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Epilogue
NATHAN
"Wake up!"A shout of excitement hit me moments before the thud of a soft pillow.
I rolled over and looked at Charlie through squinted eyes. The morning sunlight streamed through the window behind me and drenched the wood floors of our bedroom with warmth. Edward stretched next to me before rolling back from the commotion. It was too early even for the cat.
"I think your alarm clock failed you," I said, glancing at the clock on my side table. "It's not even six in the morning." In my former life, I might have considered waking up at this time to be sleeping in. But ever since I liberated myself, I found much more joy in not keeping a schedule than I ever thought possible.
"It's time," she said excitedly.
I got out of bed and stretched. I barely had a chance to stand before she launched herself into my arms.
"I can't believe it's finally going live." She kissed me and I melted into her, tangling my hands through her hair. Damn—waking up next to her would never get old.
Ever since I managed to win her back six months ago, our relationship had been full steam ahead. A few weeks afterwe officially started dating, I moved out of Oliver’s house and into the craftsman Charlie had helped me pick out. I'm not embarrassed to admit I had asked her to move in with me right away. Where was the logic in waiting when I knew we’d end up together?
Charlie, however, had insisted it was too soon. Thankfully, she only made me wait a few months before she graced me with her presence. I had purchased this house with thoughts of her being here, and it felt lonely without her.
“Come on,” she said, tugging my shirt. I followed her to the stairs, chuckling. It was like dealing with a kid on Christmas morning.
Although I understood her excitement completely. All of her and Lila’s hard work was about to manifest into something bigger than the two of them could have ever imagined.
Downstairs, Charlie opened her laptop and paced back and forth as it powered on.
“I can’t believe it’s about to go live. This is unreal.”
I kissed the top of her head and snaked my arms around her waist as she waited impatiently for ConnectHer’s new application to go live. “Believe it. You worked hard for this.”
She leaned back into me. “It’s all thanks to you. Lila and I never would have got an investor on our own.”
I shook my head. “I just gave you their name. You did all the work.”
She smiled. “Well, you got that beta app up and running faster than we ever thought possible.”
“I only brought your vision to life with mindless code. This was all you,” I insisted. “And the fast turnaround was purely due to your impossible deadlines. You’re a tough boss.”
She rolled her eyes. “No tougher than you.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
A knock sounded at the door before Lila let herself in. She ran into the dining room with a coffee in hand looking frazzled. “Did I miss it?”
Charlie shook her head. “You made it with a minute to spare.”
The two hovered inches away from the laptop as I took a step back to let them have their moment. They had both been dreaming about this long before I ever entered the picture. As the clock turned to six a.m., they both squealed with excitement as their app went from being grayed out to available in the app store.
“We did it!” they both chanted, twirling around in a circle.
Their excitement was contagious. A year ago, if you’d told me that someone else’s accomplishment would bring me more fulfillment than all of mine combined, I’d have said you were out of your mind. But now as I watched Charlie, my heart swelled with the immense pride I felt on her behalf. She was something special. And I was lucky enough to call her mine.
“I forgot the champagne to celebrate,” Lila whined.
“It’s six in the morning,” I pointed out.
She scowled. “So? This is a once in a lifetime moment. We need to celebrate. To hell with what time it is.”
Charlie laughed. “I think we have a bottle in the fridge.”
