Page 49 of Finally

Topher smiled up at me as we twirled around the dance floor. After months of planning and meetings and traveling all around our fine state speaking to voters about his ideas, Topher had won the election. By a landslide. He’d joked that he only won because his main competition had been taken out of the running, but I knew that wasn’t true. I’d watched the voters’ faces as they listened to Topher speak and I’d seen hope and trust and respect in their eyes. They believed in him and the promises he made, and I knew that he would have won regardless of what transpired.

John Wainwright was never convicted of the crimes Jared had accused him of. With no actual proof that he’d ever promised Jared any money, John’s involvement in the case came down to his word against Jared’s. So, John was found not guilty…of that particular crime. However, the misuse of state funds for his own personal gain, which had been uncovered along the way, was another story altogether and the state was now launching a full investigation into all of his business dealings. If I were a betting man, I’d have to say that he was going to be looking at many years behind bars and I couldn’t think of anyone who deserved it more. Well, maybe one person.

Jared had been denied bail because the courts considered him a flight risk. He was now sitting in a cell somewhere, waiting for a trial date to be set. With countless eyewitnesses to his crime, a positive ID on the fingerprints from an active crime scene, and the heavy weight of an attempted murder accusation, among other allegations, he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting free. His wife, Colleen, had chosen to stand by her husband’s side. While I thought she was crazy for sticking around that lunatic, I also couldn’t blame her because I would do the same thing if Topher were the one behind bars. There was nothing he could do that would ever make me turn my back on him.

Surprisingly enough, Jared’s bookie had been paid off, therefore ensuring Colleen’s safety. No one knew who paid the debt, but I had my suspicions. I’d seen my man tossing and turning at night, the thought of an innocent person being in danger weighing heavily on his mind. Topher never said it was him, but deep inside, I knew the truth and it made me respect him even more.

Finally, with all of that behind us, we were able to look forward, and I had to admit, I liked what I saw. With John unable to fulfill his duties, Topher had already taken his position as the new governor of Illinois. He’d been offered the chance to live in the governor’s mansion, but we’d turned it down, preferring to stay close to Chicago where my job was and where all of our friends and family lived. So, I’d sold my apartment and moved all my stuff into Topher’s house. Our house.

It still gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever I thought of us merging our two lives into one. Topher had won my heart many years ago when we were just kids; but the man he’d grown into, the decent, honorable, trustworthy man he’d become, was everything I’d ever hoped to find in a partner. I was proud to have him by my side as we made plans for our future.

“What are you smiling at?” Topher asked.

“Honestly? What don’t I have to smile about? I got to watch the man I love achieve his dream today as he was sworn in as governor, and now, I get to hold that incredible man in my arms and dance with him.”

His mouth lifted in a shy smile. “That was only one of my dreams, you know. I have many, many more.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like marrying you, waking up in your arms every morning and falling asleep with you each night. Like traveling to exotic places and seeing the world with you, like maybe having a family someday and hearing our children call you Daddy,” he told me.

My heart swelled with so much love for this man that I was sure it would eventually burst. “Those are my dreams too. I want all of those things and more with you.”

As if on cue, we heard a loud squeal. We turned our heads and saw Micah bent down, holding onto his daughter’s hands as Lilyana held her feet on top of his so they could dance. She gazed up at her father with a look of complete adoration, squealing with delight each time he spun her around.

Landon laughed from where he sat at a nearby table, watching over their son, Spencer, as he finished eating a piece of cake, blue and white icing all over his little cheeks. In his arms was their newest son, Marcus. He was only two months old and had needed a home when his eighteen-year-old mother could no longer take care of him. Micah and Landon had been overjoyed and had immediately fallen in love with the little guy. I was happy for my friends that they were able to grow their family, but while I wanted that for us someday, I was perfectly happy having Topher all to myself for a little while.

I looked around the ballroom at all of the friends and family that had gathered to help celebrate Topher’s victory. His parents were there, along with several of my friends, Maddie, and all the people who had worked tirelessly on his campaign. They were all smiling, enjoying the moment. “Did you ever think we’d get here someday?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Being here together, in love and engaged?”

Topher tightened his arms around me. “I think a part of me had always hoped we’d find each other again someday. I fell in love with you, with the real you, years ago, and that wasn’t something I could just let go of. You, Greg Wright, are impossible to quit.”

I gazed down into those beautiful blue-green eyes, the same eyes I’d fallen in love with as a kid and the same eyes I wanted to look into for the rest of my life. “I’ve watched my friends fall in love, I’ve seen it in the movies and read about it in books, but a part of me always felt like I was unlovable. After all, my own parents never loved me, so why would anyone else? But you proved that theory wrong. From the moment I met you, you’ve shown me kindness and friendship and love, and I will forever be grateful to you for that. You made me believe in myself, in my own worth, and because of that, I look around this room and I think, it’s our turn to be in love, it’s our turn for happiness.”

Topher’s face lit up as he smiled. “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done and I’m never going to stop. It is finally our turn.” I bent down and kissed him until everyone around us started making catcalls. We looked around at our friends who were cheering our public display of affection and laughed, then looked back at each other.

“Finally,” I whispered then I took his mouth in another kiss.

THE END