“I could intervene,” Father offered.
I considered it for a heartbeat, then shook my head. “That’s okay. I think Roman and I need to let it play out. We chose these sacrifices for each other.”
“You are wise, daughter.” He kissed my cheek. “We will speak soon.”
I nodded. We needed to. And besides, I couldn’t deny Hestia a few dozen more sessions. I had a feeling that sherbet-orange giggling chair would be waiting for me, and her almond butter cookies with a hint of ambrosia were impossible to resist. Maybe now, with the truth uncovered and my heart restored, we might actually make progress.
“Goodbye, Father.”
“Goodbye, daughter,” he said, his voice carrying with it a plea that it not be the end.
It wasn’t. But I had a beginning to start—with Roman.
I all but ran back to the dais and into Roman’s arms. As soon as he wrapped me up, the world righted itself, and time began to tick again.
The crowd’s chatter rose, and harp strings swelled to a fever pitch. Cameras zoomed in, catching every breath, every glance.
Roman leaned back just enough to meet my eyes, a smile flickering there.
“I just have one question for you. Are we a match?”
I didn’t hesitate. “A perfect match.”
And then, with a grin, I added, “One might even say . . . a match made in the heavens.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Demi
“Demi,Roman’sheretosee you.”
Cassie popped her gorgeous head in, her platinum hair now streaked with violet, her spiked necklace looking extra spiky.
“Do you want me to stay? Be HR adjacent?” she teased.
“That’s okay. We already fought about the two matches I didn’t approve when he returned home from being on location last night.” I smirked.
Of course, we’d spectacularly made up when he finally admitted I was right. Making up was my favorite, but Cassie didn’t need to know that.
Yes, Roman got to keep his show. Turns out him falling in love with me had made our season a huge, huge hit, so the studio didn’t care that he’d broken his contract. The spin they put on it was perfect:This is what the show is all about—finding real connections, proving love is unscripted.And really, what could be more unscripted than the host falling in love with a cast member?
But Roman was doing things differently now. His show wasn’t about manufacturing drama or making villains out ofpeople. There still was drama, of course, but that’s because love rarely comes easy. Hestia was now making guest appearances on the show and truly helping people work through their issues. Hestia’s brand of counseling was the best, and those episodes were must-see TV.
And I had agreed to keep running the Bureau. But this time I had a brand-new guidebook to go by. This one was filled with rules like,Help people know their own hearts and see their worth.And there were even bylaws for when things like love at first sight, grand gestures, and even enemies to lovers were acceptable. But the biggest rule was that there are no set rules when it comes to love. Don’t get me wrong: it wasn’t a free-for-all, but let’s just say I had learned to listen to my heart . . . and my goddess. She hadn’t steered me wrong yet.
Just in case you’re wondering, I’m still working on things with my father. We’ve made some good progress in our weekly sessions with Hestia. She’s really proud of how I speak my mind now, and I’ve even drunk her special blend of For the Love, Let That Go tea. There were just some things that I would probably never fully understand. But I was trying to understand my father in the here and now. I knew my mother would want me to.
“I could poison him for old times’ sake?” Cassie said, with just enough hope in her voice to make me laugh. She was still a little salty that I’d never let her use that truth serum on Roman during ourLove Unscripteddays. But once I learned he’d spill every truth to anyone within a ten-foot radius, I couldn’t in good conscience let her administer it. Although, honestly, it would’ve been hilarious.
“Nah. Too much paperwork. And we have to pick up Junie from her mom’s after this.” She had her first gymnastics meet tonight.
“Okay, fine,” she sighed dramatically.
I giggled.
“Hey, before you go—I talked to Jonas earlier today. He asked about you. Are you ever going to tell me what really happened between you?”
