Page 233 of My Real Love Affair

When I finally left, driving away from the estate, I felt lighter than I had in years.

I called Melody immediately.

“How’d it go?” she answered.

“Better than I ever could have imagined,” I said. “He apologized, Melody. My father actually apologized and said he was proud of me.”

“Austin, that’s amazing!”

“And he wants to meet you properly. Sunday brunch, just the four of us.”

“I’d love that.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m proud of you too, you know. For having that conversation. For being honest with him.”

“I learned from the best,” I said. “You’re the one who taught me that honesty and vulnerability aren’t weaknesses.”

I had finally made peace with my father.

And for the first time in as long as I could remember, I wasn’t running anymore.

EPILOGUE

MELODY

Six months later

Six months had passed since Summer’s attempted takedown. Life had settled into something beautifully normal. Austin and I were officially public, completely in love, and navigating the chaos of blending our lives together with surprising ease. He lived with me. Rather, we lived together in my townhouse but we were seriously considering moving out of the city. His family was scattered around the Great Neck area, which was way out of my price range, but obviously Austin had the money. And it would be nice to be near some of the family and what I hoped would be my future nieces and nephews.

Today, we were on a mission to find the perfect birthday present for Conrad. I didn’t want to claim favorites, but he was certainly at the top of that list.

“What about this?” Austin held up a massive construction truck that looked like it required an engineering degree to assemble.

“I think that might be just a little old for him,” I said, examining a set of wooden blocks that looked both educational and fun.

“But look at it,” Austin insisted, making the truck beep. “It has working lights and sounds. Kids love that stuff.”

“Austin, put it down before you break it.”

He set the truck down and immediately picked up a remote-controlled dinosaur. “Okay, but what about this? Dinosaurs are cool at every age.”

I watched him move through the boutique toy store like a kid himself, touching everything, pressing every button and wreaking absolute havoc for the poor staff who kept having to reorganize displays after he passed through. The woman behind the counter looked like she was debating whether to kick us out or just follow him around with a shopping cart.

“Babe,” I said, trying not to laugh. “You need to calm down.”

“I’m just exploring the options.”

“You’re worse than a toddler.”

He grinned at me, completely unrepentant, and picked up a set of musical instruments clearly designed for toddlers. He shook a maraca experimentally, then started creating a rhythm with the tambourine.

“Sir?” The sales associate approached cautiously. “If you’d like, I can set those aside for you.”

“I’ll buy them,” Austin said immediately. “And the truck. And the dinosaur. And those blocks Melody was looking at.”

“Austin!” I grabbed his arm. “You can’t buy out the entire store.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s ridiculous! Conrad already has everything he could possibly want. Isaac and Mina are going to hate us if we show up with a mountain of toys.”