I shook my head. “So, you lied.”
His eyes sparkled with laughter. “It’s not a lie, princess.”
He stood there so certain and calm that I believed him. He’d actually gone to my dad and risked everything because he wanted to be with me. “So, you’ve been hiding the fact you’re a secret genius all this time?”
“I haven’t been hiding anything. You’re simply too oblivious to notice.”
I huffed out a breath at him. “Are you sure you want this? We’re going to kill each other.”
He put his arms around me and pulled me in close. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said before he kissed me again.
Epilogue
Ally
They had gone all out at the nursing home. Flowers covered every surface, and a jazz band was playing a lively beat. Champagne was flowing, and everyone was dressed to the nines. It was the perfect afternoon.
“I still can’t believe those two have shacked up,” my brother said, swinging an arm over my shoulder as we looked over the dance floor. “Or that I’d ever bear witness to a commitment ceremony at an old folk’s home.”
I shook my head at him. “It wouldn’t be so unbelievable if you ever visited Grandma,” I said. “But Bart and Connie are the stuff of epic romances. They were love at first sight, and it’s been smooth sailing since the day they laid eyes on one another.”
“Unlike you and Chase,” he said, scrunching his nose up as he considered us. We’d been properly dating for a few months, and Shane was still giving me crap about it. He didn’t actually believe us when we’d broken the news to him at first, but when he accidentally caught us kissing, he’d begged us never to do it again.
I slid out from under his arm and punched it.
“Ow, what was that for?” he asked, rubbing the spot.
I grinned brightly at him. “It seemed necessary.”
He shook his head at me. “Not sure why Chase ever changed his mind about you,” he muttered before stalking off. He shot me a smile and a wink over his shoulder as he walked away though.
“I still can’t believe you’ve dragged me to an old folk’s home on a Saturday,” Tessa said, as she joined me and passed me a drink. She’d someone managed to score us a couple of glasses of champagne, but I was pretty sure they were only serving nonalcoholic drinks. “Where’s your brother going?”
“Beats me,” I said, taking a small sip, enjoying the way the bubbles tingled in my mouth. Tessa nodded, but her eyes continued to follow him as he walked across the room.
“Do you think that now your Dad’s agreed to let you date, and has seen that it’s not the catastrophe he always assumed it would be, that Shane might start dating too?”
A small smile curved the corner of my lips. Tessa had never admitted to liking my brother, but it had been obvious to me for years how she felt. Shane was too oblivious to see it for himself though. A fact she was probably grateful for.
“Well, we’re still ‘on probation,’ and I don’t think Dad’s ruled out catastrophe just yet.”
“He totally has. Your grades are doing better than ever, and if they keep improving, he’s going to start planning the wedding.”
I laughed and shook my head. Dad was still coming around to the idea of me dating. There were a million rules we had to follow, but I’d follow a million more if it meant I got to keep Chase.
“So, Shane?” Tessa prompted.
“I honestly have no idea,” I replied. “Why do you ask?”
Tessa’s cheeks went pink, and her eyes dropped to the glass in her hand. “No, reason, just a thought. Anyway, I’m going to find the bathroom.” She was off before I could respond.
As I turned to look at the dance floor, I caught sight of Chase dancing slowly with my grandma. They looked so sweet together as he gently guided her around the floor. If I weren’t in love with him already, watching him now would probably have sealed the deal. It was easy to see why everyone at the nursing home liked him so much. He had The Three C’s completely wrapped around his little finger, which he was never afraid to remind me about.
“That boy of yours sure looks handsome today,” Cora said, linking her arm with mine.
I nodded in wholehearted agreement. He was wearing a dark navy suit that fit him perfectly. He’d taken his jacket off to dance, but it only made him look sexier. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, and his sleeves were rolled up to show off his strong forearms. His hair was tousled like always, and I found myself itching to run my hands through it.
“Got any more juicy gossip about him you want to share?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Cora, you’ve got to stop asking me for details.”
She pouted. “Well, you’ve got to give me something. I live for this stuff.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you this: we fight pretty much every day, but every fight ends when he starts laughing and kisses me on the nose. He almost always lets me win.”
She let out a sigh. “That boy’s a keeper.”
“Yeah, I was planning on keeping him,” I said with a grin.
“What’s this I hear about keeping?” Chase interrupted.
I turned and stared up at my gorgeous boyfriend. I still couldn’t believe I used to compare him to a thundercloud. I always thought of him as a dark storm that you needed to seek shelter from. Chase was anything but. He was like starlight in a dark night’s sky and glowed all the more vividly when you truly focused on him.
“I said I was thinking about keeping you,” I said.
“Like in a zoo?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Not quite.”
He turned to Cora. “Do you mind if I steal this troublemaker away for a moment?”
“I’m not a troublemaker.”
“You are around me.” He grinned.
I couldn’t help but smile in return. When Chase was happy, I was happy, and his smiles were damn contagious.
“You two go ahead,” Cora replied, waving us on like she couldn’t get rid of us fast enough.
Chase took my hand and pulled me away. I was surprised by how natural it felt to hold hands these days, but it had been hard to get used to at first. I’d nearly died the first time he’d done it in front of my dad, but Dad was gradually coming around to the idea of Chase and me. He’d almost started encouraging our relationship when he saw that Chase hadn’t been lying about helping me with school. I was almost a solid A student this semester, which was something I never would have believed possible. It probably helped that Chase acted like every one of my successes and failures were his own, and he wanted me to succeed more than anything.
“Where are we going?” I asked when I realized we weren’t heading for another spin on the dance floor. Instead, he was pulling me toward Bart’s room. “Just so you know, I’m not down with making out in your gramps’ room.”
Chase laughed and gave my hand a little squeeze. “I swear you think the worst of me sometimes.”
“Always,” I corrected, drawing a smile out of him.
“So, what are we doing in here?” I asked as he flicked on the light.
“Well, I sort of got you a present.”
“You did, did you?”
He nodded. “Since Connie and Bart had their commitment ceremony today, I thought I’d do something to show my commitment to you too.”
“What is it?” I could barely contain my curiosity.
His eyes brightened, and he walked over to the bed before bending down to pull something out from beneath it. My excitement only increased when I saw a large frame in his hands.
He peered over his shoulder at me, still hiding the contents of my present. “Are you sure you want to see?”
I laughed and nodded. “Yes, of course, I’m sure!”
He grinned and slowly turned around to reveal what he’d done. My jaw slackened, and a flicker of confusion ran through my eyes. There, behind the glass, was a familiar pink poster.
“You framed the plan?” I asked, tilt
ing my head as I tried to figure out why. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what had prompted the idea, but as I looked more closely, I could see he’d made some alterations. Instead of “Operation Pest Control” it now read, “Operation Relationship Success.”
I moved closer as I went to inspect it. He’d left a lot of the bullet points alone but had really fleshed out the ones under “Step Three: Relationship.” I laughed as I read his first addition. “Always let Ally get her way, unless she’s being an idiot.” It wasn’t the worst piece of advice.
He’d also added: “Tell her she’s beautiful and you love her every day” and “Never forget that she’s the best thing that ever happened to you.” His words wrapped me in warmth, and I felt my heart expanding as I took them in. The part I really couldn’t take my eyes away from though was where he’d crossed out “Step Four: Getting Caught” and replaced it with “Step Four: Repeat Steps One – Three Forever.”
“What is this?” I asked, finally looking up at him.
He put the poster down on the bed and turned to me, taking my hands in his own. “I know how much you like plans in life, so I thought it might be a good idea if I had our plan written down. You already accomplished the first part, but I needed to fix up steps three and four.”
I shook my head at him, disbelief still coloring my eyes as I glanced at what he’d done once more. “You really did this for me?”
“For us,” he replied.
“There’s just one small problem with it,” I said, focusing on him once more.
His face fell. “What is it?”
“Well, I think it needs a step five.”
“And step five would be…”
“If all else fails, throw the plan out because sometimes the best things in life happen when your plan falls apart.”
A slow smile started to form on his lips. “Are you talking about us, princess?”
“I’m talking about us.”
* * *
The End
* * *
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Also by Alexandra Moody
The Wrong Bachelor
Christmas Magic Series
Christmas Magic
Christmas Chaos
Christmas Curse
The Liftsal Guardians Series
The Liftsal Guardians
The Brakys’ Lair
The Oblivion Stone
The Rift War
The ARC series
Tainted
Talented
Fractured
Destined
About the Author
ALEXANDRA MOODY is an Australian author. She studied Law and Commerce in her hometown, Adelaide, before going on to spend several years living abroad in Canada and the UK. She is a serious dog-lover, avid snowboarder and has a love/hate relationship with the gym.
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I Hate You More Page 24
