Page 57 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

"Would you have it any other way?" she asked me, smiling.

"I've got the love of my life in my arms, who just agreed to spend the rest of her life with me, and my family’s approval. No, I would absolutely not have it any other way. I'm finally right where I need to be."

I sealed my proclamation with a long kiss, ecstatic that I was no longer letting life or love slip away.

Chapter twenty-three

Epilogue

Ava

One year later…

If Spencer and I had our way, we would've gotten married a lot sooner. However, the fallout from that gala was vast, but in the best way possible.

After Penny’s impassioned speech, people started taking a different look at Spencer, and piece after piece came out about a "profile to encourage." The pieces lauded how Spencer took on such a great responsibility at such a young age for his baby sister’s sake.

He hated that wording, but it did the company a lot of good, which he couldn't complain about. We were getting donors for our charitable causes more than ever now. The school was thriving, so much so that they were breaking ground on another location in the coming months.

Everyone wanted to know more about the billionaire CEO who actually had a heart and put his money where his mouth was.

Plus, the little spectacle that Connie had created didn't hurt.

Along with the glowing press about Spencer, pieces about Connie Fordham and her lifetime of scamming others were released. Several exposés were released on all the people she had scammed, including Spencer, and a deep dive was done on the fact that she had essentially sold her child when she couldn't milk enough money from Penny’s father. There was also a piece done about her co-conspirator in her latest scam, an ex-Ashbury Corp. employee who was wanted in several states for Internet fraud.

There were also a couple of profiles done on Penny and how well she had thrived, despite her strange beginnings. She was not a fan of attention, but it was attention for the school as well, and donations were flooding in. The extra funds went toward establishing new activities and opportunities for students, which made the students happy, which, in turn, made Penny happy.

And speaking of happy, I was in bliss with my fiancé.

If somebody had told me the year before that I would be walking down the aisle with the stern and surly Spencer Ashbury, I would've laughed my ass off.

But now, I couldn't imagine any other life. I had a fulfilling job, I still got to do my art, and very often, doing that art led to much more sensual things, a combination that was both intoxicating and thrilling, one that only Spencer could give me.

Things had changed for him as well, not just because of the profiles, but from the way he ran his company. He had taken a step back, letting others make more decisions. He didn't seem to feel as much pressure to honor that promise he made to his father. Instead, he found more joy in organizing the company’s philanthropic efforts, and to my delight, he picked up a camera again. The plan was to help groom a successor in short order and eventually go back to photography full-time.

He made good on his wish to have pictures of me, although those were in a place that would never be found by anybody other than the two of us. But he was also taking pictures of all the places we went and our families. The Morettis made quite the family portrait, I could say that much.

And cold and stuffy Spencer had found himself thrown into the midst of a big, loud, and rowdy family, and much to the surprise of everyone, he loved it. They gave him the warmth and the closeness he'd never gotten as a kid, and he soaked it up happily.

That wild and rowdy family was now waiting outside. I could hear my brother screaming, "Let's go already, we need to get the show on the road."

I rolled my eyes and giggled.

"If I'm not mistaken, that’s Leo who’s being all insistent?" Penny asked pointedly.

"He doesn't grasp that sometimes weddings don't exactly run on time. Not entirely surprising since he says that if you're not fifteen minutes early, you're late."

Penny was about to respond when I heard a loud cry behind me. I could see my mother in the reflection of the mirror.

"Oh, sweetheart, you are a vision. Spencer’s going to fall over dead when he sees you, just dead," she said with emphasis as she rushed towards me and hugged me, threatening to smear my makeup.

"You know I love hugging you, but don't ruffle me too much."

"Oh, no, you're right, that’s supposed to be Spencer’s job today," she teased, looking me over and beaming. "Your father would be so proud. You are so beautiful, my bambina."

"Ma, why you gotta go and make me cry," I said, hugging her closer to me.

We embraced for a long moment before Penny gently cleared her throat. "Judging from the loud calls from your brothers, I think it's time, Ava," she announced, smiling.

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