and laughs. Tex and Snoopy are close behind. She's getting the hang of the games but she's still a bit young to fully understand what's happening.

I look at the TV and see that they aren't anywhere near Sean's category yet. I roll my shoulders and then my head, trying to relieve some of the tightness that is gathering. I hate how long these shows are, but I'd never forgive myself if they won and I missed it.

Sean has won many awards, but he has never been nominated for Best Actor in a movie based on his wife's book and screenplay.

Yes, Jessica wrote a romantic comedy. I couldn't believe it myself. I kept asking her if someone was going to die at some point and she yelled at me.

Seriously, though, she writes thrillers! People usually die in them, but no one dies in this one. It even has a happily ever after and everything.

I loved it! But not as much as Sean did when he found out what she did for him. I love watching my older brother get all soft and gooey where his wife is concerned. It's pretty stinking cute.

Jessica used her and Sean's story as her inspiration. It was actually very sweet. She only told me and her editor that she was writing it and didn't let Sean know until after it was in print. She wanted it to be a surprise.

When the book was finally released she came out as a debut novelist under a new pen name: Jessica Stewart. The book was on the best seller's list for over six months and at number one for two of them.

Once Sean read it, he started pitching it as a movie idea. A producer he worked with before, who trusted Sean's judgment, and here we are. Watching the Golden Globes.

It's a little surreal to be honest, and kind of like we've come full circle. If not for Sean concocting the "Find Jessica A Man Plan", it's possible we wouldn't be here.

Except for Liam and Penny that is, I'm pretty sure their story would've turned out exactly the same.

I catch Liam and Penny out of the corner of my eye as they head over to me on the couch. I can't stop my lips from lifting at how exhausted they look.

"Are you finally tired, big boy?" I joke with my little brother as he sits next to me and I hook my arm through his.

"It helps that I work with kids every day." He grins. "Though they don't quite wear me out like this crew."

"I don't think your boss would be happy if you were running around acting like a kid with the kids." I gently nudge him.

"You'd be surprised with what Patrick is okay with." Penny chuckles before she yells at the five menaces. "Okay everyone, time to build a fort!"

"Are you serious?" I grumble and both her and Liam laugh at me.

"You just wait and see what this does." Penny winks. "I promise the next time you are watching any of the boys, you will be building a fort too!

"They'll be passed out in thirty minutes," Liam adds.

"As long as you don't block the TV, then we're good." I shrug, craving some quiet to hear what's being said on the television.

Forty-five minutes later, all five kids and the two dogs are laying quietly in the ‘fort', while the four adults are sitting enjoying a few adult beverages as we all chit-chat during the commercials.

The Golden Globe theme music starts to play and Ricky Gervais is standing behind the podium. We were all surprised to see that he was hosting this year—especially after the last time—but here he is, and he's still funny.

"Now ladies and gentleman, it's time for those sappy stories that everyone knows are fake, and never ever happen in real life." Ricky looks around the room until his eyes land on someone. "Unless of course you're Sean O'Connell."

The camera pans over to Sean and Jessica as everyone in the crowd is laughing.

"Only Sean would have to run from a scandal, go home, and end up falling in love with his sister's best friend and his best friend's sister. I mean seriously?!"

The crowd roars and the camera pans back to Jessica and Sean.

"Look at Jess! She's so embarrassed, this is great." Jamie laughs.

"What about Mom?" John and Mark stick their heads out of their fort and look at the TV. "Why is she so red?"

"Because the spotlight is shining on her and people all over the world are watching," I answer.

"Oh," Mark and John say together as they shrug and stick their heads back in their fort to lay back down.

"But no. Sean can't just be a famous actor of rom coms, he needs to live in one too!" Ricky smirks. "But his wife wasn't willing to let him have all the fun and wrote a novel…can you guess about what? "

When he's met with silence he can't stop himself from ribbing everyone. "Seriously? No one knows? They were just on every tabloid site, TV show and magazine. It's their romance. Duh!"

He raises his hands in the air and raises his eyebrows. The crowd is laughing and all of us at home are too.

"So if you haven't guessed it. Sean O'Connell is nominated for Best Actor in the Musical/Comedy category for Running From Me To You ."

Everyone claps and cheers as the boys get out and run around to celebrate. Sarah is passed out and doesn't even flinch. Man, that girl can sleep hard.

As we try to get the boys to settle down, we miss who the other nominees are.

"And the winner is," Ricky looks over the audience with a dramatic pause. "Sean O'Connell for his performance in Running From Me To You . As if we didn't know he was the one who was going to win."

The camera pans on over to Sean and Jessica and catches them kissing. My heart swells and I place my hands over my chest as I watch two people I love celebrate their love in a truly exciting way. I look over at Jamie to find him watching me.

"What?" I say with a smile and lean in to kiss him.

He pushes some loose hair behind my ear as his eyes roam my face. The look in his eyes has my heart racing.

"I was just remembering how all of this started," he waves his hand around the room and points to the TV. "It was concocted in Sean's wild mind, only to become something beyond our wildest dreams."

His gaze holds mine, and I feel every nerve ending in my body come to life with how this man looks at me. He looks at me every day, and I feel so grateful. Tears burn at the back of my eyes, and he slides his hand around the back of my head to pull me in for a kiss.

"I love you, Evelyn Stewart," he whispers against my lips.

"I love y—" But before I can finish, we are rudely interrupted.

"Ewwwwwww!" The boys yell from their fort. "Why are all of you always kissing?"

I look at Jamie and see the humor in his eyes as we both recall the young boy when we were tubing.

"Ewww is right." I stick my tongue out at my nephews before turning to my husband and kissing him dramatically all over his face.

Everyone laughs and then Jamie smiles at me.

"I think you missed somewhere." He cups my cheeks with his hands.

"Oh?" I lean in to his touch.

"Yup. I think you missed right here." He says against my lips.

"Ewwwww!" The boys yell again, but this time Jamie ignores them and kisses the smirk right off of my face.

One day you'll understand, boys. One day you'll understand.

THE END.