He shook some sense into himself and opened the door wider. “Of course.”
She walked past him, wearing the same casual dress and carrying the same tote bag as earlier, which she set down on a living room chair. She glanced around at his minimalist furnishings and décor, then met his gaze. “Looks like this place could use a woman’s touch.”
He arched a brow, playing along, even though he had so much to say to her. So much he needed her to know. “Are you offering?”
“Maybe,” she said, clearly flirting with him. “Depends.”
Hope rushed through him. “On?”
“If you want a woman’s touch in your life.”
He swallowed hard. Hers, absolutely. But he couldn’t say it just yet, not when he needed to make certain that everything had gone okay with Joyce. “How did things go with your mother?”
That playful light in her eyes dimmed, telling him it had been a difficult conversation. “As well as could be expected, considering she didn’t see my transformation or newfound independent streak coming.”
He laughed, imagining that had been a shock, along with her shorter hairstyle. “Tell me what happened.”
“Well, in a nutshell, and in a short period of time, I pretty much took control of my career. And my life. And my future,” she said, her chin lifting a few inches. “I cancelled my world tour and fired my mother as my manager and told her that she needed to figure out what made her happy, because I knew exactly what made me happy.”
“Yeah?” His heart pounded erratically, hopefully. “And what’s that?”
“Writing songs. Cutting and producing albums. Maybe a few private performances.” She paused for a few beats before stepping up to him and skimming her fingers along his jaw, whispering, “And you.”
He groaned, and, reaching up, he brought her hand to his mouth so he could kiss her palm. “Raevynn . . . you need to know I love you. So much. I never stopped loving you. I should have told you before you got out of my car at the hotel so there weren’t any doubts in your mind, but I didn’t want you to make any decisions about what you needed to do for your career based on being tied to me.”
Her blue eyes softened. “I never doubted how you felt about me, Collin. You might not have said the words while we were at the beach house, but I felt them, to the depths of my soul. And the choices I made about my career are for me. You’re just a bonus. A very hot, sexy one. Whatever it takes, I want to make us work.”
“We will,” he promised, and pressed his forehead to hers. “I made a lot of mistakes in the past, especially believing I knew what was best and letting you go, but you need to know that, going forward, I will fight to the death for you. You’re mine. Always and forever. I want to marry you and have babies with you and grow old with you.”
“Yes,” she breathed against his lips. “I love you, Collin Donovan. Always have. Always will. You’re my Prince Charming who rescued me from my ivory tower. You’re my happily ever after.”
He grinned. “Mmm. I like the sound of that.”
And like any good prince, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. They had seven years of lost time to make up for, and Collin vowed that every day she’d know how much he loved her.
That she was his and always would be.
Forever.
EPILOGUE
One year later . . .
Raevynn sat beside her sexy, gorgeous husband in the Mercedes Roadster convertible she’d just bought for him as a birthday gift, which Collin had insisted was way too expensive and over the top, but she’d insisted right back that it was her prerogative to spoil him. Because she could. Her money had been invested well over the years, and while she wasn’t normally an extravagant spender, there were just some things worth splurging on. Her husband was one of them.
With the top down on the convertible, the wind whipped through her short hair as they drove along the highway toward New Jersey and the fairly modest second home they’d purchased on the coast, which they used as a getaway and for family gatherings. With Collin working for MadX-Tech in Brooklyn, they’d traded in his apartment for a place nearby with more rooms and space, so that Raevynn had her own studio to escape to when she needed a quiet place to write her songs. Her latest release, “Revelations,” was currently topping the charts, and she was spending more and more time collaborating with other big-name artists.
Not wanting to be the center of attention or risk h
aving her wedding day splashed all over social media, she and Collin had eloped quietly months ago—the two of them running off together to Atlantic City for a quickie ceremony with Avery and Kevin coming along and standing in as witnesses.
All in all, life was good. The best it had ever been. Her heart was full, she had a career she loved that no longer overwhelmed her, and a man she adored who made sure she knew how much she meant to him every single day. They’d just found out that she was pregnant and Collin was elated. An unplanned surprise, but it was the best and most exciting gift to add to all her other good fortune. Avery was thrilled to be an aunt, and Raevynn was excited to give Harper and Lucas a new cousin to play with. But mostly, she and Collin were looking forward to building a family together.
The only glitch in her cocoon of happiness was her relationship with her mother. After she’d fired Joyce as her manager nearly a year ago, which had been the right thing to do, things between the two of them had been strained. Not unexpected considering how much of her life her mother had invested into her daughter’s. Managing Raevynn’s life and career was all Joyce had known, and Raevynn knew the transition to managing herself had been a work in progress.
But the news of an impending grandchild had softened something in Joyce. Made her more accepting, and Raevynn was hopeful that a sweet baby in their lives would help repair the rift between mother and daughter.
Raevynn glanced at the man sitting beside her, so amazed that they’d found their way back to each other. Who knew that a fairy-tale ball would lead to the happy ending she’d always dreamed of?