I nod fast. “Yes. I promise. I should have talked to you this time, I was just scared.” I lean in, bringing my lips closer to his. “But I’m not scared anymore.”
“I soothed your fears by dashing through the airport in my underwear?”
I grin. “You did. You’re a genius romantic of the highest order.”
“Only with you, darling Darling,” he murmurs. “Only with you.”
Then, he kisses me, and it’s the best make-up kiss I’ve ever had.
I’m so happy, not even the terrible picture of me mid-sob posted by the first gossip site to report the story can bring me down.
And later that night, when Oliver pulls me aside at the holiday party for a panty-melting “girlfriend proposal” on the roof, with all the dazzling lights of London sparkling around us, I don’t hesitate to say “yes.”
I say “hell, yes,” kiss him senseless, and spend the rest of the night dancing with the man of my dreams.
We have the best Christmas Eve dinner at his brother’s and the best Christmas Day luncheon with the Featherswallow clan. His grandmother apologizes profusely for her overreach—all whileassuringmethat James assuredherthat I was by far the best planner for the job and shouldn’t hesitate to sign the contract.
Then, Oliver carries the hideous speedbump he bought his mother to the attic, and we head home to watch movies in our pajamas on the most magical night of the year.
And when Oliver gets meoutof my pajamas, that’s as magical as ever, too.
It’s the best Christmas of my life, followed by the best New Year’s, followed by a madcap spring in which Oliver moves to New York for a few months, and then Maya and I both sell everything, pull up stakes, and move to London.
We do!
We move to London, where we learn to work and play in equally reasonable amounts.
I move in with Oliver, we adopt Princess Fluffy Nugget, the sweetest, best girl in the whole world, and only end up embarrassed in the tabloids a handful of times before Oliver proposes.
By the time he gets down on one knee on a warm June night, in a field full of wildflowers by the sea, with his mother’s ring and his family’s enthusiastic blessing, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is where I belong.
Where I will always belong, with my fake British boyfriend turned real British Husband and a hot mess happily ever after of our very own.
Epilogue
Princess Fluffy Nugget
A warm night in June…
It all began at Christmas, in my fourth year of being the most bullied Princess the world has ever known…
I was at Lady Plimpton’s holiday pudding party, putting on a brave face while being relentlessly harassed by other dogs—a motley lot of hooligans and lugs, with more fur than capacity for feeling, and a cruel obsession with shoving smaller creatures into drifts and kicking yellow snow into their faces—when an angel walked into my life.
It was Emily, and I loved her instantly.
Truly, the devotion was immediate and profound.
Sometimes, you meet someone and just know your life—and heart—will never be the same. I knew right away with Em.
And here are four thingsyoushould know about my new mum:
Why my Mum is the Best Mum
(and I love her SOOOOO much)
1. She is unfailingly kind, deeply loyal, and fantastically funny (And occasionally a tiny bit anxious, just like me.)
2. She makes the very best chicken and rice with vegetables and never makes me feel guilty for having a fussy tummy that requires homemade dog food. (Preferably served in the bone china or the good crystal my grand mum, Gretchen, brings for me when she visits us at our apartment.)
