Page 45

Epilogue

Six Months Later

“Oh my god, sis. You look absolutely stunnin’ in that dress.”

“I asked you to leave your British accent at home tonight, we are serving sophistication and fake accents don’t match the aesthetic,” I giggled at the look of horror on Arna’s face before she and Felicity joined me in a fit of laughter.

“Your accents are mildly offensive to me and my people,” Felicity deadpanned, brows raised.

“Aren’t you like 0.9% Welsh?” I asked, referring to her recent ancestry results she was holding onto like a prize.

“Exactly, and the Welsh and British are sisters,” Flick said as if that explained everything.

“That’s racist,” Arna replied in another poor attempt at a British accent and we all lost it again, our peels of laughter not even close to sophisticated.

“Sorry,” she whispered, again with a tinge of British.

“Hey, ladies,” Eva appeared from nowhere and enveloped me in a hug, a man standing awkwardly at her side with a champagne flute in his hand.

“Eva! I’ve missed you. Does your brother know you’re here yet?” She looked different tonight and I wasn’t sure what it was. She’d grown her hair out a little longer and was wearing less makeup than the last time I saw her but she looked happier and less stressed now her uni course was finished. Her deep blue dress contrasted against some seriously sun-kissed skin, also helping with the organic beauty.

“Not yet. I went to find him but I spotted you first, looking ridiculously gorgeous, and detoured.” She gestured to my high neck, low back, absolutely divine black dress. My gold shoes matched the accompanying gold bracelet I adorned, no longer needing any kind of woven colour to represent how I was feeling, because I was a survivor. I'd escaped and chosen me. As I said I would. And with the love of those around me, I was finally at peace.

“, this is Blake. Blake, this is Sebastian’s girlfriend, ,” he held his hand out to me in greeting, pulling me free from my thoughts and I willed myself not to shudder at the clamminess of his palm. Poor guy must be nervous. Eva hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend so he must be new which explained his evident discomfort.

“I think Seb is over at the bar talking to Cooper, he will be so happy to see you.” I didn’t miss the way her eyes widened slightly at the mention of Cooper but feigned ignorance as I took a sip of my drink. Coop had asked me at least four times if Evangeline was coming tonight, suspiciously never when Seb was around so I was already on the lookout. Arna would have a field day when I told her.

“Evs, you will get an invitation to the bachelorette party soon, so be ready. It’s going to get wild without the old ball and chains.” Arns giggled as Andy came up behind her and whispered something into her ear. I had no doubt it was something I would most definitely not want to know so I emulated a gag in Eva and Flick’s direction.

“Honestly, they are three seconds away from making out right here, escape while you can,” I said to Eva and her date who’d turned a few shades whiter as they scampered away.

I watched the way Seb’s face lit up when he saw his sister and smiled when he grabbed her in a huge hug, lifting her from her feet.Turning back to Andy and Arna I rolled my eyes. “You two need to get a room. You’re sickening,” I joked as I excused myself, pulling Felicity with me towards where Seb was just placing his sister back to the floor.

“Seb, this is Blake. My ahh-date,” Eva said nervously.

Sebastian stared at him, clearly sizing him up, and by the grimace on his face he had already decided it was a big fat no. I agreed, but it was still awkward. I cleared my throat and opened my eyes wide at my boyfriend to signal to him not to be rude. He reluctantly held his hand out to Blake and feigned politeness.

“Nice to meet you. This is Cooper. He's practically Eva’s older brother too.” He gestured back and forth between the two and Coop choked on the mouthful of whiskey he had just been about to swallow.

He turned away to pull himself together and Felicity elbowed me, her eyes narrowing as we exchanged a conversation without words.

Did you see that? I asked with my excited grin.

How could I not. Cooper wants to fuck Seb’s sister. She replied with her narrowed eyes.

He does not want to be her older brother . I implored through my barely contained grin.

I wanted to laugh and pull my sister-in-law into a corner to demand she tell us everything. Did these two have history because something was clearly happening. There was most definitely tension and my adorable boyfriend had absolutely no idea which made this little situation all the more amusing.

Felicity slapped Cooper on the back, helping him clear his airways.

“You okay over there?” I asked, jumping in as Flick’s wingwoman. “This is Eva’s boyfriend , Blake.” I emphasised while Eva glared at me. I shot her a grin as Coop’s face hardened in the way I anticipated it would.

Felicity and I were beyond immature and it was the most fun I’d had in ages. It was probably the few vodkas I’d already drunk from the sneaky bottle Seb kept behind the bar just for me.

“Oh, it's only new.” Blake moved closer to Eva pulling her into his side and both Sebastian and Cooper stiffened, staring at the way his hand held her waist.

“Evy,” Cooper greeted, having finally composed himself. Pulling her from Blake’s grasp and engulfing her in a hug which took her by as much surprise as it did the rest of us. Other than Sebastian, who was already talking to Wayne, totally unaware of the pissing contest occurring over his sister.

When Cooper finally released a clearly stunned Eva, Felicity and I grabbed her hands and asked if she would like a drink as we pulled her with us anyway.

She hesitated, looking back towards her date, before nodding. As we walked away, I heard Cooper asking Blake why he was drinking champagne at a whiskey bar, an edge of irritation in his voice I’d never heard before.

This was going to be fun.

When our drinks were all full we moved back through the crowd to where Judy and Toby were standing.

Seb stood to make a speech and I could not have been more proud of the man I loved. He’d worked ridiculously long hours over the last six months to ensure tonight was perfect. He simultaneously negotiated contractors, suppliers and staff all while continuing to ensure Nexus ran smoothly.

Now, he commanded the attention of the entire room as he stood at the bar with a glass of whiskey made especially for tonight. I loved him in his usual crisp white shirts when he was working the club, but tonight, in his navy long sleeved button up and black pants, I was practically salivating.

My Thunderstorm.

He searched the room until he found me and I could see how anxious he was standing before all of these people; many friends and family, others just lucky enough to bear witness to the opening of this gorgeous venue.

I love you , I mouthed, doing my best to give him as much confidence and support as I could. He winked at me and tapped his ring on the side of his glass, the noise in the room falling to soft whispers as he took centre stage.

The low lights above him were a deep yellow and they sparkled against the black and woodgrain interior of the bar. The deep brown leather chairs further accentuated the aesthetic and the tables held minute touches of rose gold decor, including small lamps to provide additional ambience. An arm tapped my shoulder and I turned to see Jack, Arna, Andy, Felicity and Jay in tow, smiling at me as they also directed their attention towards my better half.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. Most of you know I’m a man of few words so I’ll keep this short.” Chuckles from those who knew him the best filled the room and again, he found me, maintaining eye contact with a small nervous grin on his face.

“It’s been my dream to open a jazz and whiskey bar and I’m so glad you could all be present to see it come to fruition. Welcome to Grey Petal .” An appreciative round of applause filled the room and a grin split my face. When Seb told me the name I instantly loved it and that was before I realised the connection to my tattoo.

“Firstly, a shout out to my best mate, Coop, for always supporting me. You are the brother I never had and I would not be where I am without you. Also, for this delicious drop some of you are drinking. When I told him I wanted to open a place like this, he began creating a whiskey he said we would drink on opening night and two years later, here we are.”

Cooper raised his own glass towards Seb, his face illuminated with pride for his best friend. “Love ya, Bro,” he said, as he took a mirroring sip of the liquor.

“Thank you to my family. My mum and sister, Eva and also Toby. You guys have had to listen to me talk about this for far too long and I couldn’t have done it without your love and support.” Judy smiled, her eyes full of tears as Toby hugged her, watching on with equal amounts of pride and Eva blew an air kiss to her brother.

After a short pause he turned back to me and I drew in a breath. I told him to keep it short, knowing he would be unbelievably uncomfortable up there, but, I would never tire of having his eyes on me.

“And to my beautiful girlfriend, . You are all colour in a world that can sometimes be nothing but grey and I met you at a time when I was unknowingly in need of a splash of light. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and bringing those colours to my world. I love you and your unfiltered honesty more than anything.” I raised my glass towards him, unshed tears eager to escape as the room erupted into applause.

Once it subsided, Cooper took centre stage and cracked a few jokes to lighten the mood.

Pushing through the crowd, I moved towards Sebastian and threw my arms around him.

He’d been there for me through the agonisingly long year we shared where I had to rebuild my life. Seb had been the one to remind me that I wasn’t alone. He saved me from the sheer psychotic orbit of both Lucas and Lori and created a space where I was safe and supported while simultaneously running his own night club and now also a jazz and whiskey bar.

Part of me wondered if he was supernatural. No one could be this incredible. Yet, my sounding board, my soul mate, my everything, stood before me and thanked me for what I’d done for him.

“I’m so proud of you, Mr. Micallef. You really did it, didn’t you. Grey Petal.” I grinned up at him.

“Do we have to stay much longer?” He groaned, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my neck, his favourite place to nuzzle.

Only he would want to leave his own event. I laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yes. Unless you have installed a pane of glass somewhere?” I asked with a smirk, looking around hopefully.

“Where were you when I had the designers in here?”

“Snooze you lose,” I said. “Now let’s get a drink so when you do finally take me home and fuck me, I’ll be love drunk too.”

“Oh, your wish is my command, my lady,” he replied, walking towards the bar where all of our friends were congregated, happily celebrating everything my man had created for him and for us.

How lucky I truly was. To have everything I ever wanted in the man beside me and those who I treasured beyond all measure.