“Yeah, I did,” Flynn murmurs in my ear. “So many times I can’t count.”
I cover my face, laughing.
“About bloody time,” Shane says when he appears on screen. “Congratulations. Glad you got your act together.”
“I hear congratulations is in order for you too,” I say. “A December wedding?”
He nods, grinning as he looks at Coral. “We couldn’t be happier. Moving here was the right thing to do. I hope you’re both coming to the wedding.”
Flynn and I look at each other, knowing that a date six months in the future is something we can keep. This is forever, after all.
“We wouldn’t miss it.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later...
‘I CHEATED ON my fears, broke up with my doubts, got engaged to my faith, and now I'm marrying my Dreams.’ That’s by Eddie A. Rios. I have no idea who that guy is—I couldn’t find much when I looked him up—but when I printed up that quote for the inspiration board I’m creating in my new home with Flynn, I knew it was a perfect fit. Not that Flynn and I are getting married just yet. It fits because it speaks of the progression my life has travelled. It’s how I came to be happy as me.
Fear was the decision maker in my life for longer than I’d like to admit. At first, I thought all my fears stemmed from my attack, but after a lot of soul searching, I realised my fears had been ruling my choices long before that. I was afraid of not being good enough. I was afraid of getting hurt. So I made reckless choices to try and protect myself from this horrible thing called doubt.
You see, fatherless daughters experience rejection in the worst possible way very early on in their lives. When most girls are rejected by a boy who wasn’t good enough for her, she can go home and be comforted in the arms of the one man who is supposed to love her above all else and no matter what—her father. But when that father leaves by his own choice and never comes back, it tears a little girl’s heart from her chest and leaves her feeling as though she is wanting—not good enough for her own father to love. As she grows, there is no man at home providing the example of how she should be treated and how she should be loved. That’s something she has to go out and discover herself through a series of mishaps and failed attempts at relationships that generally start for all the wrong reasons—namely attention because she’s lacking in self-worth.
It took me years to discover that my worth is something I set, not something some guy who barely has time to look my way sets. It’s not something that society, or even the father who didn’t want me, can set. It comes from me, from within. And it took being broken into pieces for me to finally look at my life and realise that I am good enough. In fact, I’m better than good—I’m fucking awesome.
Just ask Flynn, he’ll tell you. He thinks I’m a badass and he loves me how I am. He loves me when I argue. He loves me when I pout. He loves me when I smile. And he loves me even when I’m doing nothing at all.
Adding up the days and months we’ve been together, that number comes up as quite small. But in our hearts, we’ve known each other forever because we’ve been drawn to each other for eternity, just like the sun and the moon—except we don’t have to love each other from afar. We can reach out at any time and clasp our hands to take this wild ride of life together.
“Are you ready?” he asks, his thumb sliding across my knuckles in a soothing motion. The humming sound of an engine fills the air and my heart kicks up along with it. But I nod.
“I’m ready.”
“Seat belts, please.” The flight attendant walks up the aisle, checking on the passengers who are either side of her before we take off.
“That’s my girl.” He smiles, his eyes loving me in the only way he knows how—completely. “You can do anything.”
“If I can go free running with you, I can fly through the air in a giant tin can, right?”
He presses his lips to my temple. “Right.”
For my first adventure in an aeroplane, I’ve chosen a thirty-hour flight to London for Coral and Shane’s wedding. No one has ever accused me of doing things by halves; I’ve always jumped in at the deep end. Well, except for my relationship with Flynn. I think that’s the one thing I took my time with. But I also think that worked out for the best. Even though he drove me insane with his refusal to open up about his work life, I’m glad we did things the way we did. It gave me time to learn his heart’s story, to find out that his love for his friends and family supersedes everything else in his life—the cool job and the money are just perks. He’d give it all up if it meant he could save a loved one from harm, I really believe that.
Like that self-help book said, I found a man who healed my heart. But what it didn’t say was that I’d have to learn to trust my heart first. That was something I had to discover on my own.
“Here we go,” Flynn says, squeezing my hand as the plane takes off down the runway.
Thank God I did, because as I lean back, clutching the hand of the man I love, I know our adventure has only just begun.
THE END...or is it?
Continue the Beautiful Series with a novella in The Beauty in Between, Waterloo
You can also jump straight to the next Beautiful book, A Beautiful Destination where you’ll get to see Joel in his all kickboxing glory.
Visit www.lillianaanderson.com for more details, or preorder from your favourite ebook retailer
Books by Lilliana Anderson
The Confidante Trilogy
Confidante: The Brothel
Confidante: The Escort
Confidante: The Madame
Beautiful Series
Too Close
A Beautiful Struggle
Phoenix
A Beautiful Forever
Commitment
A Beautiful Melody
A Beautiful Rock
Devotion
A Beautiful Star
A Beautiful Taste
A Beautiful Danger
Waterloo
A Beautiful Destination
Entwined Series
Our Hearts Entwined
Our Lives Entwined
Drawn Series
Drawn
Drawn 2 – Obsession (Aaron)
Drawn 2 – Redemption (Damien)
Drawn to Fight
Zac & Evie
Hugo & Meg
Fire & Lies
Partners
Played
Standalones
47 Things
In the Wind
Paper Feathers
Never Again
For information on upcoming releases visit
www.lillianaanderson.com
About the Author
Lilliana Anderson
Bestselling Author of the Beautiful Series, Drawn and 47 Things, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.
Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters with all the quirks you’d expect from those born Down Under.
Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it's outback and tries to show characters in a city and suburban setting.
When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and four children.
Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.
Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.
Visit her website at www.lillianaanderson.com for information about upcoming releases and links to all current books.
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A Beautiful Danger (Beautiful #7) Page 24
