Page 86 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

Epilogue

It was a year to the day she’d been released from prison.

And who better to celebrate it with than Summer and Regan, who had been through so much with her? She’d booked a private room at the Ritz, where she had come with Summer on the day of her release. The place had happy memories for her. Her grandmother used to bring her and Emma here for afternoon tea when they were children. Emma had enjoyed dressing up, and she’d loved all the fancy china and pretty things. They’dbeen sodifferent. Darcy could think of Emma now without bitterness, and remember the good times, though thoughts of Matt’s brother still made her want to punch something hard. So she tried not to think about him.

How could everything change so totally in a year? She’d been such a mixed-up mess when she came out of prison. Now her life was everything she could have ever dreamed of. Except she’d never dreamed of soldiers or babies, and now she had both, and she wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Sometimes being in love scared her, as though she still couldn’t believe she deserved to be so happy. In those moments, she felt like she stood on the edge of a precipice… But Regan and Summer were always there to talk her down. They still met each week for lunch or dinner. She could imagine them still meeting when they were little old ladies. But there was a lot of living to do before then.

She raised her glass of champagne. “To new lives,” she said.

“To staying on the straight and narrow.” Regan clinked her glass with Darcy’s.

“To giving up our freedom for a good cause,” Summer said, joining in the toast. “Well, three good causes.” Summer was drinking sparkling water instead of champagne—she was four months pregnant and glowing.

“How’s the baby?” Darcy asked, waving a hand at Summer’s expanding belly.

“Babies,” Summer replied. “We found out today—we’re expecting twins.”

“Wow.” Regan sounded a little envious. She and Nate had decided to put off having a family for a few years while they built up their business. But they were young, there was time. And the business was already doing well. Clearly, the whole idea of “use a thief to catch a thief” was taking off.

Darcy—with Matt’s help—was trying hard for a baby, which was fun. They wanted to give Lulu a little brother or sister, or two…or three.

“Identical twins.” Summer patted her stomach. “If they’re girls, I’m going to call them Regan and Darcy.”

“Aw.” Darcy sniffed, her eyes pricking. “I’m so glad we all found one another. I never would have made it without you two.”

“None of us would,” Summer said. “And look at us now.”

They’d all come such a long way.

She’d married Matt almost straight after he proposed. She had a vague notion that he thought she might wriggle out of it if he didn’t get the ring on her finger fast. But she’d had no intention of letting him go. Yeah, she was still scared. More so. She had so much to lose now. Sometimes, she’d creep into Lulu’s room at night and just watch her sleeping.

Summer and Regan had been maids of honor at the wedding. Surprisingly, so had Angie, who had become a friend after finally admitting that maybe Darcy was good enough for Matt. Lulu and Hannah had been bridesmaids. Matt’s parents had stayed around for the wedding. They were back in Australia now, but Darcy suspected that it wouldn’t be for long, that they would return for good in the not too distant future. His mom had confided in Darcy that they wanted to be part of their grandchild’s life. Not only that, but she wanted to find a way to get closer to Matt. She had a lot of guilt about his childhood.

The door opened at that moment, and there he was. He was flanked by Nate and Nik, and she heard a collective sigh of appreciation from around the table. They were all stunning, but Matt was hers. Her heart gave a little flutter. He was in uniform and handsome enough to stop her breathing.

“They are something, aren’t they?” Regan said from beside her.

“Did you ever think we’d be so happy?” Summer asked. Her tone was wistful and a little disbelieving.

“Never.”

Prison had been hard for all of them. But the truth was, they had all done wrong and they had paid the price. And they’d found one another. Together, they’d learned a valuable lesson—how to forgive themselves and move on.

She lifted her glass again. “To us,” she said, “And to happy ever after.”

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