Page 65 of His Christmas Gift

EPILOGUE

Two years later

A small crowd of investors, businesspeople, and fitness influencers stood outside of HyperFit’s very first international location in the heart of the United Kingdom.

For now, the glass doors of the two-story, dark blue and white building were closed, but the grand opening was well on its way.

“He made it,” Ethan said from beside me as we watched Dean talk to a journalist about his new gym location and the mounting success that he had been having lately.

“I knew he would,” I replied with a proud smile on my face. I looked over at Gemma, our two-year-old daughter, who was sitting on my hip. “Aren’t we proud of Daddy?”

“Yeah!” Gemma cheered, looking around with wide, excited eyes at London’s towering buildings and busy streets. We considered leaving her at home with one of our families, but life was about experiences. We wanted her to share this celebration with us, and she was having the time of her life.

“You’re going to be a little CEO one day. I can see it,” Ethan told Gemma as he playfully tickled her side.

Gemma squealed happily, laughter breaking from her.

I smiled and held her tight, feeling a warm sensation fill me to the brim. I knew that I would love my daughter. That was obvious to me. However, when she was born, I remembered being overcome by the strongest feeling ever. I loved her so strongly immediately, and I could tell from the glisten in Dean’s eyes that he felt the same way.

Our daughter wasn’t a complication or a hindrance for us. She motivated us and pushed us to be better people and parents. We wanted to give her the world, to make sure that she was always happy. We wanted to teach her valuable skills and let her have the choice to do whatever made her happy.

In the beginning, Dean and I were so scared of messing up, and we did. We made little mistakes that every parent has made, but we didn’t let that deter us. We just got better from that point on. We didn’t strive for perfection because that didn’t exist, but we tried to get as close as possible.

The main thing was that Gemma was happy and healthy. She smiled and laughed so much, and she loved going for car rides and little trips to the park and playground. If we could show her something new, we did.

“She has the best person to learn from,” I said as I gently brushed back a strand of Gemma’s red hair from her face. She had my eyes and hair, but she still had the features of Dean. She was the perfect mixture of us.

“You must’ve worked some magic on him. Usually, when someone spends less time at work, the company suffers instead of prospers,” Ethan chuckled as he peered at me.

After our engagement, Dean and I were forced to take a step back and look at our lives. We were both busy people at work, but we had a baby on the way. We also had a wedding to plan. To my surprise, Dean offered to cut some of his work hours. He let me handle the majority of the work for my aunt’s gym, while he handled his general affairs for the company. It took some pressure off him, and it let me practice managing on my own.

Instead of having a fancy destination wedding, we had a small one back at home with only our friends and families. My parents didn’t invite any of their friends. Since they had been more willing to listen to my wishes, I let them help us choose flowers and a caterer. I couldn’t begin to describe their glee when Gemma was born.

Dean and I still lived in New York City, but we spent almost every major holiday back at home so that Gemma could see both her grandparents and her uncles and aunts. Gemma had a huge, loving family that surrounded her, and I couldn’t begin to properly express how grateful I was for that. No matter what, she was loved and supported.

“It’s all about balance. You should try it sometime,” I smirked teasingly.

“I’m go, go, go. You know that,” Ethan chuckled.

Before I could reply, I heard Dean call out to me. I looked through the small crowd at him, seeing him motion me over. With a surprised look on my face, I handed Gemma over to Ethan, who immediately gave her a playful bounce and spin to incite laughter from her. I walked over to Dean, who was still talking to a journalist.

“This is my wife, Autumn. She’s my rock, and she’s been a big help in the overhauls that have been done at my gyms across the United States,” Dean told the journalist, a woman in her mid-thirties with brown hair tied back. He looked over at me with a warm smile.

“Wow, that must be amazing working together,” the journalist replied with a friendly look on her face. She held a pad of paper and a pen in her hands.

I gave Dean a bashful look. He didn’t have to bring me over here to boast about me. Though, it was kind of him. Over the past two years, he asked me for advice on local programs for his gyms and other little things that could improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. All I did was give him a few ideas. He actually implemented some, and the numbers shot up. They worked.

Even Ethan suggested to Dean that I have a spot on his board. I basically ran my aunt’s old gym by myself, and it flourished. I knew so many of the locals that came in every week, and all of our special classes, events, and summer programs were a huge hit in the community.

Being from a small town, I knew how important community was. I wanted people to feel welcome, to feel at home. It was easy to lose that in a big city, but I made my gym feel like its own little oasis, and I helped Dean make his other gyms feel like that too.

“It’s an experience unlike any other,” I told her, feeling Dean’s arm slip around my shoulders. I leaned against his side, my white blouse pressing against his black suit jacket. He looked good in his suit today, but he looked amazing every day in whatever he did or didn’t wear.

“How do you balance your work life and your home life?” the journalist asked us.

“We have a strict schedule. We don’t work outside of our planned work hours. We give more attention and time to our family, of course,” Dean replied. “We love the work that we do, but we love spending time with each other and our daughter more.”

“It helps that we’re both passionate about our work. We feel fulfilled at work and at home, and I think that’s the key. They level each other out,” I explained to the journalist. It had taken some adjustments and trial runs to get our schedules and discipline right, but Gemma was the biggest motivator of all.

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