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“Okay,” she confirmed. “You’re right. Life’s too short, and we should use the little time we have doing the things we want. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life as your wife. So, yeah, let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
Tazeem’s mouth slowly widened into a wide grin before he drew her to him and kissed her so hard he nearly knocked the breath out of her. “I love you, Chelsea Winters.”
Half-laughing, she breathlessly replied, “Not as much as I love you.”
And it was the truth. She loved him so much that she was almost scared of her feelings for him. He was the first man she’d ever loved and the last. The thought of being his wife, giving life to more of their children, and growing old together left her giddy with excitement. She couldn’t wait to spend the rest of forever with him.
Epilogue
~ 9 YEARS LATER ~
“N
O, FELICITY. YOU CAN’T PUNCH her in the throat,” Chess said into the phone. “Mercedes may be a demon bride but she’s still a paying client.”
“She’s not paying us enough for all her ridiculousness,” Felicity huffed in annoyance. “Now she’s saying that she wants me to find her cassowaries for all seventeen of her bridesmaids so they can walk down the aisle with them. Where the hell am I supposed to find seventeen of those birds, let alone seventeen tame ones?”
Even after so many years in the events business, Felicity’s people skills still left a lot to be desired.
Fighting the urge to laugh, Chess coaxed, “I’m sure you can convince her to go with something else.”
“Chess, you know me.” Felicity scoffed. “Do I look like I have the patience to negotiate with idiots? That’s your forte.”
“Try,” Chess advised. “I can’t always be there to soothe clients for you.”
“But you do it so well.” Felicity’s tone became softer as she coaxed, “Can’t you come and talk to Mercedes? If she and I have another conversation about those stupid birds or how she wants the officiant to wear assless chaps, I swear I will slit her throat.”
Holding in a laugh, Chess said, “Felicity stop talking about murder and our client in one sentence.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you’d just talk to her.” Felicity wheedled, “Please. Pretty, pretty please. You don’t want me going to jail for murder, right? It will be very bad for business. Save us, Chelsea.”
After a lot more pleading and a promise to take some work off Chess’s plate, Chess surrendered.
To be honest, she would’ve helped Felicity out with or without the promises. They’d been through so much together over the last couple of years that a favor or two was no skin off Chess’s nose.
The whole Evie-Derrick nonsense had made Chess reconsider whether the VP position was really what she wanted. The environment at Synovent was so toxic that it had bred psychos like Evie and Derrick, and made everyone else unreasonably hostile to each other.
Did Chess want to spend even one more year in such a company?
Her answer was no.
And yes, she’d considered the eventual transfer to one of Synovent’s sister companies. However, she’d realized that as long as all those companies were under Richard Huskle, the culture would be similar because that was just how he ran his companies. She might even end up in a worse environment than Synovent.
In the end, she’d decided that she valued her peace of mind more than she valued the large paycheck that came with a promotion. So, she’d left Synovent and started her own events company. Surprisingly, Felicity had approached her asking if they could be partners. Chess had nothing to lose plus Felicity was very good at her job, so she said yes.
And thus, Winter City Events was born.
Starting a business was no easy task, and despite all the contacts Chess and Felicity had, they’d still had it pretty rough the first two years. Chess had found herself second-guessing her decision to go her own away quite a few times. But Tazeem had been there to encourage her to keep going.
He’d supported her not just emotionally and at times financially, but he’d also kept their family running smoothly while she focused on growing her business. If he wasn’t in her life, there was a very good chance that Winter City Events wouldn’t have grown into the successful company that it was.
Speaking of Tazeem and the rest of her family…
Chess cocked her ears, trying to zoom in on the sounds of their movements. With four boys in the house – yes, that included Tazeem – there was rarely a quiet moment in this house. Even when she was in her study, she could usually pick up their voices and footsteps. But today, she heard nothing.
Very suspicious… and worrying given that it was a Saturday and all of them were home.
Frowning, she pushed her chair back and stood. She crossed the room and opened the door. Emptiness and eerie silence met her when she stepped out into the wide hallway.
