Page 91 of Since Always

And then he delivers on that promise.

Epilogue

"Owen!" a familiar voice calls to me through the crowd. Dani Rodriguez stands in the middle of a group of women all about her age.

"Hey Dani," I say, giving her a hug. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Thanks for inviting me. I have never seen a house like this in my entire life."

"Yeah, it's something. I'm glad you are taking some time to enjoy the holidays this year."

"Oh, she's heading back to town tomorrow for a meeting," one of her girlfriends says, exasperated. I look at my friend, who shrugs.

"Of course she is," I say.

She introduces me to her group, and I learn that among them is Tina Rivers, a journalist for the Denver Times.

"I'm a big fan of your girlfriend's site," she tells me. "Dani told me about it. I subscribed to their newsletter and read it every day."

"Oh, she'll love to hear that, and it will mean a lot coming from someone like you."

"What's her site?" One of the other girlfriends asks.

"It's called The Real Story. It's a—" but the girl interrupts me.

"Oh, I know The Real Story. I follow them on Instagram."

"She'll be glad to hear that too," I say, feeling the pride that comes anytime anyone compliments her work. Cassidy has worked her ass off helping to launch the site. With some boosts from friends who have large followings, like Becca and her boyfriend Max Walters, the site is growing so quickly that they are already finding themselves needing to scale up and bring on more people. Cass works remotely, but travels frequently to cover stories.

Someone grabs my arm. When I turn, Stephanie is standing with a tall, beautiful brunette who looks familiar, but that I can't quite place.

"Sorry to interrupt, Congresswoman," she says to Dani. "Owen, I wanted to introduce you to Jana White. Jana, Owen Blaze."

The woman extends a hand, which I take as I smile. "It's a pleasure, Senator. I'm a big fan."

"Also," Stephanie says. "You guys share a common enemy. Owen, this is Mark Reynolds's ex-fiancée."

"Oh wow, yes, of course. I knew I recognized you. It's nice to meet you too."

"I love that there is someone who can go toe-to-toe with Mark," she says, a rueful smile on her lips. "Don't let up on him.”

"I don't plan to, don't worry. And, I know they told you that the dirt you gave Chris on him came in very handy, so thank you."

She laughs. "Well, I'm just glad it came in useful."

"It really did. But I'm still sorry you had to go through it."

"It's okay. It worked out pretty well for me. Somehow, through all that, I actually met the man I'm meant to be with."

"You mean the guy that he hired? You guys are..."

"It's a long story. But, yeah, alls well that ends well, right?"

I smile, knowing that all too well.

I am about to say something when a flash of color coming up the stairs catches my eyes. An actual goddess is stepping up into the living room, gliding like a balloon let free in the wind. Her sunshine yellow chiffon dress billows behind her. The eyes of several the men in the room slip from their dates to mine.

"I'm sorry, if you will excuse me..." I say to the ladies.

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