Epilogue

EPILOGUE

FOUR MONTHS LATER

I was sweaty when I finished my final shots of the movie. It had all come together perfectly, though, so I was also elated. For once, I’d gotten along with everybody, kept my mouth from getting away from me, and actually made friends on the set.

Apparently, I didn’t have to burn everything down after all. I was a decent guy when I was happy. Who knew?

I let myself into the hotel room I’d been sharing with Sam for the past two months. She wasn’t on the bed as I was expecting, but I could hear her in the shower. That meant I had time to make the call I’d been holding off from making for days.

Jax picked up on the first ring.

“You know, I almost think you miss me,” he said by way of greeting. “Why else would you call with such alarming regularity?”

I rolled my eyes, which he couldn’t see, and kept my voice low. “Is everything set?”

“Does the crow fly at midnight?” he replied.

“What?”

“I’m just pointing out that your greetings need work. You could’ve said ‘hello’ first.”

“You didn’t say hello.”

“Good point. As for what we talked about, it’s done. We arranged for you to rent Jennifer’s condo for two months. At that time, you either need to make her a good offer to buy it or vacate it so she can list it.”

We’d already been over this information. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve seen photos. The condo is great.” It wasn’t going to be our forever home anyway. We just needed something for a few years. Then we would find the home of Sam’s dreams. “I was talking about the other stuff.”

“Oh, you mean the stuff for the big proposal,” Jax teased.

“I believe that’s what I was talking about.” I darted a look toward the bathroom door. I could still hear the shower running. The second it shut off, though, I would have to end this conversation. “Are we good?”

“We’re good on everything but the ring.”

“I have the ring.”

“You have the ring?” Jax’s surprise was obvious. “How have you managed to hide a ring from her when you’re in such tight quarters?”

“I put it in my suitcase next to my underwear.”

“Smart. That’s a good place for an engagement ring.”

“Just … shut it.” I might not have been burning everything down any longer, but I was still a donkey when the mood arose. “We’re arriving around two o’clock tomorrow.”

“Daisy will have everybody in the lobby to greet you guys,” Jax replied. He was serious now. He seemed to understand that I was a man on the edge of losing his sanity. “We’re going to say that we set up a little party in the ballroom. The decorations are exactly how you wanted them.”

“Donkeys everywhere?”

“Actually, there’s only one donkey. Daisy cried when I said you wanted more. She handled the decorations. I promise they’re going to make you happy.”

“I thought the donkeys would be funny,” I protested.

“Daisy pointed out—and I tend to agree with her—that there will be photos after you make your big move. No future bride wants donkeys all over the place in every engagement photo. She’s going to want something to frame.”

He had a point. “Just as long as it looks good.”

“It looks great.” He paused a beat. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Nervous was an understatement. My life had been picture perfect from the moment I’d told Sam I loved her. Everything had fit into place. I was happy. More than that, I was content. I was even looking forward to wearing the stupid fangs again simply because it meant that Sam and I would be working together.

Despite all of that, I couldn’t help being nervous. “What about her parents? When are they due to arrive?”

“They’re already here. They got here a few hours ago. They’re going to be in the ballroom when you guys get here. Make sure to text me when you’re about ten minutes out. We figured seeing her parents would be a dead giveaway that something big was going on so they’re going to be in the ballroom.”

I’d met Carter and Bonnie Summers when they’d visited us in Las Vegas less than a month after I’d started shooting. I’d been a nervous wreck—let’s face it, I didn’t have a lot of luck with parents—but they’d welcomed me with open arms. Not only had Bonnie treated me like a cute puppy she never wanted to say goodbye to, but Carter had taken me golfing and talked to me as a proper father. He was protective of Sam, but he was willing to act as a sounding board for me, too. I loved both of them. I’d told Carter I had every intention of proposing to his daughter on that trip. When I explained how I wanted to do it, he gave me his blessing and promised to be there.

It appeared everybody was going to be following through on their promises.

The sound of the shower shutting off jolted me out of my reverie. “Thanks for everything—and I do mean everything. Sam is getting out of the shower. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He wasn’t the only one.

SAM DIDN’T STOP TALKING FOR THE ENTIRE ride from the Boston airport to the Hunter Hotel. Wonder of wonders, Alexander was our driver again—I had no doubt Jax had arranged it—and he kept up a running commentary with Sam that had her delighting at the fact that people were already showing up in Salem to see the places we’d filmed at. Since Evermore had only aired two episodes—both of them whopping successes—even I was impressed.

I sent Sam inside when we reached the hotel. I knew she was chomping at the bit to see Daisy. That left me to take our luggage from Alexander.

“Things seem to be going well,” he said as he handed me Sam’s suitcase.

I nodded. “We closed up Sam’s apartment in LA when we had a long weekend off from shooting in Vegas. We moved her stuff into storage. What she doesn’t know is that it’s on the way here.”

“And what about your place?”

“I’m paying my manager to handle it. He’s packing it up and putting the house on the market for me. It should be unloaded in the next few months.”

“Which will give you the money you need for a down payment here,” Alexander mused. “Look who is putting down roots when he thought it was impossible.”

I gave him a dirty look. “Let’s not take it to a weird place. The hard part is still in front of me.”

“It’s not, though.” Alexander shook his head. “You’ve already won. You just don’t realize it yet.”

I hoped he was right. I tipped him but didn’t say goodbye. Something told me I would be seeing more of him now that we were back in Salem.

The hotel was bustling with energy when I entered even though we were in the middle of what Daisy referred to as the dead season. That’s why I’d managed to get the ballroom on short notice for the big proposal.

Sam’s eyes were sparkling when she looked over her shoulder at me. “Daisy says they put together a small party for us.” She was glowing from within again. Honestly, over the past few months, she hadn’t stopped.

She was still my miracle. “Awesome.” I put our luggage behind the front desk. Even though I’d secured the condo, we were still spending the weekend in the hotel. Jax had reserved the honeymoon suite for us, and I wanted to take full advantage. “Let’s party.”

Sam didn’t wait for me. She had her head bent together with Daisy as they caught up with one another. I was slower as I followed, my hand automatically going to my pocket, where the ring box was waiting.

“It’s not as hard as you think it is,” Jax said as he fell into step with me. “Just speak from the heart.”

“Wasn’t it just you and Daisy when you proposed?” I challenged.

“So?”

“So, I’m doing it bigger … and better.”

Jax shot me a dirty look. “Bigger isn’t always better.”

“If you say so.” I watched Sam closely as she strolled into the ballroom. The first thing she saw was the huge donkey hanging from the ceiling—Daisy didn’t go small on the lone donkey—and then her gaze moved to her parents, who were standing next to the bar and grinning.

“Mom? Dad?” Sam’s confusion was evident. She hurried over to hug them, but I could practically hear the gears in her mind working. “What’s up?”

“We just didn’t want to miss anything,” Carter replied as he beamed at his daughter.

Bonnie was already crying, which only served to further Sam’s confusion.

“What’s going on?” When Sam turned, she found me on one knee.

My face burned as I looked up at her. I might’ve been a good actor, but the real-life stuff often threw me. I had vowed not to screw this up, though, and I was determined to follow through.

“You’re my favorite person in the world,” I started.

Sam’s hand moved to her chest and she began to rub it. She’d obviously figured out what was happening.

“From the moment you called me a donkey, I knew I was a goner,” I continued. “I fought it because I didn’t know what this was. Now I know, and the only thing I’m absolutely certain about is that I can’t live my life without you.”

I took a deep breath and opened the top of the ring box. Because Sam was sunshine, I went with a huge solitaire canary diamond in a white gold setting. The moment I’d seen the ring—on one of the rare occasions I was off on my own and could do some shopping—I knew it was the one for her.

“Oh, my…” Sam’s mouth fell open, telling me I’d bought the right ring.

“I don’t know where the movies will take me, but I want to know that I’ll always have you as my home,” I said. “Will you marry me?”

Sam didn’t hesitate before throwing herself at me. She clung tight as she sobbed into my neck. “You’re such a donkey for keeping this from me,” she complained. “I can’t believe you did this.”

There was more. There was the condo and eventually a house. This was enough for now, though. “Don’t you think you should answer me?” I prodded.

“Do you actually think I’m going to say no?” Her face was streaked with tears as she pulled back.

“I still need to hear it.”

“Of course I’ll marry you.” Her voice cracked, tugging on my heartstrings. “I don’t ever want to be away from you either.”

I slipped to the floor and pulled her into my lap as applause broke out around us. She was my happily ever after, and I planned to keep her forever. The rest of it, well, we would figure it out as we went along.

As long as we had each other, we had everything.

“I can’t believe this ring,” she said as she held it up. “This might be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“There’s stuffed lobster for dinner,” I told her.

I didn’t think her smile could get any wider. I was wrong.

“Okay, the second greatest.”

“I’ll keep working on it. Forever.”

“And ever and ever.”

“Absolutely.”