Wethering the Storm

EPILOGUE

Adele starts to ring in my huge bag. I dig around for it.
Bloody hell, I have way too much stuff in this bag. I pull some nappies and wipes out and set them on the table, then my makeup bag, one of JJ’s rattles, and a juice cup. I finally find my phone as Adele tells me she’s “Rolling in the Deep,” and I connect the call.
“You took your time answering.” Jake’s voice comes down the line.
“You’re calling me? You’re in the next suite, you lazy ass!” I laugh.
“Stop giving me grief,” he says, chuckling. “I was just letting you know we’re ready to go down.”
“We’ll be right there.” I put my phone on the table and slip my feet into my shoes.
“Hey, gorgeous, come to Mama.” I put my arms out to JJ. He reaches up from his sitting position on the floor and I lift him into my arms. “Time to go get Uncle Stuart married,” I say, heading for the door.
We’re in New York at the moment for Stuart and Josh’s wedding. It’s one of the few states in the US that performs same-sex marriages. Jake is Stuart’s best man, I’m bridesmaid, and JJ is page boy.
Yep, that’s right, Stuart and Josh are getting married!
Josh asked him the day after Jake’s and my wedding. It was so sweet. We were having breakfast together, when Josh got down on one knee in front of everyone and asked Stuart.
Yes, I cried. So did every other woman at the table. All the men were manly, but I know they were touched, especially Jake.
It was the perfect memory to christen our new house.
Yes, you heard that right, our new house.
After the wedding, Jake drove us to Littleborough, which is a fifteen-minute drive from Lumb Falls and a thirty-minute drive from Manchester. He’d bought us a house near Hollingworth Lake. When I say “house,” this is Jake we’re talking about. It’s a seven-bedroom country estate, secure with a gated entrance. It’s beautiful.
We had our wedding reception there, which Jake and Stuart had already set up. The house was decorated, courtesy of Carly.
It’s a beautiful second home for us. We spent a long wedding night making use of our big new bed, making up for the time the accident took away from us. Jake had told me that he’d been holding back from making love to me since I’d gotten out of the hospital as he’d wanted our wedding night to be special.
And he bought the new house because he wanted us to have a home in the UK as well as LA, so we could all have the best of both worlds.
Could I love that man anymore? He really is my version of perfect.
My mum and dad moved in the new house. They live there permanently, and we go over regularly, but our base is still LA.
We went on our honeymoon two days after the wedding.
Once the press found out Jake and I had gotten married in secret, things got frenzied, as expected, so going away on our honeymoon was a good way to escape the craziness that is Jake’s life, and mine now.
Our honeymoon was a long one—we were gone for four weeks, just Jake, JJ, and me. And, well, Dave and Ben, of course.
We changed our original honeymoon plan to go back to Turtle Island, as we didn’t think the heat there and JJ would go well together, so we instead travelled to all the sights Jake and I had never seen, the ones he had waited to see with me.
We will go back to Turtle Island one day in the near future, but in the meantime Stuart and Josh are going on their honeymoon there. They don’t know yet; it’s our wedding gift to them.
Jake, JJ, and I went to Venice to see the canals and take a ride in a gondola. We went to Pisa to see the tower. Rome to see the Colosseum. Barcelona to see the Sagrada Familia. You name it, we visited it. It was the best trip of my life, and I will always remember it.
Then we went back to LA. Jake went back to work at the label, and TMS finished their new album. The tour that was scheduled for autumn was pushed back, and they’ll be going on tour at the beginning of next year. Of course we’ll be going along, as is my dad. He’s ridiculously excited about it.
I also went back to work. My book finally came out. The launch was moved to LA to make it easier for me, and it went great. The biography received really great early reviews, and sales went through the roof.
Everyone wants to know and have a little piece of Jake Wethers, written by the woman who knows him best.
I’m fine with that, because I have the real man as a whole here with me.
I’m still working for Vicky, doing my column. The magazine is doing amazingly, thanks to Jake’s book.
I know you’re probably wondering why I’m still working for Vicky—it’s not like I need to work, and I have JJ now. But I love it. I love writing and I love music, and I owe everything to Vicky. There’s no way I’m leaving her now, when the magazine is starting to take off.
She keeps talking about making me partner. One day, I think yes. But right now I have my hands full with JJ, and then we’ll have the new baby coming too.
Oh, did I not mention that I’m pregnant again? I’m six months gone. We’re having another boy. He’s our honeymoon baby.
I’m going to let Jake name him.
Simone’s pregnant too, which is awesome! Denny is like the cat that got the cream.
They got married on Christmas Eve, and it was magical. I was bridesmaid, JJ page boy—we’re doing that a lot recently—and Jake and Tom were best men. Then Simone found out while they were on honeymoon that she was pregnant. They had gotten married while she was pregnant and she didn’t even know. At least they can’t be accused of a shotgun wedding.
I know you’re wondering about Tom: Is he still the changed Tom of last year or is he back to the man-whoring Tom we all knew? All I’ll say is Tom is happy right now. The happiest I’ve ever seen him.
I open the door to Stuart’s suite to find Jake and him sitting at the table, sharing a laugh, drinking whiskey.
“Bit early to be on the hard stuff, isn’t it?” I joke.
“Hey, go easy on me, gorgeous! It isn’t every day a man gets married. I need the Dutch courage.”
“Dada!” JJ calls out, chubby arms reaching out for Jake.
“Hey, little man. Come here, I missed you.” Jake takes him into his arms, nuzzling his black hair, while JJ’s chubby little hands grab at Jake’s face, causing Jake to laugh.
Jake’s only been away from JJ for the morning. To say he’s attached to JJ is putting it mildly, and it goes both ways: JJ adores Jake.
The love Jake has for our son wrecks my heart every single day, in the best possible way.
I love watching them together. It’ll never get old. I know just how lucky I am to be here with them both. I treasure every single moment I have with them.
I turn to Stuart, resting my hand on his shoulder. “You ready to go get married?”
He gets to his feet and slings his arm across my shoulder. “Chica, to quote the wise words of our man Jake here…abso-f*ckin’-lutely!”
“Language in front of JJ!” Jake chastises.
I can’t help but laugh. I never thought I would hear the day Jake would tell someone off for swearing. But he does, regularly.
“Sorry,” Stuart apologises, flashing me a “here he goes again” look.
“I saw that,” Jake mutters.
“You were meant to,” Stuart replies.
They’re like a pair of kids at times. And I wouldn’t have them any other way.
We take the elevator down and meet Josh outside with Dan, his brother and best man.
The way Stuart and Josh look at each other just melts my heart. I’m so glad Stuart found his someone. He truly deserves to be happy like Jake and I are.
Taking each other’s hands, Stuart and Josh enter the room to get married where all our family and friends are waiting inside.
The Mighty Storm family, and what a family we are.
And when our kids grow up and ask about the story of Mummy and Daddy—how we met and how the Mighty Storm came to be—I’ll sit them down and tell them the story of how, once upon a long time ago, in Manchester, a girl moved next door to a boy…



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Jenny, we’ve been on the Storm journey together for a long while now; it’s been one hell of a ride, and I have loved every single minute of it! You know I love you, and THANK YOU for everything. Now on to Tom’s book!
The biggest thank-you goes to my husband and children. Not only for putting up with the neurotic writer in me, but for allowing me the time to write this book without a word of complaint when I was MIA, which was often. There is not a word in the world to express just how much I love and appreciate the three of you. You have my heart.
My “Brit” girls: Trish, Rachel M., Rachel F., Jenny, and Gitte—I love talking every day with you all. I think if our conversations were ever to be aired, there’d be some real interesting reading in there! And Gitte, thank you for the WTS feedback—it meant a ton to me.
Sali Benbow-Powers—no one can make me laugh like you do, and I mean no one! Thank you for the reads and feedback, your opinion is invaluable to me. And I’m officially changing my name to “Spunky Muffin.”
Jenn Sterling. I love you. That is all.
Renae Porter at Social Butterfly Creative, thank you for the stunningly beautiful cover for WTS! You’re crazy talented, girl, and I cannot wait to see the next cover that you create for me.
A big thank-you to all the bloggers who have featured and reviewed TMS—
Totally Booked, Aestas Book Blog, Maryse’s Book Blog, Angie’s Dreamy Reads, Three Chicks and Their Books, Shh Moms Reading, C&C Book Blog, Smardy Pants Book Blog, Love N. Books, Rock Stars of Romance (I’m a million times sorry if I’ve forgotten to mention anyone). You all work tirelessly, helping indie authors like myself get our books out to the readers. It is truly appreciated. I totally heart you all!
My Tru Bennett on Twitter, you know who you are—thank you so much for all the hard work you put in on a daily basis.
To all the ladies who run and contribute to the Jake groups. The snake lovers! I love popping in and seeing what new talk is going on about Jake and Tru, and the latest Jake pictures that have been posted…which means a separate thank-you to the queen of pictures, America Matthew!
A huge thank-you to my agent Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media. And thanks also to Adrienne Lombardo.
My publisher, Montlake; Kelli Martin for loving TMS and writing up a contract in the quickest time known to man! Thank you to my editor, Lindsay Guzzardo, who helped to make WTS the best it could be.
And lastly, you. Yes, you, reading this dedication. I wouldn’t be writing this now if it wasn’t for you buying, reading, and supporting my work. Thank you. Really and truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.