Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
EPILOGUE ONE
FOSTER – AN HOUR LATER
I walked into Way and Silas’s house that afternoon like I was ten feet tall and walking on fairy bubbles. After the last few years of watching one friend after another find their soulmate, it was finally my turn.
And I’d found the most amazing man on the planet.
When my mom caught sight of the beautiful doctor on my arm, she screamed and burst into tears. “I knew it! I knew you weren’t throwing darts at a stranger.”
Tommy snorted inelegantly beside me and shot me an accusatory glance. “You know the dart thing will never be over, right?”
I shrugged. “You have your coping skills, I have mine.” I met my mom’s eyes and nodded my head in Tommy’s direction. “Mom, this is Dr. Tommy Marian. Tommy, this is my mother, Jolene Blake.”
Mom’s cheeks were wet with tears. If it had been with anyone other than Tommy, I would have been embarrassed by what this display of emotion meant—namely, that I was such a lost cause that even bringing a guy around was huge progress—but I wasn’t. I was too happy for any other emotion right now.
“Call me Jo. I’m so happy to meet you, Tommy.” She gave him a quick hug before pulling back and beaming at him. “And I’m happy you’re not pockmarked in real life.”
Tommy smiled. “You aren’t the only one. It’s nice to meet you, too, Jo. Thank you for…” He swallowed, and I noticed his ears turned a little pink at the tops. “Well, thank you for this guy. He’s one of the best people I know.”
More tears as Mom glanced over at me with pride. “Same. I couldn’t have asked for a better son and friend. Or business partner!”
“Alright, alright,” I said quickly. “Can we skip this part, please? Where’s Anna?”
I glanced around in hope of finding my sister, but instead, I found the shit-eating grin of Way’s husband, Silas.
“Well, well, well. It’s finally time for the tables to turn,” he began. “And who’s this tasty morsel?”
“Touch him and die,” I warned in a low voice without losing my friendly grin.
Silas barked out a laugh and introduced himself to Tommy. “I hope you know your boyfriend is the world’s biggest flirt. He takes great pride in causing trouble between other couples. Don’t be surprised if people dish it all back out tonight. Welcome to Majestic.”
I felt the heat of Tommy’s eyes on me. “A flirt, you say? That doesn’t sound like Foster. He’s so quiet and meek, like a baby bird afraid to leave his own nest.”
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Exactly. See? You get me.”
Tommy sucked in a breath. I turned to see what he was reacting to when I noticed him staring at my sister from across the room. “Holy fuck, who is that?” he breathed. “She’s fucking gorgeous. Can you introduce me?”
I stood in shock, reeling from his pronouncement before hearing the sound of men’s laughter and realized he was in on some kind of joke.
They’d somehow set me up.
“You don’t even know these guys!” I accused, catching the teasing light in his eyes. “How the fuck did you know that was Anna?”
Way clapped me on the shoulder and grinned. “You were so busy staring at the good doctor here, you didn’t see Silas gesture to Anna and mouth her name.”
Way, Silas, and all of their friends, my friends, laughed and teased me as they swarmed around to meet Tommy properly. I could tell they were all genuinely happy for me, with Way the happiest of all, other than my mom, of course.
Finally, Anna walked up. “You must be Tommy. I’ve heard a lot about you from Foster’s office wall.”
That was all it took for everyone to start laughing again. I pulled her into my arms and gave her a hug. “Happy birthday, asshole.”
Tommy poked me in the back. “See! I knew it. I knew you called your family names, too. And you got mad at Hazel for doing it to me.”
I turned and winked at him. “I’m the only one who can call you names. No one else.”
He slid his hand into mine and threaded our fingers together. I noticed a faint tremble in his hand and suddenly realized this was the first time he’d held a man’s hand in public. First time he’d been claimed by another man to anyone.
I met his eye and mouthed, “Okay?”
He smiled and nodded before leaning into my shoulder and pressing his face into my neck for a quick kiss below my ear. “I didn’t know it could be like this,” he whispered. “Very okay.”
I pressed a kiss into his hair and straightened back up, catching my mom looking on wistfully. Anna began peppering Tommy with questions about what it was like to live in New York since she’d always wanted to go and see a show on Broadway.