of Garth Brooks’ song felt like a promise, and I was ready to make the same one to him. I had no idea where this would lead, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be. There was definitely no other person I wanted to share my experience with than the man holding me tightly, ensuring that I didn’t miss a beat.
“I love you.”
Anderson pulled away so we could look at each other. “Well, you took your time telling me, so say it again.”
“Anderson Matthew Douglas, I love you with all of me.”
“Jurnee Joplin Messer, I love you too, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.”
Epilogue
Jurnee
“Jurnee, we’re pulling up.” Markus announced over his left shoulder.
I beat the keys of my iPad, trying to wrap up the last task on my to-do before our weekend in Michigan. “Can we go around the block once? I am four minutes from having everything done before vaca–”
“We’re already late.”
The second part of my security detail stopped the car. A late afternoon rainstorm made the sign on the door hard to read, but I knew we were in front of Pastis. “Thanks, Markus.”
Anderson made the executive decision that I would have a security detail shortly after Bryan and Faith’s engagement party. Both Anderson and his father agreed Markus be re-assigned to me. It was a battle that Anderson said I should not have because he would win. The press coverage had exceeded the hopes of both Bryan’s and Otis’s public relations teams. Anderson was not going to take any chances with my safety.
The door opened, and I climbed out to Markus, holding an open umbrella. “Thank you. Are you guys coming in? Dinner is on me.”
“Actually, Martin just texted and your new Birkin has arrived. Anderson wants it picked up today.” Markus chuckled as I rolled my eyes.
The fact that I was dating a billionaire was sometimes lost on me, then he would do something idiotic yet lovable like buying me something ridiculously expensive. Markus had witnessed many of my meltdowns over the last year over the money Anderson spent on me. It was him who finally told me just to go with it as it was going to happen anyway.
“Go.” I grabbed the umbrella. “He’s here. I’m safe.”
He nodded. I walked toward the door, knowing he would not move until I was inside, and Anderson’s security team had me in their sight. Once inside, I closed the umbrella and handed it to the newest member of Anderson’s security team. “Thank you. Is he in a good mood?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
I paused before heading to the table to join my boyfriend. He was focused on his phone and unaware I had arrived. The blue suit he wore matched perfectly with the blue dress I was wearing. I didn’t know how he always matched my outfits as I left every morning while he was still in the pool.
Anderson looked up and smiled when our gazes locked. He stood as I reached the table and gave me a quick kiss. How did I get so lucky?
The waiter placed a cocktail on the table as I sat, “Grapefruit Moscow Mule.”
“Thank you. Sorry, I’m late.” I slipped out of my trench coat and took a sip. “Yum. I needed this.”
“How close are you to being ready with the new store?” Anderson asked as he picked up his cocktail.
I crossed my arms over my chest, “Well, I’m nervous.”
“Why? You’ve opened five. Successfully, I might add.”
Nodding, I took a gulp of my drink. “This one is for Soraya, though.”
“I wouldn’t say this coffee shop is for Soraya.” Anderson countered as he squirmed in his seat.
“Okay. I would say it is for Soraya, as it’s going to be the one she works out of, and it’s right by her house. Graham wants to purchase this building as a present–”
“How about we stop talking about work? We are officially on vacation.” Anderson interrupted.
“Um. Okay. What would you rather talk about?” I raised my hand to have him wait. “Fair warning, I have a few hours of work to do before I can officially put everything down for the week.”
He rolled his eyes, making me laugh. The last year had taught me that I was a bit of a workaholic when I was passionate about my job. This worked well as Anderson had finally left Morgan Financial Holdings to open his own company. He was as much a workaholic as me.