Epilogue

ONE YEAR LATER

D aisy looks out at the group of people in her living room. A smile breaks across her face, and she is filled with love. Joy. Peace. She's not sure what she did to be able to deserve this group of friends who have become family, but she's happy to have found them. Sure, there have been some bumps along the road, but she'd go through it all again to end up here. The pain. The loss. The loneliness. All of it to end up in this moment with her.

"You ready?" Petra asks quietly as she slides in beside her, grabbing a handful of popcorn and M&M mix from the bowl.

"As ready as I'm gonna be."

"You sure she'll say yes?"

Daisy's eyes go wide as panic floods through her, chilling her to the bone. "Oh Hades! What if she says no? What if I've totally misread all of this and she says no?"

Petra places a hand on her shoulder, instantly calming her with her magic. "Westie. Relax. I was kidding"

"You jerk. Don't say that when I'm about to jump off a cliff and ask the woman I love to marry me."

"Sorry." Petra smiles softly. "I have no doubt that she will enthusiastically say yes. I see the way she looks at you. The way you two are together. She is so head over heels for you that I wouldn't be surprised if she asked you to go and elope tonight."

"You think?" Daisy asks hesitantly.

"Think? Babe, I know," Petra says. "You got this."

Daisy swallows, gathering the courage to do what she has wanted to do every night for the last year.

"Are we gonna watch this movie or what?" Lachlan calls from the living room.

"Yes, buttercup. We're coming," Petra responds, picking up the bowl of popcorn candy mix and the tray of drinks. She slides in beside Lachlan on one end of the couch, and Daisy settles on the floor in front of Sloan. Sloan's legs frame her, and Daisy lays her head back, gazing up at the woman she is about to ask to spend the rest of her life with. Emotions flood her system. Love. Anticipation. Maybe a little fear.

As the movie starts, Sloan leans forward, resting her hand on Daisy's shoulder. Daisy reaches up, holding Sloan's in one hand. With her other, she quietly pulls the ring from her pocket and slides the platinum band with a single princess-cut emerald onto Sloan's finger.

Sloan gasps from above, jumping up to come in front of Daisy. "Daze. What is this?" she asks, her voice shaky as she extends her shaking hand toward Daisy.

The movie stops. Presumably, Petra or Lachlan pauses it. She hears them shift behind her, presumably recording this moment as they had planned.

"Sloan Ethel Wilks, I would love to say I have loved you since the moment we met?—"

"Fantastic start…" Lachlan coughs from behind her before she hears Petra swat him and tell him to be nice.

Daisy starts again. "Sloan Ethel Wilks, I would love to say I have loved you since the moment we met, but we both know that would be a bold-faced lie. However, despite our past and some challenges along the way, I have come to love you. I love the you you only let me see. The you who loves so fully and carefully. Who assesses the risks and leaps anyway. The you who saw me and loved me for me. I love all of you with all of me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you, Sloan, give me the honor of being my wife, my princess, for the rest of our days?"

Sloan wipes at the tears streaming down her face. Her makeup is streaked, and her eyes are already red and puffy, but she has never looked more beautiful than she does right now. She nods silently as a giant smile breaks through the tears. "I thought you'd never ask! Yes, a thousand times, yes!"

Daisy stands, grasping Sloan's face, pulling her in for a kiss. It starts soft and soon is all-consuming. A cough sounds behind them, reminding Daisy and Sloan that they are not alone. They pull apart and give each other another quick kiss for good measure. When Daisy looks at Petra, she is beaming and tear-streaked. She's not a pretty crier.

"Come here, you two! We're so happy for you!" Petra says, leaping from the sofa and gathering them in a group hug. Lachlan joins the hug too, and then disappears. When he returns, he holds a bottle of champagne and four glasses.

"To a bright future and years of love together as wife and wife," he says, handing glasses to Petra. He pops the cork and pours them each a glass.

"To love," Petra says. They clink glasses and sip, the bubbles popping happily on their tongues.

As Petra and Lachlan return to the sofa, Daisy turns to Sloan. "To my princess," Daisy says, raising her glass to toast the love of her life.

"To my cupcake."