Her loving smile was his answer, the best answer he could have ever gotten.
“Absolutely. One hundred percent yes. I would love to spend my life with you, have all your babies?—”
“Whoa, woman, how many are we having?”
She laughed. “As many as we want! I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“We’ll go ring shopping tomorrow.”
“I don’t feel compelled to get married before the baby is born, but if we don’t get married soon, I want to wait until after I lose the baby weight.”
“I’ll marry you tomorrow.” He leaned in, kissed her again and again. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
She smiled. “Nah, you got nothing on me. I’m marrying the man of my dreams.”
EPILOGUE
One month later
Britain
Brit and Addison walked into Hotel Dillinger at just after seven, Friday evening. Guests relaxed on the lobby sofas while several stood at reception speaking with front desk clerks.
“I’m glad we’re doing this together,” Addison said.
“Hell, yeah,” Brit replied as they entered the lounge.
Seated alone at a table was Liliana. When she saw them, she offered a warm smile. Brit wasn’t sure what to expect, but the smile definitely set a lighter tone.
Brit smiled back. When Liliana rose, Addison hugged her. When Liliana held her arms open for Brit, she returned the embrace.
She and Addison sat across from her.
“Thanks for meeting me,” Liliana said.
The server bustled over.
“A bottle of sparkling water for the table,” Liliana said.
After he left, Liliana regarded them. “I leave in the morning, and I wanted to say goodbye.”
Muscles tensed in Brit’s chest, the familiar pang of abandonment rearing its ugly head. She placed her hand over her belly, a simple reminder that she would not do to her child what had been done to her.
The feeling dissipated, replaced with one of hope.
“Where are you headed?” Brit asked.
“To the ranch,” Liliana explained.
The server returned, poured their waters, asked if they wanted food. They didn’t, so he left.
“I’m going to help the followers segue back into society,” Liliana continued. “It’s going to take a while, so I’ll be using that time to write my sequel. A lot has happened since I came back here.”
“About that,” Brit said.
“Britain, I’m sorry I was so hateful toward you,” Liliana said. “You were doing your job, and I’m very proud of both of you. I regret that I walked out on you, and I have to live with that choice. Like I’ve said, your dad did a great job.”
“I’d like to apologize myself,” Brit said. “I was rude and unkind toward you, and still carrying around a lot of resentment.”
