Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“I love you,” I said. “Forever.”
Epilogue
Sofia
I was far more nervous now than I had been introducing Andrew to my mom the first time, or when we told her we were engaged. Maybe because we’d left it so long before seeing them all together. Of course I’d met Tristan, and we’d had dinner with Beck and Stella, but we’d been busy figuring out the wedding and where to live. The time had flown since our return from New York.
“They’ll love you,” Andrew whispered as we got to the top of the stone steps.
“They love you,” I reminded him. “Your friends don’t have to like me.”
“Trust me,” he said, ringing the bell.
I did trust him, so I took a deep breath and plastered on a smile.
The large black door that looked like it would withstand bullets opened and a girl with long dark hair grinned at me. “Americans only,” she said, pulling me inside and hugging me. “I’m so excited we have another one in our gang. Let me see the ring on.” She gasped at the rock on my left hand as I held it up. I didn’t need to be asked twice. “Dexter said it was a stunner and he was right.”
Right then a man with dark curly hair came around the corner. “You did good, honey,” she said, pulling him into a kiss. This must be Dexter and Hollie, the owners of this incredible house.
“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Hollie.” She took my hand and led me through the hallway. I glanced back at Andrew and he just shrugged as if he were entirely powerless. “Dexter’s my soon-to-be husband and this—” We entered a huge space at the back of the house which was full of people. Another woman pulled me into a hug. “This is my sister, Autumn. She’s engaged to Gabriel,” she said when Autumn released me.
“Three Americans,” Autumn said. “Thank God. We can talk about Twinkies without getting dirty looks.”
“I can honestly say I never wanted a Twinkie before I came to London,” I replied.
“I know, right?” Autumn said. “I crave so many things about Oregon, even though I love being here.”
I’m glad it wasn’t just me. “Yeah, I miss New York sometimes. And my mom.”
“We should go!” Hollie said. “I’d never been to New York before I met Dexter. He always has to go for work and I tag along as often as I can. We could charter a plane next time and make it a girl’s trip.”
“Charter a plane?”
“The money is a lot to get used to,” Autumn said. “But you will. Hollie got there quicker than most.”
I honestly doubted I’d ever get entirely comfortable with Andrew’s wealth, but he was so generous, and completely transparent about what he had, which made it a little easier. Agreeing to let him foot the bill for my mom’s surgery was a no-brainer. It was all booked in to take place next month. She was coming to London to have the procedure and staying with us while she recuperated. I hoped she would fall in love with the city and I could persuade her to stay.
Hollie laughed. “Life’s to enjoy, right?”
“No argument from me on that score. So . . . which ones are Joshua and Hartford?”
Hollie and Autumn wasted no time pointing them out and giving me the rundown on how everyone had met. The fact that Joshua and Hartford had known each other since they were kids but only just fallen in love was the best story ever.
“Tristan’s not here yet,” Autumn said. “He’s the only single one in their friendship coven.”
“I wonder if we can get him to fall in love with another American,” Hollie said.
“He’s determined not to fall in love with anyone,” Autumn said, laughing. “But we’ll soon see about that. Do you have any friends who might like an outrageously flirtatious British guy who . . . What does he do, Hollie?”
She shrugged. “No one knows exactly. Whenever I ask Dexter, he tells me it’s something with computers.”
“My best friend is single. But she lives in New Jersey.”
“We need to find someone in London for him. Though Tristan is a bit of an enigma. When you first meet him—”
“Oh, I met him already. He was in New York when Andrew and I went the first time.” He’d had a laptop with him and hadn’t come across as particularly flirtatious. “He seemed nice.”
“The thing about Tristan is, there’s a lot of . . .” Hollie turned to her sister. “How would you describe him?”
“There are two sides to him. One where he’s willingly the butt of everyone’s jokes, and a deeper side he keeps hidden away.”
Gabriel approached and introduced himself, kissing me on both cheeks. “What are you lot talking about?”
“Tristan. We’re trying to find an American girlfriend for him.”
“Good luck with that,” Gabriel said. “He’s never shown any interest in settling down.”