Epilogue

Epilogue

“Come in!”

My office door opened, and a face I hadn’t expected to see smiled at me.

Louis Canter glanced around the room. “Well, look at you roughing it.”

My office furniture consisted of a folding table, metal chair, and three milk crates I’d used as makeshift file cabinets. A lone light bulb hung overhead from a long, orange extension cord. Making my office presentable wasn’t high on my to-do list.

I got up and walked around my desk to greet him. Clasping hands, I teased, “What, are you slumming today? You know the only view of the park we get at this hotel is the one across the street where crack deals go down.”

He chuckled. “The construction in the lobby looks good. It reminds me a lot of the early days when I started at The Countess.”

“Somehow I don’t think Grace had to pay off bums to stop urinating in the entrance way.”

“Maybe not. But the energy feels the same. There’s a buzz when you walk in that front door—contractors trying to finish up the last of things, new employees running around to get everything in tip-top shape for when the first guests arrive. It feels like something special is about to happen.”

I smiled. I’d thought it was just me who felt it. Six weeks after the Sterling family had taken over at The Countess, I’d been on my way to visit Mr. Thorne when I noticed a For Sale sign in the window of a boarded-up hotel. The real estate agent happened to be inside, so I stopped in. While she talked on her cell phone, I looked around. The place had been a disaster of cobwebs and neglect. But the sign over what had once been the lobby’s reception desk caught my eye. Hotel Caroline. At that moment, I knew my life was about to change.

The building had been shuttered for five years. Later I’d come to find out the hotel had closed one week to the day after my sister passed away. I’d never been much of a believer in fate, but I liked to think my sister was looking down on me that day, giving me a sign that it was time to get my shit together and grow some balls. This wasn’t the best neighborhood right now, but it was up and coming—what I could afford—and I had faith in the area. More importantly, I had faith in myself. Finally.

One month after walking into Hotel Caroline, a day that happened to be my thirtieth birthday, I handed a check for almost five-million dollars over in exchange for the deed to a hot mess of a hotel. It was the first time I’d touched a dime of the trust fund my grandfather had created as my compensation for being a body of spare parts for my sister.

As a courtesy, that afternoon I’d called my grandfather and father to tell them I’d gone out on my own. Neither had really gotten over what I’d pulled with The Countess. But letting them know felt like the right thing to do.

Neither wished me luck. They also didn’t try to tell me I’d made a mistake. Honestly, they didn’t give two shits. Not to mention, neither remembered it was my birthday. Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Later that night, I went to see Sophia and celebrated being free exactly the way I’d wanted to—a good fight with my girl. She’d been a little upset that I hadn’t mentioned any of my plans to her until after it was too late. I’d bought a rundown hotel and basically excommunicated myself from my family without saying a word.

To this day, I’m not sure exactly why I did that. Maybe I was afraid she would try to talk me out of it, or maybe it was just something I needed to do on my own. Either way, she wasn’t happy about being kept in the dark. Though she’d forgiven me by the time I gave her three orgasms and untied her.

“So what brings you down here, Louis?” I asked. “Everything still set for tonight at The Countess?”

“Everything is perfect. The maintenance crew started putting things together the minute Sophia left for the airport yesterday. It’ll be all set up by the time you arrive tonight.”

“Great. Thank you.”

Louis had a small, brown paper bag in his hand. He extended it to me. “Thought you might like this. I found it in one of the boxes we pulled from storage.”

My brows drew together. “What is it?”

“A Christmas gift I gave Grace in 1961. I’d forgotten all about it. But take a look. I thought it might be pretty damn fitting for the occasion tonight.”

Inside the paper bag, a glass ornament was wrapped in old newspapers. At first, I didn’t get the significance, but when I turned it around and saw what was painted on the other side, I looked up. “Holy shit.”

Louis smiled. “Life’s a giant circle, isn’t it? Sometimes we think we’ve reached the end and closed the loop, only to realize we’ve arrived back at the beginning again. Good luck tonight, son.”

***

Sophia

I watched from the airport escalator with a smile as Weston scanned the crowd, looking for me. Even if he hadn’t been the tallest person in most rooms, he’d stick out above the rest. There was something so magnetic about him. Sure, he was tall, dark, and handsome—that went without saying. But that wasn’t what set him apart. It was the way he carried himself—feet planted wide, chin held high, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes that matched the cocky grin that always seemed to threaten at the corners of his lips. He stood in baggage claim, holding a bunch of flowers, and I was certain the hearts of a few women in the vicinity were going pitter-patter at the scene.

Halfway down, he spotted me, and his ever-threatening grin burst into a full smile. We’d been together more than a year and a half now, and it was almost a year since we’d taken the leap and moved in together, yet his sexy smile could still melt my panties. He strode through the arrival area toward the escalator, his eyes never leaving mine.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, smiling as I stepped off.

Weston took my suitcase, snaked his arm around my waist, and pulled me to him. “I was anxious to see you.”

He kissed me as if I’d been gone a month, though I’d just left to visit my grandfather yesterday morning. “Well, this was a nice surprise. Thank you for picking me up.”

Outside the airport, I yanked my coat closed. “I’m definitely not in Florida anymore.”

“Yeah. Supposed to get snow tomorrow.”

“Oooooh. I’d love that. I hope it sticks around for Christmas so we can have a white one.”

“Sweetheart, if it snows tomorrow and it’s still around in two weeks, it’s gonna be a dirty, gray Christmas.”

I pouted. “Don’t ruin my dream just because you’re Scrooge.”

“I’m not Scrooge.”

“Oh good. So then can we finally decorate the apartment this weekend?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I knew the holidays were a tough time of the year for Weston, because decorating reminded him of Caroline. But I wanted to do more than we’d done last year, which was not much.

On the drive into the City, I filled Weston in on my trip. He gave me an update on Hotel Caroline, which was set to open just after the new year. Since he seemed to be in a good mood, I thought I’d broach another conversation I wanted to have.

“So…my grandmother is going to be eighty next month. My grandfather is throwing her a surprise party down in Florida.”

Weston glanced at me. “Oh yeah? That’s nice.”

“I thought maybe we could go down for the party.”

“We?”

“Yes, we.”

“You want me to come to a party filled with Sterlings.”

I nodded. “I do.”

“What do you think your grandfather would have to say about that?”

“I mentioned it to him. He’s…coming around.” That was true. Well, sort of. At least this time he hadn’t said over my dead body when I’d mentioned him getting to know the man I lived with. I took that as progress.

Weston tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’ll go if you want me to.”

My eyes widened. “You will?”

“It’s important to you, right?”

“Yeah. I know my grandfather would love you if he would just get to know you.”

Weston shook his head. “Why don’t we shoot for tolerating my presence, so you’re not disappointed, babe.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

After we got through the tunnel, Weston turned right instead of left. “Aren’t we going home?”

“I need to stop at The Countess.”

“What for?”

“Uhh… I had a package shipped there by accident. I ordered from your Prime account, and the last address you shipped to was there, and I didn’t notice.”

I yawned. “I’m tired. Is it important? I can just bring it home tomorrow after work.”

“Yeah. It’s important.”

“What is it?”

He was quiet for a minute. “None of your business. That’s what it is.”

I grinned. “It’s my Christmas present, isn’t it?”

We pulled up down the block from The Countess, and Weston parallel parked. He unbuckled and started to get out.

“I’ll just wait here,” I said.

“No.”

“What do you mean no? Why can’t I wait here?”

Weston raked a hand through his hair. “Because the package is in your office, and I don’t have the key.”

I reached for my purse, which I’d set on the floor. “Oh. I’ll give you my keys.”

Weston huffed. “Just come with me.”

“But I’m tired.”

“It won’t take more than a minute.”

I huffed. “Fine. But sometimes you’re annoying. You know that?”

He grumbled something as he exited the car, yet jogged around to open my door. When he took my hand to help me out, I noticed his palm was sweaty.

“I didn’t think your car had a heated steering wheel.”

“It doesn’t.”

“So why are your hands so sweaty?”

Weston made a face and tugged me to start walking. At the entrance to The Countess, he waved off the doorman and swung the door open for me. His mood had shifted from happy to grumpy really fast.

Inside, I walked four or five steps and then stopped. I blinked a few times, confused. “What…what is this?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”

Weston guided me closer. We stood a few feet in front of an enormous balsam fir, and I looked up. It towered over me, positioned between the two curved staircases that led to the second floor. It almost met the ceiling on the second story. It had to be thirty-feet high and made the entire lobby smell like Christmas.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I love it. It’s huge!”

Weston winked and leaned in to me. “I’ve heard that before.”

I laughed. “Seriously, I can’t believe you did this.”

Len from maintenance walked over. He had an extension cord in one hand and a plug to something in the other. He looked to Weston. “You ready?”

Weston nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

Len connected the cords, and the entire tree lit up in white lights. I couldn’t even take a guess how many thousands had to be strung on it. A few seconds later, the tree started to twinkle. It looked absolutely magical. And I’d been so mesmerized by it all that I hadn’t noticed Weston moved. But when I did, the world seemed to stop.

Everything except the man down on one knee seemed to fade away.

I covered my mouth with my hands, and my eyes immediately began to water. “Oh my God, Weston! And I didn’t want to get out of the car!”

He chuckled. “That was obviously unplanned, but pretty damn fitting, don’t you think? We had to argue right before I came in to do this. We wouldn’t be us if everything was smiles and roses.”

I shook my head. “You’re right. We wouldn’t.”

Weston took a deep breath, and I watched as his chest rose and fell. He took my hand, and I finally understood why his palms were sweaty. They still were. My cocky man was nervous. I lifted my other hand to my chest and covered my racing heart. He’s not the only one.

Weston cleared his throat. “Sophia Rose Sterling, before I met you, I had no purpose. It didn’t take long after you stormed into my life to realize the reason I’d been lost was because you hadn’t found me yet. My purpose in life is to love you. Deep down, I knew that from the first day we stepped foot into this place. But it didn’t make sense. It took me a while to figure out that love doesn’t have to make sense; it only has to make us happy. And you do—you make me happier than I’ve ever been, Soph. I want to spend the rest of my life fighting with you just so we can make up. And I want the rest of my life to start today. So, will you please do me the honor of marrying me, because ‘I would not wish any companion in the world but you’?”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I don’t know why, but I got down on my knees and pressed my forehead to his. “How can I say no, when you finally quoted Shakespeare right? Yes! Yes! I’ll marry you.”

Weston slipped the most gorgeous, cushion-cut diamond onto my finger. The thousands of lights illuminating the tree above us dimmed in comparison to its sparkle.

In true Weston style, he reached around my neck and squeezed hard, bringing my lips to crash against his. “Good. Now shut up and give me that mouth.”

He kissed me in the middle of the lobby, in front of the big Christmas tree, long and hard. When we finally came up for air, I heard people clapping. It took a few seconds for it to register that they were applauding for us. People had been watching the proposal. My eyes came into focus as I looked around.

Oh my God! Mr. Thorne is here.

And…is that… I blinked a few times. “Is that…?”

Weston smiled. “Scarlett. It is. I flew her in last night to ask her permission to propose. I figured I wouldn’t have much luck with your father, and you value her opinion more anyway.”

We were still both kneeling on the floor, so Weston helped me up. Scarlett and Mr. Thorne congratulated us, as well as a ton of the staff.

I looked up at Weston, still in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did all this. Do you remember the story I told you about the last time a tree was in this lobby?”

“I do,” he said. “The three of them used to decorate a big tree together, right here in this very spot. Grace always hoped our grandfathers would come around some day, and they could all be friends and do it again. That never happened, so she never put another tree in here. That’s why I did this. Our grandfathers are too stubborn to come around, but I think Grace Copeland would be happy that the Sterlings and the Lockwoods have finally made friends again.”

I smiled. “She would be. I’m sure of it.”

Weston reached into his coat pocket. “Oh, I almost forgot. I had the lights hung so it would look nice for you, but we’re going to decorate it together. Just like they used to. There’re a couple of dozen crates of ornaments stashed behind the tree. But I have the first one for you to hang.”

“You do?”

He unwrapped a glass ball from a wad of newspaper and handed it to me.

“Louis gave Grace this as a gift one year. He found it in storage yesterday. If I’d had any doubt that proposing to you in front of this tree was the right decision, this ornament solidified that it was meant to be.”

I looked down at the Christmas ball, which was personalized like many ornaments still are today. Painted in silver were three stick figures holding hands, the two on the ends a bit bigger than the middle one, and below that, names were painted.

Sterling—Copeland—Lockwood

Forever

“That’s us, with Grace Copeland bringing us together, Soph.”

“Oh my God! You’re right!”

Weston leaned down and brushed his lips with mine. “Of course I am. I’m always right.”

I hung the ornament on the tree and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You know. I don’t like the ring you picked out, and I think you could have used a bit more creativity in your proposal. Oh, and the tree…it’s pretty lame.”

Weston’s eyes widened. “I hope you’re joking.”

“I’m not.” I tried to hide my smirk, but failed. “Perhaps we should fight about it later when we get home.”

My fiancé’s eyes darkened. “Why wait that long? Meet me in the laundry room in five minutes…”