Epilogue
Hayden
New Year’s Eve...
“It was really lovely to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael. Thanks for having me over at such short notice.” I watch Veronica as she plays polite.
“No problem, Veronica. It was so nice having you here, you’re welcome anytime dear.” My mom waves as Veronica and I make our escape to the car. Once in the safe space, I turn to her with sympathy.
“I’m so sorry. I really had no idea that she’d be like that.”
“Hayden, don’t be silly. Your mom was great.”
“Whose house were you at just now? She wouldn’t stop pestering you with questions, you basically spent the last two hours under interrogation.”
“Do you see me complaining? No, so shut up and drive.” She places a kiss on my cheek before settling back into her seat with a cheeky smile.
“When we get home, you’re gonna be sorry.” I wink, amused at the red color that rises to her cheeks. Yeah, she knows exactly what I’m saying.
Someone’s ass is gonna be the same color as their cheeks.
Unfortunately, we have one more stop before we can head back to mine. Veronica promised Katie that she would stop by Lane’s bar before midnight. It took a lot of convincing on Veronica’s part to even get me to consider going.
I still didn’t like him, and I’d gladly made that known to Veronica. But as long as she’s friends with him, I have no choice but to tolerate him.
Parking is a nightmare, it’s safe to assume that main street is packed. As we make our way through the doors of Lane’s we have to basically push through the crowds to get to Katie’s booth...on the far side of the room.
“Aww, there’s the happy couple!” Veronica’s redheaded cousin stands from her seat to round the table. She’s clearly had a few already. “Sit down, sit down! We’ll get you some drinks.”
“Actually, we’re not stopping long.” It’s surprisingly Veronica that turns down her offer. “We just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a happy new year.”
“Well, you’re staying until midnight, right?”
Veronica shakes her head with a small smile. Again, that was her decision. She wanted to come, spend half an hour or so with her friends, and then leave. She even made me promise to drag her away if anyone tried to take her hostage.
“Well, damn.” Katie flops into the lap of the tattooed man behind her.
“We’ll be back in a bit.” We make our way over to the end of the bar and Veronica waves to get Lane’s attention. I dislike the guy, but I can respect that his bar is booming.
“Hey. Can I get you guys anything to drink?”
“No, thank you. We just came to wish everyone a brief, happy new year, but we’re not staying long.”
“That’s a shame. And hey, you just missed the girls. Missy picked them up and is keeping them overnight.”
What?
Has Veronica got more friends that I haven’t met yet? Maybe when we get settled in Chicago, we could have everyone over. I know she said it was hard living on the West Coast because she was so far from her family. We’ll be a lot closer than that, but I’m still going to do whatever I can to keep her happy.
By the time I begin paying attention to the conversation, it’s over. “Tomorrow, then.”
As soon as Lane is out of earshot, I turn to Veronica with an expectant look.
“We’re all having lunch tomorrow. Me, you, Lane, and his twin daughters.”
Twin daughters?
My face must betray my surprise as Veronica giggles and smiles smugly.
“I told you, you were wrong about Lane.”
