Epilogue: Charlotte
Ifinish editing my piece and then select a photo of myself and Hamlet on the yacht. I’m laughing, my face screwed up in something unattractive, but real. My hair is a wild mess, my tan uneven, and the lighting imperfect.
Hitting “post,” I grin at the story. Three months into traveling with Max, Jack, and Ham, I feel more alive than I have ever been since I was sixteen, like the whole world is waiting for me. I shut my laptop and slide it into the case before getting up to sit on Jack’s lap.
“When will Max be back?” I pout at him as I run my fingers along Hamlet’s back.
“In a few hours. He wanted to give us some alone time.”
“A rarity.” I giggle.
Max is shameless when it comes to interrupting Jack and me. He has every right; it’s his boat and he’s quickly wormed his way into my heart. He’s the best friend I’ve always wanted—supportive, kind, and happy to talk about life with me in the realest terms.
And Jack… I look him over slowly, enjoying the way his hair catches the orange light of the sunset and the constant hint of a smile on his lips. He rubs my thigh. “Charlotte, are you happy?”
“Absolutely,” I assure him, kissing him quickly.
He catches the back of my neck and kisses me deeper, hungrier. I feel a familiar heat filling my body as he lets me go. Soothing his hand down my back, he cuddles me in his lap. “I’m glad.”
“You’re tense.”
“I am,” he agrees. “This feels like a different me and a different life.”
“Is it a good different?”
“Yes,” he says, his fingers lazily stroking my skin. “But…”
I draw back, looking up at him as he pushes his sunglasses up his head. He clears his throat. “I threw myself into working for so long, it’s strange to take a break. It’s changed my perspective on what life can be.”
“So, what do you want out of life now?”
“You.” His eyes sear me. “I love you, Charlotte, and I don’t want to picture my life without you.”
“So serious,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“I. Love. You.” He holds my face in his hands as he studies my expression. “More intensely than I’ve ever loved anyone. I want a future with you.”
“I love you too.” I exhale. I’ve been holding on to those words for a month now. I’m not sure when it clicked in my head. For so long, I’d been convinced everything between us came down to sex, but the idea of not seeing him every day, the idea of waking up alone or with someone else… “You make me feel loved and real and…worthy of all the things you offer me. You and Max make me feel more alive than I ever thought possible.”
“I have one more thing to offer you, then.” He fishes in his pocket as I try to avoid jumping to conclusions. But he pulls out a little black box and opens it to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring. “I want to offer you forever…with me. I know it hasn’t been long, but I don’t want to waste any more time. I wasted years missing my best friend, years focusing on what doesn’t matter. I don’t want to regret not asking you to marry me the second I—”
“Yes!” I cut him off, then kiss him hard. “Yes, Jack.”
He stares at me for a moment, then jumps slightly and slides the ring on my finger. “Yes?”
“Yes.” I kiss him again. “Only, we’re going to have to figure out how to share Max as best man and maid of honor.”
He laughs and drowns me in kisses until Max joins us. He looks at us and leans against the mast. “You popped the question?”
“I did.” Jack chuckles.
“You said yes?”
I flash him the ring in response.
He tackles us both, hugging us and kissing my cheek. If he could, I think he’d haul us both below deck and end the day in a frenzy of sex and encouragement. As he and Jack talk about the wedding and all the things they’ll have to do, I feel my cheeks cramp under my smile.
This is what I’ve always wanted—to be loved, supported, to feel like I belong. And I have it with Jack and Max, not with Internet stardom. Jack squeezes me as he kisses my temple, and Max holds my hand on his chest while we lie together and stare at the sunset.
As we head back out to sea, I sigh and settle into the rocking of the boat and the two men cuddled around me. Max suggests a destination wedding with two ceremonies while he plays with my hair, arranging it neatly over my breast and brushing a stray from my eyes.
“One for family and friends. And then one just for us—me, you, Max, and Ham,” Jack says with his sexy velvet bedroom voice.
“Then of course we’ll need about a month to fully enjoy your honeymoon, sugar,” Max whispers in my ear.
The thought of what he means sends shivers through my body. I turn toward him, meet his gaze and press my lips on his, allowing him to part mine with his tongue. I can feel Jack getting harder as he pushes up against my bottom.
Jack whispers, “Lift your leg, baby, so I can slide my cock in your pussy while you’re kissing my best man.” I melt at his command. I lift my leg and allow him entry.
I’ve never imagined a love like this, but now that I am living it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Who says we have to live everyone else’s idea of a happily ever after?
Our happily ever after tastes like salty ocean spray lingering on Max and Jack’s lips.
The end