Just To Be With You

EPILOGUE

A month later...

Dylan Sullivan made it off his sailboat and into his parents’ house just in time to hear Tatiana’s name announced as the winner for Best Actress. Everyone in the Sullivans’ living room cheered, clinked glasses and hugged, but Dylan knew there wasn’t a person on the planet who was happier for her than his oldest brother.

Ian had accompanied Tatiana to the awards ceremony and now the two of them embraced and kissed in the audience as if they were all alone, instead of surrounded by thousands of audience members, with millions more looking on from all over the world. Finally, after he whispered something to her that made her smile, with one more kiss, she headed up the stairs to the stage to accept the gold statuette.

For a moment, she simply stood at the microphone and looked down, stunned, at the award in her hands. But while she was obviously overwhelmed with emotion, when she spoke her voice was steady. “Thank you so much for this incredible honor. My parents always told me I could be and do anything I wanted to. I can never thank you enough for that, Mom. And Dad—” She looked up toward the ceiling. “—thank you for continuing to watch over me every day.” She stopped to compose herself again before continuing. “But the person who truly deserves to be standing up here tonight is my sister, Valentina.” Tatiana looked out into the audience where Valentina was sitting beside Smith wiping away happy tears. “Thank you for everything you’ve done, and keep doing, to help make my dreams come true. You’re the best sister anyone could ever have.” A moment later, her gaze moved back to Ian. “Ian, you’re the happily-ever-after I always dreamed of, and I love you more and more every single day.”

When the camera panned to Ian in time to show him saying I love you back to Tatiana in front of the entire world, Dylan had to admit that he hadn’t quite gotten over watching his brother be so open about his feelings.

Finally, Tatiana smiled into the camera, clearly speaking to the millions of people watching at home as she said, “Thank you to each and every one of you for letting me have the best job in the world!”

The crowd applauded and when the ceremony went to commercial, Mia asked Dylan, “Have you ever seen anything so wonderful or romantic? Tatiana and Ian are so amazing together.”

He handed his sister a tissue to wipe away her happy tears. “They were definitely meant to be together. And we’ll always owe her for giving us back our brother.”

“We will,” she said with another sniffly hug.

When Smith won for Best Actor a few minutes later, and they all saw and heard just how much his fiancée’s love meant to him, Dylan couldn’t have been happier for his cousin. For all of the Sullivans who had gotten engaged or married in the past few years.

Unlike Ian, love had never left Dylan fighting ghosts or guilt. He’d never loved and lost the way Mia and Ford had, either. And there wasn’t a close friend who was waiting in the wings with her heart in her hands like Brooke had with Rafe. Dylan wasn’t looking for love, but just as he’d told Ian, if he ever managed to find a woman who made his palms sweat and his heart race, he’d do whatever he needed to do to make her his.

And while he was happy with his boats, with the ocean, with the time he got to spend with his family, the sixth sense that he trusted to guide him safely across the ocean during a nasty storm was telling him that everything was about to change.

Really, really soon…

~ THE END ~