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Zack looks at Jamie. Jamie gives him a thumbs-up, and Zack grins. He walks onto the concrete play area, then leans down and attaches a piece of chalk to his skateboard.
“Just gotta… be careful about it.”
He starts skating in tight circles. At first, I don’t know what he’s doing, but the chalk begins to spell something as he takes tight turns. The letters are jagged, but the meaning slowly becomes apparent.
Will you marry me?
I turn, heart fluttering, when I see Jamie on one knee with a ring box in his hand. He has it open, presenting a large, elegant diamond.
“I wanted to wait until I got my first advance,” he says passionately. “You deserve a ring. You deserve the world. I love you so, so much, Lucy.”
“I love you too. Well, aren’t you going to put the ring on me?”
He smirks.
Beside me, Juliet and Zack chuckle.
“You haven’t actually said yes ye—”
“Yes, yes, yes!” I yell, and he grins, leaping to his feet.
He slips the ring onto my finger. The metal kisses my skin beautifully and coldly, and I know this is the happily ever after I never thought possible. He may be my dad’s killer, but most importantly, he’s my soulmate and the only man I ever want to be with.
“I’m so happy,” I whisper, hugging him tightly, breathing in his scent.
“It’s you and me forever.”
EPILOGUE
SOME WEEKS LATER
Lucy
“I’ve been transparent about why we agreed to this interview,” Jamie says, looking the interviewer in the eye.
His name is Marcus Price, and he’s known for asking hard-hitting questions.
“To make money,” he says.
Jamie wraps his arm around me and takes my hand. I look up at him, silently telling him I’ll handle this, then turn to the interviewer.
“Well?” Markus says.
“You said it like it’s a bad thing. Something terrible happened to Jamie. His life was stolen. He lost so many years. Can you blame him for wanting to use this experience for something good?”
“Money is good now, is it?”
Jamie laughs easily. I know people have fallen in love with his casual charm, but I also know he only has eyes for me. Even the rest of the studio seems to side with him, smiling. I don’t feel as nervous as I thought I would. Lately, with Jamie at my side, with all we’ve overcome, I feel like we can do anything.
“We’re going to use that money to start a family together,” I say, sitting up, my heart pounding. I didn’t plan this. “It’s not like we want to waste it. We want to bring love into the world. We want to give our children the life we never had.”
“It’s a noble, good thing,” Jamie says firmly. “Markus, it’s a privileged position to be able to turn your nose up at making money. I may be a writer, but I’m a working-class man. I’ve spent my life around working-class people. We have a chance to build generational wealth for our family. What sort of man would I be if I didn’t capitalize on that?”
“And we’ll need to start buildingrealsoon.”
I rest my hand on my belly, my heartbeat fluttering.
“Wait…” Jamie turns and stares down at me, dashingly handsome in his suit. “Are you saying…”
