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I didn’t know if this was the right thing to do or if we would still be here in one, ten, thirty years’ time, but I did know that it felt right.
It always had, from the moment we’d collided in the grocery store to his grandparents assuming we were dating. From him introducing me to his mum to her rumbling my secret to me catching Freya’s bouquet.
And this…
It was just right.
Wherever, however, whenever this ended, I knew this was the right choice.
I would never regret taking a chance on William.
On us.
The problem with us pretending to be in a relationship was that there was always a chance we’d end up with something a little more real.
From where I was standing, wrapped in his arms, smiling against his lips, that wasn’t such a problem at all.
EPILOGUE – GRACE
Thirteen Months Later
I threw myself into William’s arms, and he wrapped them tightly around my waist, spinning me in a circle. “I did it!”
“You did! I’m so fucking proud of you, Grace.” He put me down, beaming at me. “Or should I call youDrGrace now?”
I pressed my face into his chest, laughing. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I did it.”
Dad smiled at me from behind William. “I never doubted you.”
I went from my boyfriend’s arms to my father’s, and Dad squeezed me just as tightly.
“Your mother would be so proud of you, Gracie,” he whispered in my ear.
“I know.” The lump in my throat thickened my words, but I’d never felt her absence quite as firmly as I did just then.
Looking over and seeing William, Amber, Dad, and Granny, plus Morag, Angus, Katie, and Stuart sitting there as I’d defended my thesis and finally earnt my PhD, the gaping hole of where Mum should have been had hit me hard.
It was also the one thing that had gotten me through it, even when I’d felt like I couldn’t carry on any longer.
I’d worked too hard to fall at the last hurdle, and if she’d been sitting there, she’d have told me to keep going, she’d have been whispering to me that I could do it, and I could.
I did do it.
I was officially Lady Grace Montgomery-Brown, PhD, and I could use the title of doctor if I wanted to.
I didn’t.
For the first time in a long time, I’d become comfortable with using Lady, the way everyone else just used Miss or Mrs. I no longer hid that part of who I was behind a curtain, and the past thirteen months had been a journey of self-discovery, peace, and happiness that had been peppered with a lot of anger and tears.
The weekend Dad and I had spent in Coventry for Eric’s funeral had changed a lot of things between us. He’d asked me if I would consider attending some family therapy sessions with him again, and I agreed. We had a lot still to work through, but his impending divorce from Carmen had brought us closer together than ever.
Seven months ago, I’d gone to Loxford House with William for dinner. He and Dad got along famously, and he’d taken to tagging along, mostly for moral support, but also to help Vincent.
Apparently, Vincent was interested in accounting. That was something I hadn’t seen coming, even though he’d always been a bit of a numbers whiz. I’d assumed my brother was going to become a professional video gamer or something, but no. Accounting.
He was even going to talk to Stuart about working with them at their firm.
That family dinner, only Dad had been at Loxford House, and he informed us that he and Carmen had filed for divorce. It was mutual and amicable. I guess after eighteen years they didn’t really love each other as much as I’d thought, and with Vincent no longer a minor, it was an easy break. Something to do with them both wanting to find true happiness again.
