Page 120 of Emergency Exit
“No, you’re not,” said Rowan confidently.
“We’ll see,” said Ash.
Forest laughed, his shoulders shaking. “Team Valkyrie is in effect,” he said.
“Team Valkyrie for the win,” agreed Rowan.
“Team Valkyrie for the happily ever after,” said Ash.
Epilogue
Harper
World Domination
Harper lay on the couch and basked in the glow of a successful party. Ash poured out the last of a bottle of champagne and brought her flute to the sofa. She sat up to take the glass, and he slid onto the cushion where she’d been lying.
Her phone pinged, and she checked for the latest update from Harmony as she settled back with her head in Ash’s lap.
“Who is texting you at one in the morning?” asked Ash.
“You will never guess. It’s my friend Harmony in Denver. She just found out from her boyfriend why Cooper wasn’t at the work New Year’s party.”
“Oh,” said Ash, and his face puckered up oddly. “Any interesting reasons?”
Harper glared at him suspiciously. “Yes, he had to talk to the cops and the insurance company because, apparently, he filed an insurance claim on my ring.”
“No kidding,” said Ash innocently.
“What did you do?” demanded Harper.
“Well, I have to report on my taxes why I paid that ten grand. So… I just… You know… I may have called some people and the insurance company to make sure everything was completely above board. Which it was. For me. It’s not my fault he’s a douchebag who tried to have his cake and eat it too.”
“It gets worse,” said Harper. “Apparently, the ballpark found the ring in a catch basin and returned it to him.”
“No!” gasped Ash.
“Yes, over a month ago, and now they want to arrest him forinsurance fraud!”
“Well, it’s illegal to make both your ex-girlfriend and the insurance company pay you and then keep the ring. And the IRS doesn’t like it either. I may also have sent them an email, come to think of it.”
“I can’t believe you did that!” gasped Harper.
“Well, you got to punch him,” complained Ash. “Which was totally unfair because I really wanted to.”
“It was very satisfying,” said Harper guiltily.
“Insurance companies don’t give quite the same feeling, but it’s still pretty good. And Cooper getting arrested is just the kick-off to the New Year I wanted!”
“What a night,” said Harper, shaking her head and flopping back onto Ash’s legs. “Honestly, everything went so great.”
“It really did!” said Ash.
“Everyone had a good time. And I don’t know what you said to your mom out on the balcony, but when she came back in, I thought she was going to burst into tears out of happiness.” Harper maneuvered more champagne into her mouth and managed not to spill.
“That was Forest. I think they finally connected. I’m not saying everything got solved, but it felt like they both made a really good step. Also, it didn’t hurt that she took care of Olly all night.”
“She was delighted, and I think Olly liked having a new audience.”
