Page 67 of The Masks We Wear

He shakes his head, “Always challenging me.”

“Well, I can’t make things too easy for you. I still have to make you earn my forgiveness,” I insist.

He looks between the couch and my eyes and smirks, “How about I start by recreating our first time together? I believe it was in a dressing room that looked just like this one.”

I give him a wicked little smile in response and he kisses me, lifting me off the ground so that my legs wrap around his waist as he locks the dressing room door and walks us over to the couch.

Epilogue

Brody, five months later

“You want this inour room?” Harvey asks, planting a kiss on my cheek. I turn to find him holding the bonsai tree he bought me in Japan in his hands. I smile as I glance between the tree in his palms and his face.

I nod, “Yes, thank you. Maybe on the dresser?”

He grins, “I think that’s a perfect spot.” He walks up the stairs of our home, careful with the tree in his palms.

I take in the sight of our house, well, the house I lived in alone until Selene forced Harvey Taylor’s presence on me. When we were talking about moving in together, he offered to have a house built for us or to buy me whatever house I wanted but it just didn’t feel right. This house was where our story started and it only seems fair that this is where it continues to be written. I’ll admit though, it almost feels foreign to be back here after such a long time away. We just flew home from Japan this morning after being away on vacation together for a month. We spent days exploring Japan and I think Harvey fell in love with the culture the way that I love it. He was all too eager to buy a plethora of decor items for our home, some of which he’s already put up in the house.

I walk into the kitchen and stop when I take in the island. I remember the breakfasts he used to make for me and when I glance at the refrigerator, I remember the night we met, the night he disposed of all my liquor and set my life completely upside down. His footsteps bring me back to the present and he kisses my lips before tilting his head at me, “You okay?”

I dip my chin, beaming, “Yeah, I was just remembering the night we met.”

He pulls me into his body and kisses my forehead. “I’ll never forget my first impression. I knew you were gonna be chaos on legs and I was right. You gave me a run for my money with that smart mouth of yours.”

“You love my smart mouth,” I wiggle my brows, reminding him of the blow job I gave him on the plane ride home.

He laughs and we’re both brought back to the present by the front door closing. Lucy enters a moment later with her overnight bag. She props a hand up on her hip and frowns at her big brother, “You know, when you told me you were taking the job in LA, I thought that meant no more traveling, but then you go off toJapanfor a wholemonth!” She complains.

I smirk at her sass. Lucy stays with us sometimes for the weekend, wanting to spend time with her brother. I try to give them as much space as possible but she always drags me into their one-on-one time, claiming she wants to spend time with her new sister just as much as she wants to spend time with her brother. I like the idea of being Lucy’s sister, of us all being a family. We haven’t talked about it yet, but I look forward to the day Harvey and I get married so that Lucy can be my official sister-in-law. I love her so much already. She reminds me of myself in a way, just a lot less chaotic.

She rushes into Harvey’s arms and he hugs her tightly. “Well, I’m back now and I’m not going anywhere.”

She pulls out of his arms and hugs me. I hug her back tightly, having missed her so much. “We brought something back for you. Why don’t you go to your room and check it out and then we can all go grab lunch?” She practically jolts out of my arms and runs upstairs to uncover the small cherry blossom tree we brought back for her.

For a fourteen-year-old, she acts like a child when it comes togifts. The girl just loves surprises. I grin as she charges up the stairs and disappears from sight. Since moving to LA, Harvey and Lucy have grown so much closer. He and his mother’s relationship hasn’t changed much and I hope that in the future he tries talking to her or gaining some kind of closure for the amount of responsibility she placed on him when he was just a young boy. Regardless, I’ll support him in whatever decision he makes.

My relationship with my family has improved only slightly. I talk to my father frequently, though my mother still chooses to blame me for our lack of relationship. I don’t talk to her at all and neither does Andrew, but we both get dinner with Dad once a week and try talking him into a divorce. Every week we seem to get closer and closer and hopefully, sometime soon, he’ll actually do it.

Ivory and Aria are the same as they were before Harvey and I left for Japan. The only thing that’s changed is our closeness. We hangout multiple times a week, sometimes in the studio, others going out. They drink in moderation, I don’t, but none of us do drugs anymore. We’re all clean and we’ve never gotten along better. The pure relationship we had before all the reconciled legal troubles has returned and I’m grateful for it. Every area of my life is perfect and I wouldn’t ask for it any other way.

Selene and I have improved our relationship as well. We spend quality time together alone and it always feels like we’re kids again, our wholesome relationship rising back up from the mess I made of it when I decided to pretend to be someone I wasn’t.

The label didn’t drop us after all. We recorded my song and when the album came out, my song, “The Masks We Wear” hit number one on charts all over the world. It was a proud moment for me, Harvey too. He tells me everyday how proud he is of meand how far I’ve come.

Harvey started working with his friend Dallas, whom I met, and I like the guy, there’s just something about him I can’t quite place that makes me think he has a few secrets. He bought back into his company and feels fulfilled for the first time in a long time by his work.

“I love you, Little Rockstar,” Harvey whispers against my lips as he kisses me.

I kiss him back, “I love you, too.”

“Thank you for loving Lucy, too,” he says passionately.

I tilt my head at him, “You never have to thank me for loving her. She’s important to me the same way she is to you and I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

“You have no idea how much that means to me,” he grins.

I lace my fingers with his, “You’ll find a way to show me.”

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