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Epilogue Two
RAE
“You’re joking,” I blurt.
“I’m quite serious.”
My hair blows around my face, and I brush it away to look around the deck of the yacht. “You wanted a boat for your birthday? Why the hell?”
Harrison follows my gaze, the wind tugging at his half-unbuttoned shirt. “Fond memories,” is all he says, his mouth twitching in a cryptic smile as he takes my hand.
“You guys going to come and get drinks or what?” Beck calls.
Because, yeah, our friends came too. With Tyler and Annie, a one-year-old Rose, Elle and Beck, it feels more like my birthday than Harrison’s.
When Ash showed up, I knew this was a big deal. He flew over from the UK for only a couple of nights, arriving at the port thirty minutes after the rest of us given traffic from LAX.
Interestingly, Beck gave Ash more than his share of shit—probably because Ash did the same to Beck on my birthday when he’d been late. But as soon as they started sparring, it was impossible to stop them.
Something’s up. I only found out we were going on an overnight trip when Harrison told me to pack a bag and then drove us to the port at Long Beach this morning.
I don’t have a chance to press him as we set out to Catalina for the day, exploring the island together on bikes and on foot.
Harrison doesn’t seem to be feeling any ill effects from the yacht—or maybe he’s okay because we’ve spent more time on land than at sea.
After exploring Avalon and the Catalina Casino, we come back to the anchored yacht for a delicious chef-prepared dinner of swordfish, followed by cake.
“How fucking old do you think I am?” Harrison demands, taking in the dozens of candles interspersed with real flowers on the beautiful white cake.
“Don’t blame me,” Ash retorts, lifting a brow. “They know when you were born.”
Annie, Elle, and I crack up. Even Rose gurgles, half-asleep in Annie’s arms.
“You think this innocent act is gonna work forever?” Beck’s arm leans across the back of Elle’s chair, but his smirk is focused on Harrison’s brother.
Ash leans over the table. “Not an act, Hollywood. What you see is what you get.”
“The baker didn’t want us to put candles on it, but we insisted,” Tyler says, bringing the attention back to the cake.
Harrison shakes his head at me. But he’s grinning.
I shift my chair closer to his.
“Wait. You have to make a wish, remember?” I prompt before he can blow out the candles. “And it’ll only come true if you get them all in one breath.”
He cocks his head. “You never told me what yours was.”
I feel the flush crawling up my cheeks. “Maybe someday I will.”
“In that case, I’ll tell you mine when you tell me yours.”
He blows, and every tiny flame extinguishes.
* * *
I wake up to a gentle rocking motion.
It takes a moment to recognize the stateroom in the dark.
