Epilogue: You Picked Me

Performed by A Fine Frenzy

I was futzing with the tray of my miniature desserts on a table below the painting when an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me into a strong chest I knew as well as my own. It had only been twelve weeks since I'd moved in with Lincoln, and yet, it felt like we'd been together years already. We were working hard on that forever we'd promised each other.

He kissed the spot below my ear, sending flares through my body, shock waves of desire I had to rein in with other people in the room. I glanced toward the opposite wall where Lyrica and Trinity were talking, hands waving as they nudged a painting this way and that.

Trinity's work was full of a beautiful and whimsical realism. Magnificent, even. But the art that spoke to me most was this one on the wall above the tray. Cherry blossoms filled the air like a misty fog, and between the floating petals, the face of an angel peeked out. Me, but not me. It wasn't the face I saw in the mirror every day, but it was somehow what Lincoln saw when he looked at me. The demon in the painting next to the angel was dark. I saw pieces of Lincoln in it, but also Aaron and Poco and even Ryan Jennings, who I'd never met but who'd still hunted me. I hated that Lincoln saw himself there, but I thought, maybe, every day, he moved further and further away from the demon and more toward the angel.

"The smell…the toasted-sugar smell tangled with the ripe berries…it's perfect, Sweetness. Exactly what I wanted," he said.

The opening for the gallery was mere hours away. I was nervous for Lincoln and Trinity, but also for me because we were combining my food art with their masterpieces. People would taste while they browsed, combining the visual and olfactory senses. The music piping through the gallery's speakers added to the auditory, sweet fairy-tale songs and moody villain ballads. Every sense would be on alert. Taste would be explored once the food was served. Only tactile senses were missing, but I'd have Lincoln for that. I'd have his hand resting on my lower back, guiding me, his fingers tangled with mine while we stood side by side.

We'd face the fans and the critics together.

Like we'd done everything else since I'd moved in with him.

"This dress is going to kill me before the night is over," he said, trailing kisses up over my jaw, and my eyes darted over to the other women in the gallery. "It's perfect. Magical. Just like the paintings, but all I can think about is sliding you out of it."

Pleasure coasted through me at his words. Grateful and so damn happy he gave me them so easily. I was awed by the miracle of Lincoln in my life, feeling this way about me and adoring me in just the way I'd always longed to be.

I hadn't chosen my signature pink for the dress tonight. Maybe I'd needed to stand out from the woman in the cemetery, who was on the wall upstairs, who wore cotton-candy pink while her wings grew back and she banished the dark with her sword. That woman was strong and brave, seeking retribution as she held back the shadows. But she was also serious, somber, and sad. And that wasn't me these days. I was happier and much more fulfilled.

So, instead of pink, I'd worn a green dress that landed somewhere between sage and pistachio. A dress that danced with life, the gauzy overlay floating over an underskirt that clung to me. The top was tightly fitted with heart-shaped curves over my breasts, showing skin I rarely displayed. I'd fallen in love with it the moment I'd tried it on when Mom and Shay had taken me shopping.

I turned in Lincoln's arms, straightening the collar of the white button-down he wore under a richly colored, brocade vest. The pattern on the vest was intricate—ivy and lotus flowers made of silver and gold thread. Whimsical and real, just like the art he'd hung on the walls.

"This completely fits the vibe of the gallery," I said, patting his chest.

"You fit the vibe of the gallery," he responded. He kissed me, tenderly and yet with that passionate force that always existed between us.

"Are you two love birds ready to open the doors, or are you going to neck all night?" Lyrica called out.

Lincoln chuckled, color bloomed over my skin, and we turned to find the two women watching us. Lyrica was in blood-red silk, her warm skin blazing beneath it, while Trinity was in black lace that reminded me of the dress Sienna had appeared to me in. I wondered if Lincoln noticed it too. Regardless, neither of us mentioned it. We rarely talked of Sienna, and neither of us had seen her again since the night Aaron had attacked us.

"Open the doors," Lincoln said.

Lyrica rolled her eyes at his command but went to unlock the doors while Trinity and I pulled back the curtains from the windows. A crowd had gathered. My family. Lincoln's sisters. People from all over town, the state, and farther. Lincoln Matherton was opening a gallery, and that drew people like gnats to watermelon.

The hours went by in a flash, people in and out, buying art, tasting food, laughing, and joking. Trinity was glowing, Lincoln was smiling, and I was thrilled every time I caught someone eating one of my miniature desserts and murmuring in delight. Even after having created several art pieces for Hector, and having people buy and eat my treats for several months now, I was still unaccustomed to seeing their pleasure when they tasted something I'd created.

A rustle of bodies at the back of the gallery turned into Lincoln's parents as they came through the alley door. Secret Service had been in and out of the gallery all day and now there were almost as many of them in attendance as there were guests. His parents beelined for Lincoln, hugging him and me with warmth before greeting his sisters the same way and then turning to Trinity to fawn over her pieces.

Katerina caught me by the arm as Lincoln took his parents upstairs to see the angel in the cemetery.

"Give them a moment," she said.

While I hadn't met Katerina in person until she'd flown into town two days ago, I'd started chatting with her while Lincoln was in the hospital. Getting a better response from me than she ever did him, she just started texting me directly, and we'd found ourselves talking about everything and anything. I loved Shay like a sister. She was a friend and family, but in some ways, I was already closer to Katerina than I'd ever been to Shay. Maybe because I was finally letting myself open up to people again, or maybe because Katerina pushed herself through any doors you tried to close. Maybe it was both.

Juliette, on the other hand, I barely knew. She was quiet and reserved. So opposite of her sister and even her moody brother. Sometimes, I wondered if it was on purpose. If she chose to be invisible whenever she was standing next to their fiery energy.

What I did know was that Lincoln worried about both twins constantly these days, but especially Katerina since she'd let her Secret Service detail go. Lincoln had hoped he'd get to the bottom of it when she flew in for the opening, but I wasn't sure they'd had a moment to talk alone yet.

"Lincoln is sure something is wrong with you," I told her.

She rolled her eyes, but they shifted down and away. "I was working like a demon to finish the movie. I have weeks more to spend on the editing floor. I haven't had the time to respond as much as I usually do. Tell him he's just getting a bit of his own medicine."

She said it with the normal, flippant attitude Katerina always had, but my instincts, like Lincoln's, told me it was something more. Different.

"You know he'll always have your back," I said softly.

Katerina met my gaze and held it. She let out a soft sigh, as if she'd been holding her breath for too long. "I know. And I promise if I need him, I'll tell him. For now, everything is fine."

I would have pushed more, but the music stopped, taking the atmosphere so important to Lincoln with it. I turned, ready to head to the stereo system in the corner, and my feet stalled as I saw him on the stairs, looking down at me with a microphone in his hand.

"Lyrica demanded I say something," he said, waving at his friend. "And if you know Lyrica at all, you know you don't disobey." Laughter floated through the gallery. "So, thank you for coming to the opening of The Lotus Gallery tonight. Thank you for letting Trinity Carerra and me unlock a door for you into a world where magic and mythical creatures really do exist, flitting next to us whether we see them or not."

His eyes searched the room and stilled when they came to rest on me.

"When I first came to Cherry Bay, not quite a year ago, something in the air, something about the cobblestones and light and the woodlands on the outskirts spoke to me. Called to me. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was simply destiny walking me home and bringing the magic into my life I'd been missing. It brought all of you and a new take on art, but more important than anything else, it brought me Willow."

As an entire room full of people turned to look at me. I squirmed, fighting the instinctive reaction to duck my head and hide.

The days of being invisible, of needing to be invisible, were behind me. Everywhere we went now, people photographed Lincoln and me. Our pictures were regularly in the tabloids. Part of me hated it. The piece of me that had been told to hide in order to keep safe sometimes still panicked. But whenever I really started to go over the edge, Lincoln would grab my hand, run his fingers along my palm, and I'd be centered again. I'd find home again.

"I made a mistake with her," Lincoln said, and my chest tightened, even as his blue gaze burned me with its love. "You see, after I'd been shot and was lounging in the hospital on painkillers, I did something stupid. I gave her a promise and demanded one back, but I didn't give her the charming moment she deserved. So, Willow, if you could come up here now, I want to fix that. I want to make it right."

My feet grew roots, binding me to the floor.

Katerina nudged me, and Lincoln's eyes beseeched me.

But it was Guy Matherton, who I hadn't even realized had come to stand on the other side of me, who got me moving. He winked, lips turned upward in a smile that matched Lincoln's, and said, "Perhaps you shouldn't leave my son stranded up there while he attempts a grand gesture."

My eyes widened, but then I was moving, unsteady on heels I was unaccustomed to wearing as I weaved through the crowd. When I reached the base of the stairs, Lincoln held out his hand and helped me up the final steps until I was next to him. He set the microphone down, dug in his pocket, and came up with a tiny velvet box.

"Forever is what we promised each other that day, Willow. But here, in front of all our loved ones, and a good chunk of the town we've made our home, I wanted to ask you appropriately, with not only love in my heart but with the romance you deserve, if you'll do me the honor of becoming my wife."

He opened the box, and I stared at the ring—a bright-pink diamond surrounded by an infinity symbol.

Happiness bubbled through me so large it felt like a mountain was trying to shove its way out of my chest. We hadn't talked about marriage since that day in the hospital. Not once. He'd said he wanted it to happen as soon as possible, and then we'd said nothing. I hadn't been upset. I hadn't even really thought about it because we'd been content playing house, getting to know each other, learning each other's moods and likes and dislikes. He'd been busy getting the gallery ready and painting multiple pieces, many of them with my face or shape, and I'd been busy working on my food art and how to make enough miniatures at a price that turned a profit for Hector and me.

We'd been busy. Happy. In love.

It had been enough.

Especially once I'd gotten the news that I didn't carry the FFI mutated gene. Once I knew our forever could be longer than I'd ever thought I'd have, life had been nothing but bright stars and bright moments.

I looked up from the ring to Lincoln's shining blue eyes and the smile that was mine and mine alone. The one that had stolen my heart before I'd recognized what was happening.

"We're already in forever, Lincoln. You've already given me everything I never knew I couldn't live without. Every day, you give me romance. Love and joy. Sliding a ring on my finger won't change that, but I'm thrilled to do so. Thrilled to give you the happily ever after you so deserve."

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

Cameras flashed.

And I knew what would be in the tabloids tomorrow. My lips smooshed up against his.

But I didn't care.

Because for today, tomorrow, and always, I wanted people to see this was who we were. A couple joined by fate and love but also the magic of an entire town.