Epilogue 1

Keegan’s POV – THREE YEARS LATER

“ALRIGHT LADIES, WE HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL ITS TIME FOR THE LINEUP. TIME FOR FINISHING TOUCHES. LET’S GO!” Gloria, the fashion PR person I hired, called out.

I was on the ground trying to adjust a hem on one of the dresses in the show, I got sent a different model at the last minute who was a good few inches shorter than the one who was originally supposed to wear the dress, and the last thing I wanted her to do was fall ass over on the runway.

I still couldn’t even believe that I was here right now. For over a year, I was happy making custom pieces from word of mouth and had made a pretty penny doing so, but they started to catch more people's eyes. Eventually, I got an invite to be part of the young designers part of fashion week and fast forward a year later, and I was back again. I now had a team of people working with me turning my dresses into reality, and whilst I continued to design dresses for WAGs and celebrities alike, trust me I screamed the first time I saw Jennifer Lopez in one of my dresses at the Grammys, I knew that I wanted to use my talent to help others too. So, I created a more budget-friendly line where all the dresses were just as beautiful as the ones I made for my high-end clients but were made with more reasonably priced materials, making them more affordable. I also set up a foundation where women could donate their used dresses to the foundation, which were loaned out to kids that couldn’t afford dresses for their proms and dances. It was what the community centre did but for the entire West Coast. Within a year, we hoped to branch out to the rest of the country.
I was extremely busy, but I was so content with my life now.

After I finished hemming the dress, I sent my model on her way for final touch-ups and managed to take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. I knew this new collection was my best yet, but it didn’t stop the fear of what others would think.

“There she is.” An excited voice called out from behind me.

I spun around and saw Ryder approaching me with the biggest bouquet of multi-coloured roses that I had ever seen. Accepting them gratefully as I kissed him. “they are beautiful, but you know it’s customary to wait until after the show.”

“Why wait when I know it’s going to be brilliant.” He advised me, “I’m going to get back out there to join the others. This is going to be amazing.”

Ryder had been my biggest supporter throughout this whole thing. He was the first to offer to go out and pick up material for me and force me to eat when I had been holed up in my design studio all day and night. I would be lost without him. We were going on over three years now and still going strong. When we stood on that basketball court begging me for a second chance all those years ago, he had made me a promise that he would spend the rest of his life making up to me, and he delivered every day.

Before I knew it, the opening music began, and it was time for the show to begin. All these months of planning and preparation, and it felt like it was over in a blink of an eye. The models took their final walk, and it was time for me to join them on stage. I beamed widely as I got a standing ovation. Even with all the celebrities, reporters and the who's who of the fashion industry, my eyes instantly found my personal cheering section. Grams, Ryder, Faith, Mackenna, April, Marcus and Michael, were all there clapping and cheering louder than anyone in the room. Grams may have been the only one I was related to by blood, but the rest were family regardless.
I never thought that I would make it to this point. I hoped, and I prayed, but I know that if Ryder and I had never entered our crazy deal, then I doubt I would be here right now. After I testified against my father, he got sentenced to ten years but could be out in a couple more for good behavour. He wrote to me on the odd occasion, always sending the letters to Grams’ but I never opened them. I didn’t want him to be any part of my life. So it was nice to have all the people here that cared for me.

After the show ended, the champagne flowed backstage, but I was too busy even to have a glass. There were numerous interviews to do and discussions I had to have with several stores that held my line. By the time I actually finished with all of it, most of the models had departed, and it was only my team who were packing up, and Ryder remained.

Ryder seemed a little fidgety when I grabbed a glass and walked over. I knew he loved supporting me at my shows, but they weren’t really his thing. I wondered if he was just over it all and ready to go home.

“You ready to get out of here, handsome?” I asked him, a wave of tiredness rushing over me now that I had slowed down.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “You haven’t even finished your drink yet.”

I glanced down at my untouched champagne flute, “I think if I drink this now, I’ll fall asleep.”

“Okay.” He stated, looking at his watch, “let’s get you out of here.”

When we settled in the back of the town car, I leaned my head on Ryder's shoulder. I was so relaxed being with him. As long as he was in my life, I could handle anything.
I don’t know how it happened, but I must have fallen asleep because I opened my eyes when the car lurched to a stop. I was so disoriented at first that it took me a minute to work out what had happened and where I was.

I looked out the window and saw that we were at Grams’ place, “What’s going on, Ryder.”

He got out of the car without a word holding his hand out to me. My heart was pounding as I took it, allowing him to help me out of my car. As we walked through the gate, I smiled at the silence. There was no longer that squeak that I got so used to in my younger years. Once everything had calmed down with Ryder and my relationship, we made some repairs to Grams’ house despite her protests, and one of those repairs was replacing the old gate with something more secure. He was anal about her safety now that she lived on her own and had even installed a new state of the art security system.

Ryder bypassed the front of the house and led me around the backyard, and I was flawed with what I saw. The entire backyard was lit up with fairy lights strung through the trees and over the back porch, and there were tiki torches all around the borders of the yard. Grams and all the others were waiting for us, which explained why they left the show so quickly because none of this was here when I came past earlier this morning to pick up a few things I needed for the show.

“Ryder...What.” I stopped mid-sentence because my mouth went dry as I watched him pull a little box velvet box out of his pocket and drop onto one knee.

I gasped as he opened the little box revealing a white gold ring with a breathtaking round brilliant cut diamond that had to be at least four carats. The centre stone sat in a gorgeous, vintage design band embellished with other, smaller diamonds. I wasn’t much of a jewellery girl, but this ring was amazing.

Ryder took a deep breath, “Keegan, before I met you, I thought I was fine on my own, happy to go through life from one girl to the next, but then you came into my life, and after that, I never wanted to look at another woman again. You are the kindest, vibrant, most amazing woman I have met, and I can’t imagine spending another day of my life without you in it. You make me want to be a better man, and I want to tie myself to you in every way possible. Our whole adventure together started because of this house, so it seemed only fitting that I do this here with all our loved ones present. So Keegan Ann Marshall, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

I placed my hands over my mouth, tears running down my cheeks as I nodded furiously, unable to make any words come out of my mouth.

His eyes lit up, “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” I sobbed, “yes, I will marry you.”

He jumped to his feet as our family cheered around us, champagne corks popping as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit, just like our relationship.

**A/N - Sorry for the delay I have a hard time saying goodbye to my characters. Only Ryder's epilogue to go**