Epilogue ♥
The front porch steps were Elinor’s new favorite spot, and not just because she got to sit on them and kiss Edward whenever she wanted to. They were also the view to the house they’d soon share together as husband and wife.
Lucy had left town and moved on, though not without having the last laugh. Despite her tragic past, she had found solace in the most unlikely place, the arms of Edward’s brother, Robert. Pictures of them together in L.A. were everywhere.
It was a family scandal so big, Lucy would never run out of material to write about, and Edward’s mom and sister would never find the end of their humiliation. Thankfully, they both hated Lucy so much, Elinor was tolerable in comparison. Elinor could take tolerable. After all, if Mr. Darcy could change from seeing Elizabeth Bennet as tolerable to the handsomest woman of his acquaintance, then there was hope for the rest of the merely tolerables of the world.
“What are you doing out here?” Marianne closed the door behind her and came to sit next to Elinor on the porch. “Counting down the days until your wedding?”
“Yes.” Elinor wiggled her toes in her Tuesday socks on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. “Did you know one of the first things I noticed about Edward was the scent of his hair?”
“You were sniffing his hair at the bowling alley?” Marianne asked.
“No. At his house. Don’t look at me like that. It was while he was putting bandages on my scratched arms. I didn’t like, creep up on him and check.”
Marianne laughed. “That’s reassuring. What does his hair smell like that it made such a good impression?”
“I don’t know. Something manly and clean. I tried to come up with the perfect name for it. Cool Washed Warrior or Fresh and Fierce. No, those are no good. I’m going back to Timberwolf Tingle.”
Marianne laughed. “Don’t you know what shampoo he uses by now?”
“Dove for Men. But I can call it whatever I want in my head.”
“The first thing I noticed about Edward was his clipboard. I bet you liked that, too. Your organized and responsible heart longed to connect with his.”
“Whatever.” Elinor leaned over, giving Marianne’s shoulder a nudge. “Thank you for being you and going over there to tell him how fabulous I was and how he needed to meet me.”
“You would have met him anyway. Babbity made sure of that.”
“Well, thanks anyway.”
Marianne shifted her feet. “I guess I should thank you for befriending Brandon against my will. And for not rubbing it in when I finally realized what was right in front of me.”
“What was right in front of you?” Brandon asked from the doorway behind them.
“Eavesdropping? I can’t believe you.” Marianne jumped up and threw her arms around him. “As punishment, you have to come sit down with us and think up manly names for men’s shampoo. It’s your job, after all.”
“Manly shampoo names. Hmmm. How about Head Scrub or Grease Tamer.”
“No!” Marianne and Elinor shouted together.
“You’re ruining all of Elinor’s fantasies, babe,” Marianne said, covering Brandon’s mouth with her hand. “That is a crime punishable by death.”
“But while you’re out here, there is something I wanted to ask you.” Elinor motioned for Marianne to release the poor guy. He clearly hadn’t been eavesdropping long enough to understand they wanted the women’s fantasy version of shampoo names, not what men might call them. “Why did you ask Lucy to Prom?”
It was such a simple question, but Brandon and Marianne exchanged looks. Apparently, nothing was ever simple when it came to Lucy. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
Brandon cleared his throat. “I overheard a guy talking about Lucy’s best friend, Liz. He had plans to take advantage of her on Prom night because she clearly had a crush on him and would do anything he wanted. If he didn’t have three friends with him, I would have jumped him right then and there and told him what I thought of his plan, but instead, I decided to make sure I was in the limo and everywhere Liz was that night. So, I asked Lucy to Prom. I meant what I said when I told you Lucy was nice to me. I confided in her, and she helped me protect her friend without breaking her heart. The problem was, it worked so well that Liz and I… we started dating and got married right after her graduation. It was a mistake. We didn’t last a month before she called it quits.”
Marianne squeezed his hand. “We both have a tendency to learn things the hard way.” She rested her head on his shoulder until the sound of a car engine puttering along caught their attention. “Speaking of learning things the hard way.”
Elinor ignored her and hopped to her feet. Edward was coming back from the repair shop in Elinor’s crappy car, the one she’d bought with her money alone, because boyfriends were not allowed to buy cars for their girlfriends. Not in her book. She hadn’t even let him come check it out with her because she knew he’d try to help pay for it. Of course, two weeks after she bought the lemon, he proposed. When it came to their relationship, timing had always been a problem.
She ran across the street and met him as he got out of the driver’s side door. He swept her up in his arms, hugging her tight. “You are so lucky I love you more than air. This car…. Where do I even start?”
“You start at the beginning.”
Edward leaned down and kissed her, cradling her head with his hands and making her forget what beginning he was supposed to start with. He was a professional at that.
