Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy by Kate O’Keeffe

Epilogue

“Look at her in this shot. Isn’t she the cutest?” I point at the full-page photograph, my heart melting at the look on Stevie’s face. She’s alert and intelligent looking, and like she’s gazing out at the viewer, challenging them not to adore her.

“You do realise you’ve said that about every single photo of her. Don’t you?” Asher asks with a grin, his arm slung around my shoulders as we sit on the emerald green sofa in my newly revamped shop, Za-Za.

I giggle as I pat a sleeping Stevie, snuggled up at my side, warm and soft. “What can I say? I’m totally right.”

He kisses me good and long and replies, “We should probably get the lipstick off of our faces. Your guests will be here in less than two minutes. We can hardly have the woman of the hour with smeared makeup at the launch of her new store.”

“But I love kissing you so much.”

“I promise we can do a lot more of it after everyone has gone.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that, hubby.”

Right on cue, there’s a knock at the door that grows and grows until it sounds like a pack of ogres, baying to get in.

“That’ll be my quiet and unassuming friends,” I say as I leap to my feet and pull the door open. “Hi, girls.”

“Zee, OMG! This is so exciting!” Lottie says as she pulls me in for a hug and I get a lungful of her perfume.

“Look at the state of your face!” Tabitha declares as she and Kennedy peer at me.

“Far too much snogging. Clearly,” Kennedy says. “Asher, you need to try your best to keep your lips off of our girl tonight.”

“I’m making no promises,” he replies.

Tabitha regards Kennedy in surprise. “I didn’t know Americans said ‘snogging.’”

“This American is a Londoner now,” she replies with a grin, and then her face drops. “Although I’ve not exactly been doing a whole lot of snogging, myself. Or any snogging, for that matter.”

“You’ll want to fix that. Stat,” Tabitha replies.

“Charlie Cavendish is coming to the launch tonight,” I lead and watch for her reaction.

“Why would I care about Charlie Cavendish?” she replies.

“Because maybe you don’t really hate him? Maybe what you really want to do is rip his shirt off and run your fingers over his hard abs while you kiss his face off?” Tabitha suggests with a sweet and—utterly fake—innocent smile. She knows she’s winding her up.

Kennedy scoffs. “I assure you I do not. And anyway, tonight is about Zee, not about snogging Charlie Cavendish. Which I’m not going to do. Ever.”

All four of us nod and smile at her, Asher included.

“What?” Kennedy asks, her eyes wide. When all we do is continue to smirk at her, she snaps, “Go get yourself cleaned up, Zara. And you, too, Asher. No one wants a boyfriend with a patchy red face at her new shop unveiling.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replies as he throws me a wink and saunters towards the back of the shop.

“Babe, this place looks amazing,” Lottie declares as she grips my arm.

Asher and I spent hours and hours at the weekend hanging paper cottonwool clouds from the ceiling and pasting embossed white wallpaper on boards to stand behind white chairs with pretty pale blue cushions. We’d collected driftwood and shells while on our first ever minibreak as a couple when we went to Cornwall a few weeks ago. While we were there, I got to watch Asher surf for the very first time. I even gave it a shot. Let’s just say he was hot and I was definitely not. But getting to see him with his wetsuit rolled down to expose his taut, muscular body after his surf made the humiliation of falling off my board in totally flat water absolutely worth it.

And I’m still smiling.

“Looking around, I feel like I’ve spent the day at the beach, and now I’m relaxing in my coastal chic home as my wetsuit dries on the line outside,” Lottie declares.

“You get all that from some fluffy clouds on strings?” Tabitha asks with a laugh. “Seriously, though, Zee. It does look amazing in here.”

I beam at them. “Thanks, girls.”

I leave my friends to chat as I head out the back to fix my makeup. Asher is nowhere to be seen, so I flick open my compact and wipe the smudged lipstick away with my fingertips before I reapply a fresh layer.

I re-enter the shop and do a last-minute check. I had the caterer deliver a bunch of what Asher tells me are California beach snacks. I’ve got mini tacos, mini acai bowls, as well as corn chips with guacamole and tropical fruit cups. We’re serving margaritas, beer, and kombucha to drink, and Asher’s acting as the cute California barman.

The ring of the bell over the door alerts me to the arrival of guests. I turn to see my family walking in. Emma immediately greets her good friend, Kennedy with my brother, Sebastian, who throws a smile my way and mouths, “Give me two minutes.” I beam back at him as Mum and Granny greet me with hugs and kisses.

“Why is everything white, Zara,” Granny questions, her preferred I’ve sucked a bitter lemon look on her face.

“It’s a style statement, Mummy,” Mum explains. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

“It’s coastal chic,” I reply.

“I don’t care what sort of statement it’s making, it needs colour and you certainly don’t want those dirty bits of driftwood in here. You of all people should know that, Zara. You went to that furniture and curtain making college.”

“It’s called interior design school, Granny, and the driftwood is part of the scheme.”

“Well I think it’s terribly odd.”

“Shh, Mummy. This is Zara’s big moment. If she wants dirty bits of driftwood in here, then we need to let her,” my mum says.

Asher appears at my side and takes my hand in his, saving me from having to defend my design again. “Good evening, ladies. You’re both looking wonderful,” he says, and Mum immediately giggles like a teenage girl. Even Granny cracks a smile.

Such is my boyfriend’s effect on women.

My boyfriend. Wow, I love saying that.

“We needed to get a little dressed up for our darling Zara. It’s not every day your daughter launches a new business.” She places her hand on my forearm and adds, “I love that you called it Za-Za, sweetie. Your dad would have been so very proud to see what you’ve made of yourself.”

“He wouldn’t have liked dirty bits of driftwood,” Granny sniffs.

“Mummy,” Mum warns.

“Your mother is right, Zara. Your father would be proud of you,” Granny confirms, her chin raised as she fights back the emotion the mention of my dad inevitably ensues in her.

“Wasn’t that article in Kennedy’s magazine amazing?” Asher says. “Zara’s booked out until about the year 2035 right now. Aren’t you, wifey?”

Both my mother’s and my granny’s eyebrows lift to the ceiling at his nickname for me.

I take a mental note to get him to cease and desist on the “wifey” front when we’re with my family. The last thing I want is for them to go planning a wedding right now.

I sneak a look at Asher. Well, not the last thing…

“Do you have a lot of bookings, Zara?” Mum questions.

“Not quite to 2035, but I am booked up,” I reply with a laugh.

Truth be told, I’ve got too many clients to manage these days. Asher’s ploy to invite his work colleagues and clients to his flat that day began to pay off almost immediately, and six weeks later when the feature in Claudette came out, I became inundated with enquiries. So much so I could really do with employing another designer.

But I’m enjoying being a solo operator too much for that just yet.

“That awful Scarlett must be spitting tacks at your success,” Granny says with a wicked smile that lights up her face. “Good riddance to her, I say.”

“She can spit all she likes. She’ll never have the success our Zara has because she’s too focused on herself,” Mum says, and I have to agree with her. Scarlett was very upset when she found out about the magazine article, even going so far as to pay me a visit at the shop and exclaim that she wanted to come back and I needed to change the name back to ScarZar and wouldn’t it be just lovely if we could put all that silly business behind us now and get back to being friends?

My reply was a sweet thank you but no thank you. I’ve learnt my lesson with Scarlett. She turned red and stormed out of the place, back to her junior designer’s job at Karina where apparently she has to dust the shelves every day and re-plump cushions after customers have sat on them.

I’m not sure it’s exactly the career move she was looking for when she abandoned ScarZar, but as the saying goes, you make your bed and you must lie in it—which is especially relevant for a decorator.

Asher brushes a kiss against my cheek. “I’ll go serve some drinks to people, shall I?”

“I’ll be right over to help.”

He gives my hand a squeeze. “Stay and talk. Enjoy your moment. You deserve this.” He shoots Mum and Granny another smile before he excuses himself.

Mum leans closer to me. “I like this one, darling.”

I glance over at Asher. He’s pouring out some drinks from a margarita pitcher. Tabitha is laughing at something he’s said, and his broad grin renders his face achingly handsome. “I like him, too.”

“Why did he call you ‘wifey,’” Granny asks. “Give me your left hand.”

“We’re not engaged, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I reply.

Mum beams at me. “But you might be, darling. Someday soon.”

“We’re not going to have another American in the family, are we?” Granny grumps.

“Granny, we’ve only just started dating. It’s early days yet.”

“But you told us he was your back stop boy.”

I giggle and it ends in a snort. “Back-up guy, Granny. A back stop is the chain link fence behind home plate in baseball.”

Asher’s love of baseball is clearly rubbing off on me if I know that level of detail about the game.

“It’s all Dutch to me, darling. Just get on with it. If you love him, marry him,” she says. “You do love him, don’t you?”

A grin claims my face as a delicious warmth spreads through me. “I do, Granny.”

Mum claps her hands together in glee. “You can get married and then make me a grandchild.”

I give a surprised laugh and my eyes find Asher once more. Although it’s only been seven weeks and six days since our very first date that ended in such disaster, I know Asher’s the man I want to spend my life with. We may be taking it slow right now, learning about one another, exploring this new relationship of ours, but my heart has already well and truly made its mind up. And as the saying goes, the heart wants what the heart wants.

And my heart wants Asher.

People have begun to arrive, and the place is filling up. I circulate, saying hello and chatting to clients and family and friends alike. Even though the shop is small, we’ve managed to jam in a decent number of people, all of them wishing me well, all of them happy to be here for me and to support my new venture.

I spot Victoria and her goth daughter, Chloe, by the window display and go over to greet them. “I’m so pleased you made it. How do you like your newly decorated flat, Chloe?”

Chloe gives me a disinterested shrug. “S’okay.”

Victoria rolls her eyes. “She loves it, Zara. You did a marvellous job.” She leans in towards me and says quietly, “And I love that gorgeous lamp you gave me as an apology.”

“It was the least I could do after what happened with Stevie.”

“Well, I certainly appreciated the gesture. Tell me, are you available to have a look at my house? My dining room could do with some updating and the pool room is a disaster.”

“Of course. I’m pretty busy right now, but as a valued customer, I’ll do my best to fit you in.”

“Marvellous.”

I feel a hand tapping my arm and turn to see an elderly woman grinning up at me.

“Muscles Mavis! I’m so glad you came.” I lean down to give her a quick hug. Mavis has got into the habit of stopping by the shop every Tuesday lunchtime to say hello. I think she’s hoping I might decide to follow someone and enlist her services again. So far I’ve not needed to do so, but she is ever hopeful. And I like having her around.

“Thank you so much for inviting me,” she says. She glances around the room. “Which one’s your fella, then?”

“I’ll be sure to introduce you. He’s dying to meet you.”

“Is he now? Well, as long as he treats you right, he’s all right by me.”

I beam at her. “You’re wonderful, Mavis. You being here means a lot to me. Thank you for coming.”

She waves her hand in the air. “Oh, don’t you go getting all emotional and whatnot on me now.”

I laugh. “It’s a big day for me.”

“That it is. Enjoy it.”

“Hello, my young sister all grown up.”

I turn to see Sebastian, his wife Emma, and their adorable toddler Darcy grinning at me.

“I’m so glad you came,” I say as I hug them all and bop Darcy on the nose. She giggles before she buries her head in her mum’s shoulder.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world. The shop looks so beautiful,” Emma says. “We think you’re nothing short of amazing the way you’ve picked yourself up and landed square on your feet. You sure have got some snap in your garters, girl.”

I giggle. “Some what in my what?”

“Oh, it’s an old Texas saying meaning you’re totally capable. I like to keep my home state lingo going now that I live here.”

“Emma’s right about your garters, even if it’s a very strange expression to me,” Sebastian says with a chuckle. “I always thought you would do great things, and here you are, showing us that you really are quite something.”

I beam at the compliment. Sebastian and I have always had a close relationship, particularly after our dad passed away, but he’s never been one to see me as anything but his younger sister. He’d always tease me about being a tearaway or a party girl, saying I never took anything too seriously, always looking for a good time.

He was right. But not anymore. Sure, I still have fun, but I’ve matured. I’ve grown up. And I’ve found my purpose in life.

“I always figured you thought I was an eternal kid who was only interested in having fun,” I quip in good humour.

“Oh, I thought that, too,” he replies, and we both laugh.

I put my hand on my little niece’s back. “Darcy? Do you want to see Stevie? I know she’s dying to see you.”

“Puppy?” she questions as her attention snaps back to me, her big brown eyes wide as saucers.

“Yes, puppy. She’s out the back in her pen because there are so many people here tonight, but I know she would love some pats from her special friend.”

“Me wanna see puppy,” she tells her mum.

“Well, in that case, we’d better go see her,” Emma replies.

I lead Emma and Darcy to the back room where Stevie bounces around in excitement that someone is finally paying her attention.

“Gentle hands when you pet her, honey,” Emma instructs as she watches Darcy with Stevie inside her pen. She straightens up and says to me, “I love the new name, Zara. You’re honouring your dad, and I think that’s so special.”

My chest expands. “I guess that’s something we’ve got in common.”

She wraps her arm around my shoulder and gives me a squeeze. “It sure is.”

“Here you are.” Asher arrives at the entry, his bulk filling the room. “You’ve got a speech to give.”

“My speech. Right.” I ask Darcy, “Is it okay with you if I pick Stevie up?”

“Stevie puppy,” she replies, and I take it as a yes.

With Stevie cradled in my arms, we make our way back into the shop where Asher tinkles a spoon against a wine glass for me to get everyone’s attention. With all eyes on me, I begin the speech I’ve rehearsed in front of Asher—and the mirror—a bunch of times in the last couple of weeks.

“Stevie and I say welcome to our little coastal chic world,” I begin, holding Stevie up for everyone to see. “It is so great to have you all here, and I cannot tell you how deeply touched I am by your love and support of me and my new solo venture. When my business partner decided to move to other pastures, I was left with a choice: close up shop quite literally, or fight on. Stevie and I decided to fight on. At least that’s what I thought she meant by racing wildly around the shop as I balanced the books.”

People burst into laughter and applause, and I hear Asher whooping as Kennedy calls out, “You go, girl!”

“Why coastal chic? Well, I met a guy just over two years ago, and we became the best of friends. Although he’s a partner in a top London law firm these days, at heart he’s a California surfer guy, a bit of beach bum, really. This space is my gift to him, to remind him of home, but to make sure he stays right here with me in olde London town.” I find Asher in the crowd and we share a smile.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replies, and there’s a ripple of laughter and applause that rolls around the room.

I take a deep breath and look down at Stevie before I launch into the next part of my speech. She gazes back up at me as though she knows I’m about to tear up. “You know, there’s someone missing tonight. Someone important to me. Someone who believed in me. I wish with all my heart he could have been here tonight because—” my voice cracks, and I press my lips together to try to stem any errant tears that might decide to break free. I try again with, “He,” only for my voice to waver. Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I glance over and see Asher, watching me with soft eyes.

“You got this,” he mouths.

Bolstered, I flash him my smile and have another try. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m a total daddy’s girl. It’s true.” I shrug with a watery smile. “But hey, I’ve made my peace with it. Tonight, at the launch of Za-Za, the nickname my dad always used for me, I hope he’s proud of me. Proud of the woman I’ve become, just as I am always proud to call him my dad.” I take a deep breath and my lips curve into a smile. “I’m now the sole proprietor of Za-Za Interior Design, and I am so excited about where this new chapter of my life is about to take me. Oh, and Stevie, too. We can’t forget her.” I grin at Stevie and she bangs her tail against me.

There’s a ‘whoop’ from my group of friends, and I shoot them a quick smile.

I raise my eyes to the little paper clouds hanging from the ceiling. “Dad, I wish you could be here tonight. I love you and I miss you. This one’s for you.” Even though I feared it would happen, tears roll down my cheeks and I wipe them quickly away as everyone applauds and Mum rushes over to me and gives me a tight hug, squashing Stevie between us.

“Well said, darling,” she breathes into my ear. “Your dad would have been so very proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

The party continues for some time, and then, when most people have left, just Asher, Kennedy, Lottie, Tabitha, and Stevie—who’s passed out on my lap after all the excitement—remain. We sit on the floor together, eating the leftovers, sipping our drinks, and talking. I’m leaning up against Asher, feeling the reassuring warmth of his strong, firm body behind me.

“Look at you,” Lottie says to me with a grin. “You’re the sole proprietor of Za-Za, a shop that’s already a huge success story. And what’s more, you’ve got your own love story, too.”

I smile up at Asher. “Yeah, life isn’t too shabby right now.”

“Babe, you make shabby look chic,” Tabitha says.

Kennedy questions, “Is that a pun?”

“A very good one, I think,” she replies.

“Well, I for one am super happy for you two,” Kennedy says. “Now, if you could only weave your magic and sort our lives out, that’d be awesome.”

“No problem. We can do that, right?” I ask Asher.

“What do you want, girls? Profitable businesses, good friends, or a hot guy like me?” He waggles his eyebrows playfully.

I shove him in the arm. “You can’t call yourself a hot guy. That’s for us to decide.”

“She’s right,” Tabitha agrees. “Only we girls can decide who’s hot and who’s not.”

“Totally,” Kennedy and Lottie agree.

“But yeah, I definitely want all of that,” Kennedy says with a wistful look in her eyes. “Although I’ve got the good friends already. You guys are the best and you’ve made my move to London so easy.”

“I’m glad Emma gave you to us,” I reply. “I guess there’s only so much time you can spend watching her and my brother get all lovey-dovey with one another.” I shiver at the thought. “They do way too much of that.”

Tabitha arches an eyebrow. “And you two don’t?”

I giggle as Asher plants a kiss on the top of my head.

“You’re just gonna have to get used to this, sorry. Love will do that.” Asher says and I beam at him. My boyfriend. My love.

“I’ve gotta go,” Kennedy says as she hops up to her feet. “Gorgeous evening and well done, Zee.”

“I should go, too,” Lottie says, and she shoots Tabitha a look.

“Oh, yes. Me, too,” she agrees.

We all rise to our feet and say goodbye with hugs and I love yous, as though we’re not going to see one another for a year.

With the shop empty but for me and Asher, we begin the clean up. As I collect empty glasses from the table, I feel a pair of hands circle my waist. I turn around to see Asher smiling down at me. He plants a kiss on my cheek and says, “Do you know how proud I am of you?”

“Very?” I chance with a grin.

His laugh is low and sexy and it rolls right through me. “I got you something to commemorate the occasion.” He reaches inside his jacket pocket and pulls out a black box the size of his hand, tied up with a hot pink ribbon. “Open it.”

I pull the ribbon off and open up the box. I gaze at what’s inside, my heart doing all sorts of squeezes. “Asher, it’s gorgeous,” I gush. Carefully, I pull the glass perfume bottle out of its velvet bed and inspect it. Like the one he gave me for my birthday all those months ago, this bottle is beautiful. It’s striped with black, the silver stopper ornate and delicate. “Is this…?” I ask, thinking of my Pinterest board and the exact same antique Murano glass perfume bottle I’ve been coveting for so long.

“It is.”

“But how? It must have cost a fortune.”

He shrugs, his eyes dancing. “You’re worth it. Plus, you wouldn’t let me invest in this place, so I had to do something with my money.”

I beam at him, my heart full to the brim with love and contentedness.

We started out as the best of friends, and here we find ourselves as lovers. Falling in love with your best friend, your client, and your back-up guy may not be the wisest thing to do, but for us it’s the perfect ending to the perfect story.

And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Dear Dad,

Things have worked out pretty well for your little girl. I’ve got a successful business, a great group of friends, and I’m in love with the most wonderful man.

So please don’t worry about me, Dad. I’m in good hands.

Miss you. Love you.

Yours always,

Za-Za xoxo

THE END

Thankyou so much for reading Zara’ story! The next book in the It’s Complicated series is Kennedy’s story. Called Never Fall for Your Enemy (especially not at Christmas), it’s on pre-order now, releasing on October 5th, 2021. You can pre-order it here.

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