Grumpalicious by Mia Faye

Epilogue

GENEVIEVE

We made it to the Legende Ball on time. We had our nanny stay with Ava at the hotel while Cayden and I had a much-needed night out together. I was planning on pumping and dumping that night and having the first sip of alcohol since I found out I was pregnant with Ava. It was great seeing Peyton, Eliza, Harper, and Ophelia again, being with my girls felt so good. Cayden seemed to be happy as well. He and the guys, Andre, Asher, and Reid came to his rescue after my posse swooped in. They had a new friend with them, a Ryan McCallister, who was a billionaire living in Argentina. As one of the top names in the travel industry, the guys were very keen to ask him about travel as all of the dads loved taking their families on vacation. Ryan was a friend of Reid, who had won his third term as a senator. He met Ryan while working on a trade agreement with the Argentine government. The guys seemed to be doing just fine on their own, so I basked in some girl time.

All the paintings around the room were Peyton’s and they were exquisite. Some were of women wearing very little, but each had embraced their girl power. They were of different ethnicities, doing different jobs, and yet each was owning their sexuality and strength. The paintings were so sexy and alluring, and yet empowering too. I was proud of her. Peyton was freaking though because Ophelia had just told us that someone bought all of the paintings.

“Are you kidding?” Peyton was going completely nuts. “Are you kidding me, that’s over fifty thousand dollars. Who has that kind of money?”

At that moment the sexy and oh so wealthy Ryan walked over to our table with the men egging him on behind him.

“I do,” he said plainly. “Are you the artist?”

Peyton’s face flushed red. “I am,” she said.

“Would you mind taking some time later to discuss them?”

Even I, who was madly in love with my husband, was feeling a little weak in the knees. He had a sexy accent and a smoldering stare, oh was Peyton going to be in trouble.

“Sure,” Peyton said as she stood up and took his hand. “I would love that.”

“Looks like Legende is where the love is,” Ophelia said and we all laughed, but she wasn’t wrong.

I looked over to Cayden and at that moment our eyes met. The look of love that sparkled in them shone with such intensity that I knew, he loved me as much as I would always love him. No matter where we were or what we did, we’d be each other’s happily ever after.

CAYDEN

It had been the best year of my life. Raising baby Ava and getting to know my son Alex were the most wonderful things I had ever endeavored to do. Better still was being my wife’s partner. I fell in love with her more and more every day. I saw her beautiful face in my daughter’s, and I marveled at how I was blessed enough to have two strong-willed women to grow old with. They were very alike, diplomatic, but determined. Ava learned to walk at ten months, and she was starting to sing. Even as a one-year-old, she had a strong set of pipes and pretty good pitch. I was already making plans for my daughter though I’d often get quite the side-eye from her mother.

Genni’s album had gone platinum and she was nominated for three Grammy awards including album of the year. She wasn’t in Taylor’s shadow anymore although they remained close friends. We decided it was best that I stay home with the kids and she go to the Grammys with my mother. She’d use the baby as an excuse to duck out early if she could. If we both were there, it would have been harder as I had obligations to other artists, so I sent Kevin in my place and stayed under the radar as I had all year. I told my company I was taking some much-deserved time off to be with my family, and I was loving every minute of it. I had invited Sarah, Aiden, John, Alex, and my dad to come and watch the Grammys from home.

That year the Grammys were being held at Madison Square Garden, a short drive from our house. We were screaming at the top of our lungs as Genevieve had just one best female pop vocal performance and was up for best song, which we were disappointed to discover she’d lost to another one of the artists I represented. There was only one more award to be announced and that was album of the year. After winning one and losing one, I could feel Genni’s stress, even though I wasn’t there with her. When the presenter said her name with the others, I saw the camera pan to her beautiful face.

“Oh, she is definitely going to win this one!” my dad said while holding a sleeping Ava in his arms.

“I hope so,” Alex added, crossing his fingers sitting next to his grandpa.

Sarah gave me an encouraging look. “She looks amazing, and her live performance of Father was so good. She’s incredible, Cash. She’ll get this one, I can feel it.”

I took a deep breath and said, “She will.”

And she did! We went nuts; she won album of the year. It was an insane moment in our house. They were going to be doing a live interview and recap of the show afterward, but strangely Genni wasn’t there. Instead, the front door opened and there she was wearing her dazzling diamond-studded gown.

“Did I miss the party?” she asked, looking like the queen of everything.

“You’re just on time.” I kissed her and beamed with pride.

She gently took the baby from my dad’s arms and walked into the house with my mom by her side. “Can I bring my plus one?” she asked, laughing as my mother walked in behind her.

“That show was so incredible,” my mom gushed. “I think the people I was sitting with got a little tired of me telling Genevieve was my daughter-in-law, but who cares, she is my daughter-in-law,” she said as she hugged Genni.

Genni smiled at my mom as she snuggled next to me. “I love you,” she said and laid her head on my shoulder. “We never would have been here without you.” She looked around the room at all of the happy faces.

I didn’t want to contradict her, but we wouldn’t have been in that room sitting together as a family without her, however, she knew that and so all I said was, “I love you, today, tomorrow, and forever…”

And I did...

THE END