by R.S. Grey
Epilogue
On the eve of my 20th birthday I sat in a plush limousine, watching the city lights blur together as we continued to drive toward downtown LA. So much had changed in the course of one year. I’d been on a rollercoaster ride and there was still no end in sight.
Becca and I had both been invited to try out for the Olympic team, and to our surprise, we’d both made it past the first round. And then the second… and then finally our names were the final two printed on the Olympic roster. We were by far the youngest on the team, and we’d had a lot to prove over the last few months. Practices had challenged me mentally and physically, but I didn’t take a single moment for granted. I’d had to step back from the ULA team and put school on pause for the time being, but none of that mattered. I wanted to play soccer and I’d landed my dream of competing at the world level.
“Are you all packed?” Becca asked, stirring me from my thoughts. I glanced back inside the limo to find her and Emily watching me with curiosity.
I shrugged. “I have a few last minute things to get, but yeah, mostly. I just need to remember to grab my passport.”
“As long as you don’t go too crazy at your party, you should be coherent enough to remember it in the morning,” Emily laughed.
I smiled at her joke and thought about how much effort Liam had put into tonight. On top of preparing to leave the country, Liam had planned an early birthday party for me. He’d kept every detail under lock and key, even when I tried to seduce it out of him. The guy wouldn’t crack, so I’d spent the day getting pampered with Emily and Becca, excited that there was a surprise waiting for me at the end of the limo ride.
“I don’t think I’ll drink at all, actually,” I said, staring down at my bright red dress. It was flirty with stretchy fabric, a dipped neckline, cap sleeves, and a flared skirt. It cut off fairly short, but I knew Liam wouldn’t mind.
“Yeah, same here,” Becca agreed. We both had to eliminate anything deemed “unhealthy” from our diets almost as soon as we’d made the team.
“Wait, so now I’m the craziest one out of the three of us?” Emily laughed.
I couldn’t help smiling as I thought back on the first night I’d dragged Emily to the LA Stars’ party. I thought I’d corrupt her, but in the end, the three of us sort of evened each other out. I like to think she gave me a bit of her calmness and I lent her a bit of my wild side. Becca just gave us both a ton of bruises.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll party with you when we get back from Sweden,” I winked just as the limo pulled up outside of a trendy club.
In a rush, an attendant ran forward to open our door and escort us out onto the carpeted walkway. I glanced up to take in the scene laid out before me. The club was modern, with sleek white walls and ivy twining up around a mid-century iron sign that read Tiger Lily, the name of the club. Hanging candles replaced the need for interior lighting so that the atmosphere seemed more intimate as we stepped past the front doors.
I recognized all of my teammates from ULA as well as other family and friends. There were a few boys from the LA Stars team and I nodded when I saw Josh. We were in an okay place and I was happy to forget about the drama of those few months.
My parents and Liam’s parents were chatting in the center of the room and I pressed a hand to my chest as a smile spread even wider. It meant so much to have them all there, especially when I knew how long the flight was from London to LA.
However, the best guest of all was standing directly between our parents, and once I saw him, I couldn’t keep my happiness from brimming over. Liam looked handsome as always in a tailored black suit. His hair was styled back in a way that highlighted his sharp features and cleanly shaven face.
I knew he could feel my gaze on him because he glanced up just as I bit down on my lower lip. His grey eyes pinned me to the spot and I was left disarmed as he made his way closer. His smile grew wider with every step, and as he drew near, Becca and Emily fell away from my sides as if on cue.
“Remind me to never let you wear red unless it’s in our bedroom,” he smirked, taking my appearance in with a confident air.
“Like the dress?”
“I love the woman wearing the dress,” he said, taking my hand in his. “C’mon, let me talk to you alone for a second.”
“But, I haven’t said hi to my parents,” I protested half-heartedly. There’d be plenty of time to talk to them; right now I wanted to tear this suit off of him.
“They’ll understand, c’mon,” he said, tugging me through the club and down a side hallway. There was a single black door at the end guarded by a burly looking bouncer. Liam nodded to the man, and the bouncer unlocked the door and held it open so that we could walk through.
I scrunched my brows in confusion. “Wait, where are we going?” I asked.
Liam glanced back at me with a wicked grin, but instead of answering, he led me further up the dim staircase. I thought we’d end up on a second level, maybe in a VIP lounge or something, but instead he pushed through a heavy door at the top of the stairs with a sign taped across that read “roof access.”
Light seeped inside the dim hallway, and in that moment, I realized this was much more important than a small chat. I swallowed past the lump in my throat as he continued to push the door open and then my breath froze in my lungs as I took in the sight before me.
He’d created a tiny slice of paradise up on that roof. Strings of twinkle lights danced overhead. Flowers of every color and variety overflowed in each direction; their fresh fragrance wrapping around me as Liam took my hand and pulled me outside.
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting him lead me forward and trying to calm my racing heart. When I blinked them open again, I glanced down toward the path of tea candles leading us toward the center of the roof—to the center of that little paradise.
That’s where we paused, where Liam’s dark eyes locked with mine. That’s where I watched him slide down to one knee and that’s where my hands flew to my face as I tried to stop the tears that were threatening to overflow.
It didn’t feel real. None of it could be real because then I’d have every single thing I could have dreamed for.
“Kinsley Bryant…” he began as the tears streamed down my cheeks. “At twenty-six, I never imagined finding someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Three months before I met you, I was looking for the next thrill, the next party, the next girl. And then I walked in and found you perched in my kitchen like the most beautifully confident creature I’d ever seen, and I knew you’d be a wildfire. You challenged me from the very beginning and I tried to resist you, but I knew even then that I wasn’t going to walk away without you by my side.”
He paused and I watched him slowly swallow down his emotions. Liam Wilder, tough as nails soccer player, was actually the biggest softie I knew.
“This past year I’ve watched you strive for your dreams, and I’ve loved standing alongside you every step of the way—”
His shaking hand reached down to pull out a small black box from the pocket of his suit.
“Liam…”
His eyes sought mine and I drowned in the absolute vulnerability of the moment.
“Marry me,” he said, cracking the box open gently.
A soft, happy sob broke through my throat.
“I’m too young,” I protested weakly.
He smirked and calmly shook his head once back and forth.
“Marry me,” he said again so confidently that I knew he was putting my heart under his spell.
“Liam…” I began, my mind racing to keep up.
He shushed me with another shake of his head. “I lied to you that first night I met your mom.”
I scrunched my brows trying to recall the conversation he was drawing from.
“What? How?”
“That night I said I was joking about asking you to marry me in three hundred days. I knew then that I’d marry you. I could have asked you that very moment, but I wanted to
give you time. I’ve waited three hundred days, but I won’t wait an hour more.”
“Yes.” I answered so softly that the words didn’t pass my fingertips covering my mouth.
“We’ll take as long as you want. We can be engaged until you turn ninety-nine and you can’t even walk down the aisle. I’ll carry you or wheel you down. Just tell me you’ll marry me.”
Another happy sob broke through my barrier, and I fell forward onto my knees in front of him.
“Liam, I said yes. Yes. YES!” I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck. He laughed against my throat as his arms pulled me close.
I hadn’t even glanced at the ring. Does that make me crazy? I would have taken twine tied in a knot if it meant I got to marry this man.
He wouldn’t hear of it though.
“I want to see it on you. It took forever to find one that I knew you’d like,” he said, retracting his arms and reaching to push the ring onto my finger. I could hardly keep my hand steady as he slipped the band past my nail and up over my knuckle.
It was a simple, rounded square diamond on a skinny band. It looked like the perfect combination between delicate and ornate.
“You did good, Wilder,” I teased with a wink, finally able to speak without tears convoluting my speech.
“Thanks, Mrs. Kinsley Wilder,” he said with a wicked grin, testing my future name out for the first time.
I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Hmm… how about Liam Bryant instead?”
“Hey,” he laughed, wrapping me up in his arms again.
“No. No, wait. Mr. Kinsley Bryant. Yeah, I like the ring of that.”
“You’re dreaming.”
“C’mon, this is the twenty-first century,” I joked.
“Mhm,” he said, nuzzling my neck so that his cologne and body wash temporarily invaded the intelligent part of my brain. “Let’s just pick new names all together.”
I smiled. “I’m not listening anymore. I’m too busy trying to contemplate the fact that you actually want to marry me.”
“Believe it.”
“Say it, just one more time, so it feels real.”
“Kinsley Grace Bryant, you crazy beautiful loon, marry me so we can make hundreds of little soccer prodigies.”
I laughed. “Done.”
Epilogue to the Epilogue (Because I can)
Liam and I went on to win silver and bronze at the Olympic Games. We were also awarded “Cutest Couple”. The title was self-appointed. When I returned back to LA, I had a few offers from various professional teams around the country, including a club team in LA.
Becca lost her virginity to Penn in the Olympic Village. Yeah, those rumors about the village are true. Liam and I had to turn down an orgy invitation from a group of Russian gymnasts. This was mostly a geopolitical decision on my part.
Emily and her boyfriend suffered from an embarrassing Skype-sex debacle. Let’s just say you might want to keep your shirt on until you confirm that you’re video-calling your boyfriend and not his parents. “SON OF A PREACHER MAN”
Josh got the bimbo pregnant and the babies turned out to be little shits. Justice was served.
Tara ended up posing for Playboy and then landing her own reality TV show. I watch it religiously.
Acknowledgements
To every reader that takes a chance on an indie author, thank you so much. It means the world to me that you took a chance on this book.
To my family for all of their unconditional support, and especially to my father for showing me how to find the humor in life.
Mom, as always, your first round feedback is the most helpful. Thank you for laughing at Kinsley and Becca before anyone else.
Lance, you’re THE BEST. Thank you for reading and tweaking this book. You are the funniest person I know and I loved getting your stamp of approval on this book.
Thank you to all my beta readers: Jenni Moen, Staci Brillhart, Stacey Lynn, Brittainy Cherry, Jennifer Beach, and Maree Hunter. Your feedback was wonderful and truly, truly appreciated! Thank you for putting up with my changes and talking me through this book. You all helped bring this book to life.
Thank you to my amazing editor over at Taylor K.’s Editing Services.
GIANT thank you to my amazing proofreaders: Jennifer Flory-Van Wyk, Gabby Warner, and Rebecca Berto!! I’m so thankful to the three of you for catching some last minute mistakes!
Thank you to Patricia Lee for sending me a piece of inspiration everyday leading up to this release. You’re so thoughtful and I truly appreciated your support.
Thank you to all of my fellow indie authors (within Author Support 101 & Write Club). I don’t think I’d have the energy to write without the help from all of you ladies. Thank you for providing support and a sense of community within a crazy world!
Thank you to everyone who accepted an ARC edition of this book and hanging with me for all the tweaks and changes!
Am I allowed to thank Amy Poehler? Because I am. Thank you to every funny woman out there who blazed the trail for women in comedy. I look up to every single one of you.
Other Books by R.S. Grey:
With This Heart
New Adult Romance
If someone had told me a year ago that I was about to fall in love, go on an epic road trip, ride a Triceratops, sing on a bar, and lose my virginity, I would have assumed they were on drugs.
Well, that is, until I met Beckham.
Beck was mostly to blame for my recklessness. Gorgeous, clever, undeniably charming Beck barreled into my life as if it were his mission to make sure I never took living for granted. He showed me that there were no boundaries, rules were for the spineless, and a kiss was supposed to happen when I least expected.
Beck was the plot twist that took me by surprise. Two months before I met him, death was knocking at my door. I’d all but given up my last scrap of hope when suddenly I was given a second chance at life. This time around, I wasn’t going to let it slip through my fingers.
We set out on a road trip with nothing to lose and no guarantees of tomorrow.
Our road trip was about young, reckless love. The kind of love that burns bright.
The kind of love that no road-map could bring me back from.
**Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.**
Available on: AMAZON
Behind His Lens
Adult Romance
Twenty-three year old model Charley Whitlock built a quiet life for herself after disaster struck four years ago. She hides beneath her beautiful mask, never revealing her true self to the world... until she comes face-to-face with her new photographer — sexy, possessive Jude Anderson. It's clear from the first time she meets him that she's playing by his rules. He says jump, she asks how high. He tells her to unzip her cream Dior gown, she knows she has to comply. But what if she wants him to take charge outside of the studio as well?
Jude Anderson has a strict "no model" dating policy. But everything about Charley sets his body on fire.
When a tropical photo shoot in Hawaii forces the stubborn pair into sexually charged situations, their chemistry can no longer be ignored. They’ll have to decide if they’re willing to break their rules and leave the past behind or if they’ll stay consumed by their demons forever. Will Jude persuade Charley to give in to her deepest desires?
**Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.**
Available on: AMAZON
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