Page 72 of Billionaire’s Game

Epilogue

“Have you seen Elvis?Has anyone seen Elvis?” Lacey asked us as she walked back and forth. I knew she was a second from going into panic mode, so I quickly stood up to help her with her search.

Elvis was their new puppy. They had named him Elvis because Las Vegas was where Elvis Presley impersonators frequently performed, and Las Vegas held a special place in Jude’s and Lacey’s heart. Even though Elvis was a whopping ninety pounds, he could still hide himself very well. I found him a second later with baby Sebastian, who wasn’t quite a baby anymore, hiding next to the bed. They were both eating cookies. Peanut butter cookies....

“They’re here... both of the little troublemakers,” I added. Sebastian giggled and then jumped up to hug me around my legs. He was almost four years old. I couldn’t believe how fast time had gone by.

“Auntie Lesli, Elvis is bad.”

“Oh, is he?” I laughed.

Sebastian nodded seriously. “He’s real, real bad. He ate my cookies.”

I frowned, ready to playfully scold Elvis, but then laughed as Elvis rolled over for a belly rub.

“Uh oh, someone wants belly rubs,” I said bending down and Sebastian joined me, both of us giggling as Elvis’s tongue lolled around and he leaned his head back in blissful abandon.

“You two,” Lacey said, shaking her head. “How am I going to get any work done with you two stealing cookies?”

“Not me, Mommy,” said Sebastian. “It was Elvis.”

Lacey winked at me and then turned back to Sebastian. “So Elvis went into the pantry and took those cookies?”

Sebastian nodded so hard that the bangs on his forehead bounced up and down. He was so cute and looked just like his mom.

“Hmm... I guess I’ll have to give Elvis a timeout, right?”

“Yep,” Sebastian said with a giggle.

I decided that Lacey could take it from there and I made my way back to the sofa and seated myself between Oliver and Kat.

They were arguing over wedding invites. Oliver had finally worn Kat down and got her to say yes. The only stipulation is that they would get to maintain separate residences. After all, Kat didn’t want to lose her sense of independence. I hoped that I was like Kat when I reached her age.

Sitting across from us was Magnus and Jude. Strangely enough, Jude had been really into helping plan his dad’s wedding. I think he wanted to see his father happy.

Speaking of happiness, I couldn’t help but stare at Magnus as he slowly organized the wedding invitations by color. He was great. I was discovering new things about him almost every day, it seemed. And I was finding out new things about myself as well. It was safe to say we were growing together.

“Are you ready to head out?” I asked him. We’d been there since early morning. I reached for my bag and remembered that I had something special to give to Sebastian. “Give me a sec,” I said to Magnus.

I found Sebastian sitting on his bed trying to read a book. “I have something for you,” I said reaching into my bag. I pulled out Mr. Boo and handed him to Sebastian.

“For me?” he asked, hugging it tightly.

I nodded and smiled. Lacey peeked in and said, “Mr. Boo? You’re giving up Mr. Boo?” She knew how much the toy had meant to me as a child.

I nodded. “Mom sent him to me in a big box of all my childhood things. But I think this is a better home for him. What do you think, Sebastian?”

“I love Mr. Boo,” he said sweetly.

“Yeah, I had a feeling that you would…” I felt myself tearing up and didn’t want to embarrass myself by crying in front of a preschooler. I didn’t know why I was so emotional. I guess it was because giving my childhood toy away was less about the action and more about what it represented. It represented how I was finally able to move on, to grow up, to become the person I’d dreamed of being.

I gave Sebastian a parting hug, said a final goodbye to Mr. Boo and headed back into the living room where Magnus stood, looking handsome, waiting for me.

“You ready?”

I nodded.

He said goodbye to everyone and as we left said, “Call us if you guys need any more help.” He reached for his jacket and together we headed out.