Oh. God. She might just cry right now.
“And you’re together?” her mom asked, no emotion in her voice, but a small smile on her face.
“We are, Mom,” Lauren responded.
“Well, I don’t know what to say,” her mother said, looked at her dad, and her smile grew. “But I guess I should say I’m glad you two are happy, and I hope things work out.”
“You’re really okay with this?” Lauren asked, her heart beating a mile a minute.
“Are you happy?” her mother asked.
Lauren nodded.
“And you’re happy?” her mom asked Ace.
He tightened his hold on her hand. “More than I could even describe with words.”
Her father smiled, and her mom exhaled slowly.
“Then we’re happy for you. I was worried at first when Lauren told me about you two, about how she cared for you, and although I love you like a son, Ace, I also know you have had a tough life growing up.”
He nodded. “Yes, but I would only ever show Lauren love.”
Her mom reached across the table and grabbed his other hand. “I know, honey. I know.”
“I actually figured this would have happened long before now,” her father said, and reached across the table to grab the salad. “Now, can we eat?”
They all started laughing, and her mother and father started talking about their day at work. God, that was easier than she thought. Lauren looked at Ace, saw that he was staring at her, this small smile on his face. He leaned in close, and whispered in her ear, “I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, and I never will.” And just like that everything was right where it needed to be.
Epilogue One
One year later
Lauren held Ronan in her lap, smiling at the way the little boy giggled at something his father, Toby, did across the room. Lauren glanced at where Toby, Shoshanna, and Ace all stood by the TV. Ace was talking about something electrical with Toby, and Shoshanna was drinking a sparkling cider and looking at the pictures Lauren had just hung up that morning.
She stared at Ace again, felt her love for him grow, and knew that life had a funny way of making the most unpredictable things work out. Ace was still seeing the therapist on occasion, and although he still trained at the gym several times a week, he hadn’t gotten into a fight in some time.
Did she think her man would ever be “normal”? She didn’t know, but she didn’t care. He was happy where he was, and she was happy to be able to give him a smile when he was down and in a dark place. There wasn’t anything in the world that could erase what Ace had gone through, but she could try to make every day filled with something happy and memorable.
Over the last year a lot had changed between her and Ace, but it had all been so good, and felt so right. She hadn’t signed her lease for another year on her apartment, and instead had moved into Ace’s much nicer and bigger place. Living with him was something new, and it felt like she fit right in, right in his life.
Ace glanced at her just as Ronan started getting fussy. Lauren stood and handed the baby off to his father, but couldn’t help noticing how Toby had a scrunched up face and looked over at Shoshanna helplessly. Shoshanna sighed, set the glass on the table, and took the little baby.
“I swear, Toby, you act like a dirty diaper will melt your face off if you change it.”
Lauren started laughing at what Shoshanna said. “You can use our room if you want.”
Shoshanna gave her a smile of gratitude, grabbed the diaper bag off the floor by the door, and headed into the back hallway.
“Man, you better go help her or you’ll pay for it later,” Ace said and chugged some of his beer. Amusement was on his face, and when he looked over at Lauren he winked.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Toby said, finished his beer, handed it off to Ace, then followed his new wife down the hall. They’d gotten married only a month ago, with Ace being Toby’s best man, and Lauren sitting with the other guests thinking about what her wedding would look like. She glanced down at her engagement ring, the princess cut diamond that Ace had given her a few months ago.
The proposal had been so sweet. It hadn’t been anything over the top, and for that she was grateful. What he had done was take her to the lake when it was dusk. The sky had been painted pink and orange. He’d had a stack of classic books with him and a bouquet of poppies, and before she knew what was happening he’d started reciting the most romantic and sentimental passages out of each book, even if he probably hated doing it.