Epilogue
It was close to midnight on the night of the iconic Mounton-Matthews sale and Beah was exhausted. After a six-month campaign, an online sale and two days of live auctions, the disposal of Isabel’s collection was complete, culminating in the sale of the lost Winslow Homer for—Beah looked at the screen above Ronan’s head—was that two point five million or twenty-five million?
Beah squinted at the board: twenty-five million...taking the sale’s total to more than half a billion dollars. Holy crap, that was a lot of money.
Beah ignored the giddy atmosphere in the room, the loud laughter, the buzz a result of adrenaline and relief.
They’d pulled it off.
Beah stood behind the counter with the other Murphy staff who were working the phones for telephone bids—she’d agreed to be the intermediary for Paris Cummings, who was the new owner of both Homer’s painting and the Vermeer, as he’d wanted his anonymity preserved—and glanced around the room. Joa stood with Carrick and Sadie, Keely and Dare, her eyes on Ronan’s face as tears slid down her face. Beah couldn’t see Keely’s face since Dare held her head to his chest, patting his wife’s back.
Joa and Keely would make the decisions on where to spend the money they’d raised, what charities would be the ultimate recipients. Beah was pleased and thankful for their offer to make a large donation to cancer research.
Through her burning eyes, Beah noticed Carrick’s pleased smile as he stood with both arms around Sadie, one hand on her rounded stomach. She’d refused to stay at home, telling Carrick she was pregnant, not an invalid, and could handle the excitement of the sale.
Beah smiled as Joa broke free from the group to run up the stairs to the lectern and fly into Ronan’s arms. She swallowed down the lump in her throat as Ronan held her close, his lips in her hair.
It was a happy night, a wonderful night...
Beah watched as Carrick and Sadie joined Ronan and Joa behind the lectern, jerking his head for Keely and Dare to join them. Ronan looked around for Finn, and Beah smiled as he ran up the stairs, exchanging hugs and kisses and backslaps. He looked very happy, Beah thought. Content. At peace.
She was, as she knew, a big part of that.
Then Finn, because he didn’t like to stand in the limelight, stepped off the stage and walked into the crowd. Beah watched his blond head until it disappeared and hoped he was coming to find her; she wanted to share this incredible moment with him. Her last as a Murphy employee.
She was both sad and excited. But no matter where her career took her, she’d always return to Finn. He was where she needed to be...
Carrick tapped the microphone, the room settled down, and then the noise level dropped to something close to silence.
“On behalf of my brothers, I would like to thank Joa Jones and Keely Matthew-Seymour for affording Murphy’s the honor of representing Isabel Mounton-Matthews’s collection. We are proud to have made many record-breaking sales tonight, but more importantly, we are thrilled to have raised an outstanding amount for charity.”
Beah felt Finn’s strong hands on her hips, sliding around her stomach as he pulled her back into his chest. She tipped her head back and met his green, gold, beautiful eyes. Finn kissed her nose, then dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi, back,” Beah said, allowing him to take her weight. She was very tired and he was always happy to let her lean.
Carrick cleared his throat and Beah returned her attention to the stage. Carrick reached out his hand to pull Sadie to his side. “These past months have been hectic for the Murphy staff and I’d like to thank every one of them for their hard work.”
Applause broke out and Carrick held up his hand, looking serious. “This auction will always be one of Murphy’s greatest, but not only because of the range and depth of Isabel’s collection and the money we raised. Isabel and her treasures brought something bigger, and more important, into many of our lives. Keely, surprising us all, married Isabel’s lawyer recently. Ronan and Joa found each other, and his sons found a rock-steady and delightful second mother. I employed Sadie to authenticate the Winslow and she’s not only agreed to be my wife but as you can see, we’re adding to the Murphy clan. And Beah was a Murphy years ago and I know Finn is impatient to remarry her.”
“Damn straight I am,” Finn murmured in her ear.
“Here’s to Isabel and her incredible collection,” Carrick said, raising a glass of champagne a waitress brought to them on a silver tray.
Finn dropped a kiss on her hair. “Cheers, darling. Love you.”
Beah turned in his arms to hold him tight. “Love you more, Finn. Shall we join the family?”
Finn nodded and smiled. “How very lucky are we, Bee?”
Finn handed her a tender smile, one so full of love and desire it heated her heart—and her body.
She was living her dream and, yes, they were damn lucky.
They’d waited a long time to find each other again and neither she, nor Finn, was going to waste a single minute of their second chance at happily-ever-after.