Epilogue
One Year Later
Bella’s laugh is infectious.Even nine months pregnant, she’s the life of the party.
“Sit down,” Lennon orders her when she tries to push herself off the couch, empty coffee mugs in one hand as she braces her other against the cushions.
“I’m pregnant, not an invalid,” she retorts but hands the dishes to Lennon with a smile on her face.
“How many days?” I ask.
“Two. The doctor says I can go into labor anytime, but if it doesn’t happen before my appointment on Tuesday, she’s inducing me. He’s a stubborn little guy.” Bella rubs her belly, a grimace on her face. “And he likes to kick me in the bladder.”
“Do you have to pee again?” Lennon calls from the kitchen.
The open concept of their new house is the perfect setup for entertaining. This entire weekend has been one big party. When the producers of Love or Lust asked everyone if they wanted to get together for a reunion special, with the premiere of season three in only a few more hours, we all agreed.
There were terms, though.
The first was they had to come to us.
Lennon wasn’t about to let Bella travel this far into her pregnancy, not that she would have wanted to.
The second... Courtney and Gage weren’t allowed to attend.
As soon as the camera’s cut on the finale, shit hit the fan. Gage and Courtney were outed. Not by me. That would be Milo. So much for keeping secrets.
Courtney ended up with a broken nose, courtesy of Teegan. Teegan a bloody lip thanks to Natasha. Gage and Callen walked away, each with a black eye. Milo’s doing. Poor Callen was trying to keep the peace and got caught in the middle. Lennon shattered a few knuckles in his right hand, though I never saw him lay a finger on anyone.
Bella, Kyra, and Drake were the only ones who didn’t get involved in the action, sitting off to the side while Drake filmed it all on his phone.
I would have thrown a few punches of my own, but I was otherwise engaged at the time.
Literally.
Jace was asking me to marry him, surrounded by dozens of red roses, while the rest of the contestants were fighting each other over stupid shit that happened on a reality TV show.
The reason I wasn’t allowed in the barn... Jace was setting things up.
Claudia... she was helping. This may have been an even bigger surprise than Jace actually asking me.
The name change on my card... Claudia’s doing, but it was so I would go searching for Jace after filming ended. She did what Jace asked her to.
And he had an even bigger reason for the change. He wanted the world to think I hadn’t chosen him. That what we had was only for the sake of good TV. He wanted the next step of our relationship to be ours and only ours.
And it has been.
We married five months after returning to Miami. It was a small ceremony held in our backyard. Naomi was my maid of honor, and Bella my only bridesmaid. Jace’s brother, Logan, was his best man, and Lennon his only groomsman. Only our closest friends, a few castmates, and family were invited.
Thankfully, the local press didn’t catch wind of it. They seem to like to involve themselves in our relationship. The only downside to Jace’s secret being revealed on the Love or Lust finale.
It wasn’t the only ‘big reveal’ they held onto until the end either. Natasha’s secret rendezvous in the bowling alley bathroom? Yep, they finally showed the footage. I should have been more shocked but I really wasn’t. If I’d given it more thought, I would have put two and two together. The cameraman she let bend her over the grimy bathroom counter – gross - just disappeared.
It took a lot of work to keep the wedding low-key, but it was worth it in the end. Especially considering Naomi and Callen hit it off like I expected.
She was coming off a breakup which worried me at first, but after watching the two of them talk and flirt, I knew he wouldn’t be her rebound.
Kyra brought her boyfriend, Trey. After watching the show, her parents found out what her sister did and all hell broke loose. By the time the show was over and Kyra was back home, her sister was in the process of getting divorced. She had planned to get back together with her boyfriend, but couldn’t get over everything that happened.