Epilogue
“The End. Thishas beenLove Before You Leap, narrated by Jordan Reed and Dani Davison.”
Jordan and I switch off our recording equipment and high-five each other on another successful audiobook for our favorite romance author.
“Ready for a dip?” He strips off his shirt as I race him from our soundproof studio up to the deck of our yacht.
“Last one in is a mistle…” I don’t finish because Jordan lifts me over his shoulders and tosses me into the water.
I float on my back, eyes closed to the warmth of the tropical sun and let myself drift over the calm waters of an island in the South Pacific.
It’s been a year since we dropped out of the world. We’ve been sailing to and fro, wherever the wind and waves take us, living in the unknown.
We travel the seven seas and visit our friends when they least expect it. Alice has moved to Singapore, and Sylvester moved to Cape Town. Sven stayed in the Hawaiian Islands, but Joy and Sheri returned to Los Angeles—Pilots forever.
“Are you calling me a mistletoe?” Jordan does a swan dive and splashes water in my face.
He shakes the water from his hair and swims toward me, mischief in his eyes.
“Yes, because you’re so lowly, no one would ever suspect you of being a weapon,” I contend. “Soft, flaccid, weak.”
“Beware my mistletoe spear,” Jordan roars and grabs me around my waist. He’s wearing a necklace made from a shell that looks like mistletoe branches.
Kind of hard to find mistletoe growing in the middle of the ocean, so we find substitutes to excuse our constant need to kiss.
Jordan dangles the necklace above our heads, and I pucker up, treading water with one hand, and loving the taste of my partner in forever.
I love Jordan, and he loves me.
We love, we fight, we prank, and we both wear our hearts on our bathing suits—sometimes off.
Jordan is as real as they come. Yes, he did work for my horrid ex, who is still in hiding after my viral video inspired a new tradition called “Pranking in the New Year,” where a popular TV show counts down with the funniest prank videos.
But he had an excuse.
His father owed Stephen’s father a ton of money, and in exchange, Jordan had to work for Stephen and fix up his image.
Jordan not only cleaned up Stephen’s messes, but he was the guy who set up all of Stephen’s romantic dates with me. He bought the gifts, ordered the flowers, arranged the trips, and even wrote the sweet notes and cards Stephen gave me for my birthday and other special occasions.
As he freely admits, he fell in love with me while doing his job.
When it was time to plan my wedding, Stephen assigned Jordan to help behind the scenes. He was the “advisor” I emailed to coordinate all the details, such as selecting china patterns for the gift registry, ordering the invitations, tasting the cake samples, deciding on the food, music, wine, and guest list.
He was thoughtful, and he was sweet, sending me notes of encouragement, candy and small gifts, and he always answered my emails, reassuring me whenever I had doubts.
I also thought he was a she, Stephen’s personal assistant, Maggie.
Now that I think about it, Maggie asked me to help plan Stephen’s bachelor party. “She” wanted it to be unforgettable, and we talked about what type of stripper to hire.
Maggie said Stephen would appreciate a classy stripper, one who had a well-toned body, but was not overly voluptuous.
“She” went on and on about how important it was to select the right stripper—one who would provide entertainment, but not embarrass Stephen.
Of course, I, as the prospective wife, didn’t want Stephen ogling a stripper at all, so when I suggested to Maggie that I should be the stripper, she heartily agreed.
Guess Jordan/Maggie’s no angel after all.
After Stephen called off our wedding, Jordan saw his chance. He went to Jade and suggested she send me on a cruise ship to “get over” Stephen.
