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Epilogue
Rachel
Rachel knew this was ludicrous, ridiculous, and any other word that meant she was heading down a path she never, ever would’ve expected. She knew there would be so many questions and confusions. She was selling out on her promise to herself and to the group she loved so much.
How would they react? Would they tell her she was crazy? That she was making a mistake?
It was too late for those fears because it was Thursday, and the rest of the group was rolling in.
She had gotten to the Briarwood Tavern early, having permission from Michael to leave as soon as their afternoon performance was over. Her nerves over what she was about to announce made it impossible to sit and watch the clock mercilessly tick forward in her apartment. She’d gotten to their reserved table and sat, sipping a glass of wine as she waited for it all to fall.
As she sat alone, looking at the diamond on the finger she thought would forever be bare, she couldn’t help but smile. This was unexpected and fast and all sorts of impulsive, but it was something else, too: it was right. She had never been so sure of anything as when Zander slipped the ring onto her finger. It was like every piece of her fell into place, like it was the component of her life she was missing but didn’t even realize. She had been terrified to give up her heart and to say yes to forever. There had been so many reasons for focusing solely on her career over these past few years. The No Brides Club had played a huge role in that, but there was something even more at play—fear. She’d been terrified.
Love was a huge risk, and it didn’t just stop at the heart. Love seeped into every facet of one’s life and brought all sorts of risks to those elements as well. She’d been terrified that saying yes to forever would put everything else she’d built on the line.
But over the past few weeks, she’d come to realize her love with Zander didn’t put anything on the line. It didn’t take away from who she was, her career, her friendships, or anything else.
It built them all up. Her love with him made everything else seem richer and fuller. She was more herself with him. She was closer to the Rachel Winters she wanted to be.
He’d done that for her from the moment he’d walked into that workshop. It wasn’t something she wanted or even thought she needed. But it had happened, even though neither of them was particularly fond of the idea of forever or even love.
Sometimes, though, love trumped everything, even reason and promises.
She took another sip of her wine, glancing down at her phone. She had a text from Zander.
Zander: I love you, no matter what happens. Call me as soon as you can. Lots of love and then
some.
Rachel smiled again, feeling at ease. He loved her and then some. She loved him and then some. It was a bigger, stronger, more powerful love than she could’ve ever hoped for. So what if it had happened fast? So what if it had come unexpectedly? That didn’t take away from the love they’d found and the life they were going to build.
Rachel slipped off the diamond ring, feeling a sadness at looking at her bare finger. She put the ring in the front pocket of her bag, zipping it safely in. She couldn’t wait to put it back on, but she needed to ease everyone into her news.
A part of her felt silly for worrying so much what the women would think. Sure, they’d started the group based on the idea of careers over love. None of them wanted or planned on getting married, so they’d made their promise to each other and, above all, themselves.
But things changed. Rachel wasn’t the twenty-something she had been when she made the promise. She’d grown and changed over the years in ways she hadn’t expected. Was it really so crazy to think her feelings about love would change? And had they all been so naïve to think love and life would go exactly as planned? Rachel couldn’t have predicted feeling this way now, but she also couldn’t have predicted Zander Riley would stroll into her life and steal her heart. She had no way of knowing what was up ahead, which wasn’t a bad thing. Zander had come into her life at a time when she was stuck in her notions about love but also subconsciously ready to be by her side.
The women in the No Brides Club would understand. They would be happy for her and this new stage of life. Just because her stance on love changed didn’t mean anything else had to change… did it? Would they be accepting of this news? Would they still welcome her to Thursday meetings? Would this change things?
Rachel supposed it was too late to worry about it. Life was about change, no matter how much you wanted to avoid that fact. She would have to just maneuver these new waters as best she could. Of course, for once in her life, she wouldn’t be alone in doing so. She would have someone right by her side to see her through.
“Hey, you! You’re early,” Georgie said when she blew through the doors of the Briarwood Tavern a few minutes later. Rachel smiled at her best friend, wondering how she’d react. She had wanted so badly to call Georgie and to spill everything. Still, she’d found it best to tell everyone at once. She wanted to make the announcement and let all of the shock fall where it would.
Plus, she knew that no matter how the other women reacted, Georgie would have her back. She was a guaranteed ally who might be surprised, but who would still be happy for her.
“Yes, we didn’t actually have a performance at all today, so I could get here early.”
“Well, I’m glad. Did you order me a glass?” she asked, and when Rachel shook her head no, Georgie reached for hers, taking a gulp. I really needed that. I’ve had quite the day.”
The others quickly trickled in, all of their vibrancy and animated chatter bringing life and volume to the Tavern. There were hugs and smiles as the whole group gathered together, everyone there for this week’s meeting, which was sometimes a rare occasion. Each of them had such hectic careers, they couldn’t always gather for every meeting.
But, they were all here, every single member, to hear Rachel’s news. That was both unnerving and a good thing because she’d get it all out in the open at once.
When everyone had settled in and ordered drinks, Rachel cleared her throat, took a breath, and announced above the chatter, “Everyone, I have to say something.”
The gazes of the women simultaneously landed on Rachel, and she felt the pressure of being in the spotlight like she never had before. She continued.
“This is going to be shocking, perhaps, because it was shocking for me. It wasn’t something I ever expected, but we’ve all come to learn life rarely follows our expectations. It changes and surprises us in ways we could’ve never imagined when we started this club. I’ll be the first to admit that what I’m about to tell you is kind of crazy and scary and just so surprising. But in other ways, it’s not. I’ve come to a point in my life where I’ve realized something was missing for a while now. I thought that had to do with my career. I was wrong. It absolutely had to do with my heart.”
