Epilogue
AIDAN
The following June…
My whole life, my mother had been telling me that if I was willing to put myself out there for love, then I would be bound to find the great love of my life.
I’d resisted her advice, and it seemed like there was always some reason why I didn’t think it was appropriate. I saw now that it just wasn’t the right time, and it wouldn’t be the right time until that one fateful morning when I saw a young, beautiful woman needing help in the water.
I looked over to my right and admired the glowing profile of my bride-to-be. She caught me staring and gave me a coy smile, and the look in her eyes told me that later we would be enjoying some much-needed one-on-one time amidst all of these festivities.
Between Lila’s graduation today and our wedding the next day, everything had been a whirlwind for the last few weeks.
My daughter was due to walk across the stage to receive her hard-won degree. This day was a proud moment for any parent, but after everything Lila and I had been through over the years, it seemed like an especially poignant moment.
She’d already secured a position with a law firm in Los Angeles. I was pleased to see that she was following her own path and fighting for those who often didn’t have the ability to fight for themselves. I’m glad she decided to forgo entertainment law. I loved my daughter,
but I did not see her having the patience to deal with high-maintenance celebrities. She was going to make a difference, and I could not be prouder.
Just a few months prior, at the end of the fall semester, I’d watched Clio walk across a similar stage to receive her degree. Shortly afterward, I dropped to one knee and slipped a ring on her finger. It took a while for her parents to get used to the idea,
but to those who were closest to Clio, it was a foregone conclusion. Although, Lila did make it clear that she would absolutely not be calling her best friend “mom.”
My mother fell in love with Clio instantly, just like I did, and proclaimed that she was glad the right woman had finally showed up for her boy.
Days later, Clio joined me permanently in Los Angeles. She’d accepted a position at an elementary school as their newest music teacher, and it was obvious from the start that she’d made the right choice.
The kids loved her, and she adored them. Every day, she came home overflowing with excitement by the progress or breakthroughs she was having with her students. Administration was equally enthusiastic for their new music teacher, though I think she made them a little nervous with the scale of her spring musical. But she and the kids pulled it off without a hitch.
For my part, I’d cut my workload down considerably and now volunteered my legal services pro-bono several times a month to mostly at-risk youth who typically did not have access to quality representation.
It felt good giving back, and I woke up with a renewed purpose. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that I was waking up next to Clio every morning-she was one hell of an incentivize. It didn’t take me long to make sure I had a baby grand piano for my Los Angeles house as well, and the things I did to her on it…well, let’s just say that I am a very satisfied man.
We’d struggled for a little bit on trying to decide a date for our wedding. Personally, I wanted to marry her as soon as possible, but between her new job and my volunteering duties, that was a lot to ask.
Ultimately, it was Lila who suggested that we get married right after her graduation. She said that way, not only would all the families already be there, but it could also be one big party week as far as she was concerned.
Tomorrow, Lila and Sydney would be whisking Clio away since it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, and I would miss her every second of it. But by the end of tomorrow night, Clio would be my wife, and I couldn’t wait.
Afterward, we would be staying where it all started and spending the rest of the summer at the beach house. I couldn’t wait to carry her across the threshold of the beach house as my wife.
It was strange how stagnant and mind-numbing things had gotten in my life before last summer. In the last year, however, it had been a whirlwind…a euphoric, blessed whirlwind.
“Lila Miles,” a voice over the microphone boomed. Our whole section leapt from their seats and whooped, hollering and clapping as my daughter walked across the stage and shook hands with the school dean.
She made her way off the stage, and I sat back down with Clio’s hand clasped in my own. “Hey, thank you,” I whispered in her ear.
She looked at me confused. “For what?”
“For showing up. I really didn’t think I’d ever find the one until you appeared, and I am beyond grateful that I get to share my life with you,” I told her, kissing her softly on the lips.
“Aidan,” she sighed happily returning my kiss, “not in front of Lila.”
*******
CLIO
Butterflies were dancing in my stomach as Sydney fiddled with an unruly piece of my hair.
“Alright, Clio, you and Dad aren’t going to do that dainty, little feeding each other cake thing, are you? I want to see some full-on cake/face smashing. I mean, really go for it,” Lila instructed.
I laughed at her antics. “I haven’t really thought about that, to be honest.”
“Mm, she’s too busy thinking about the honeymoon,” Sydney teased.
“No…nope, we’re not going there,” Lila said loudly in a sing-song voice.
“Actually, I was just thinking about how lucky I am. To be honest, I never thought I would get this type of life. I guess I figured I’d get married eventually, but not to the gorgeous man of my dreams who makes me laugh and actually listens when I talk and is okay with being just quiet, too…”
Sydney squeezed my shoulders. “I am so excited for you, Clio, and you are a beautiful bride. He won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”
I smiled at her through the mirror, but tears pricked my eyes when Lila joined in and said, “She’s right, Clio. He’s a lucky guy.”
***
We lucked out on the weather. It was a beautiful, sunny day, even though the breeze did try to steal my veil. I didn’t care, I just saw Aidan grinning from ear to ear as I made my way across the sandy aisle.
It seemed only fitting that we got married on the beach. Just beyond our altar was the spot we first met. It was also the spot where we first made love, but that wasn’t anything anybody else needed to know about.
Though years later, when we looked back at our wedding pictures, Aidan loved to point towards the area behind the altar and announce that he’d seen stars with me right there under everybody’s noses.
It seemed surreal to me that a year before I’d been rushing, shamefaced and crying my eyes out back to my dorm because of my dumb ex-boyfriend. I was the laughingstock of the campus and I’d had next to zero confidence. What was worse was that I didn’t see how things would ever get better.
Thank God for friends like Sydney and Lila building me up and reminding me to keep myself open to trying new things. My summer of learning to trust myself and trying new things had turned into a lifetime of being Mrs. Aidan Miles.
Gone were the thoughts that things like this didn’t happen to people like me. Gone were the misconceptions that I was somehow fundamentally lacking.
I was exactly who I was supposed to be, and I was with the man I was destined to love.
There were a lot of moments where I still felt the need to pinch myself, but in those moments, Aidan took my face in his hands and reminded me, “you and me, Clio, it is destiny.” And he was right: it was destiny.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I’m definitely going to miss Aidan and Clio Their journey was intense, emotional, and so much fun to write-it feels bittersweet to say goodbye to them. But don’t worry, we’re diving right into another sizzling story!
Ever fantasized about the tantalizingly forbidden love between a nanny and her boss? Well, buckle up because I’ve got you so covered! Spicy, sultry, and oh-so-irresistible. And guess what?
It’s the grand finale of this book-err, should I say series? ()- Trust me, you don’t want to miss the next chapter because it’s packed with passion, drama, and oh-so-much steam. See you there!