InHap*pily Ever After

by Kim Desalvo

  Lexi curled her arm around Dylan’s waist. “There you are!” she said brightly. “Oh my God, Ryan, I can finally tell you everything! I’m so excited to finally introduce you to…”

  “I know who he is,” Ryan snapped. “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?” He couldn’t believe she was standing there, with a fucking smile on her face, introducing Miller as if he’d be happy to meet the man!

  Lexi interpreted the look on Ryan’s face and immediately guessed what he was thinking. “Oh Ry,” she giggled. “He’s Tia’s Dylan, you idiot,” she said, moving to wrap her arm around Ryan after giving him a pretty good punch on the arm. “He’s here because…” she looked at Dylan. “Why are you here, exactly?” she asked, frowning toward the direction in which Jace had just fled.

  “Meeting the parents,” Dylan smiled, extending his hand to Ryan. “Nice to meet you Ryan—I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”

  Ryan took a deep breath, recovered his composure and shook Dylan’s hand. “Really? Tia’s Dylan?” The relief was evident on his face. “Shit. I’ve heard a lot about you too, but not…”

  “I know,” Dylan interrupted. “Not who I actually was, right?” Ryan looked to Lexi for an explanation, but Dylan provided it. “That’s been the general MO,” he said. “Tia swore Lexi to secrecy—it wasn’t easy for her, being the only one who knew about us. Even Tia’s parents just found out exactly who I am a couple hours ago.”

  “Unfuckingbelievable,” he smirked, exhaling a relived sigh and looking at Lexi. “You actually kept a secret like that?”

  She gave him a little shove. “Yes, I obviously did since you thought Dylan was here to see me.”

  “Whatever,” he joked back, but he found he had to swallow around a sizeable lump that had formed in his throat.

  “Wait,” Lexi said, turning back to Dylan. “So you already met Will and Danielle? What are you doing hiding out in the locker room, then?” Her eyes got wide. “Oh crap, did something go wrong?”

  “No, no,” Dylan quickly reassured her. “Everything’s great. We did the meet and greet, filled them in on the last seven months in one breathless tornado, and I figured that they could use a little time to talk about me behind my back,” he smiled. “It was a bit of a shock, as you can imagine, so I figured they needed to do some family regrouping. I’m going to go sneak out the back door and head back over there now, actually,” he added. “I just wanted to catch a glimpse of my new friend’s retreat with his tail between his legs first.” He turned his eyes in the direction Jace had fled, and Lexi understood immediately.

  “Now that they’ve had a little time for this all to sink in, I need to give her dad a chance to get to know me a little and explain that my intentions are pure—why don’t you give us a half hour or so and then join us?”

  Lexi looked at Ryan and he shrugged, turning the corners of his mouth down in agreement. “See you in a bit then!” she said. “And Dylan? I’m so glad you’re back, but I’m not kidding—you really do have a lot of explaining to do!”

  “Go get a copy of today’s Person to Person,” he suggested. “It’ll tell you a lot, and then I won’t have to rehash the whole story again—we can just fill in the gaps.” She looked confused for a moment, then turned and headed for the girls’ locker room to see if she could scrounge up a copy.

  Dylan made it back to the DND without incident and dropped a kiss on Tia’s head. “I just saw Lexi and Ryan,” he said. “I think maybe the sight of me stopped his heart for a second or two when he saw her hugging me, but she managed the introductions. They’re going to join us in a little bit.”

  “I completely forgot that she never called me back!” Tia answered.

  “Something about an opera, a taxi, and a lost phone,” Dylan said. “I’m sure she’ll fill you in. She obviously kept the secret; he didn’t have a clue.”

  “I have to tell you,” Tia smirked, “I definitely had my doubts that she could actually pull it off. She did so much better than I expected!”

  Dylan turned to Will. “How about us guys get to know each other a little bit? I imagine you must have at least a million questions for me. Can I buy you a drink?”

  “Absolutely,” Will replied. “I could definitely use one.” He stood, excusing himself, and led Dylan over to the little private section of the bar.

  As soon as the men left the table, Danielle lit up. “Oh my goodness, Tia, he’s gorgeous! I didn’t want to say with your dad here, but…wow…yummy!” she giggled like a schoolgirl and Tia smiled.

  “Well, he is the Sexiest Man on Earth as voted by Person to Person readers,” she said. She never got tired of saying that.

  “Oh, and the accent—it’s like melted chocolate. I could never get tired of listening to him talk.”

  “I know, right? I’m so lucky, Mom; I don’t even know how I could be so lucky.”

  “But most importantly, it’s pretty obvious that you make each other happy. I can’t believe my baby’s in love.”

  “I know, Mom,” she said, unable to tramp down the huge smile on her face. “He’s just the most amazing guy…”

  “Oh, I’m just so happy for you!” she exclaimed, squeezing Tia’s hand. “I was so worried after Nick died…”

  “Me too,” Tia confided. “Oh Mom, you know how I was! I really didn’t think I’d ever be able to fall in love again. But Dylan is so…” she searched for the right words, but only one came to mind. “…perfect.” She glanced over to where he and her dad were in deep conversation. She’d never seen Dylan look so serious; it had to be disconcerting to be meeting your girlfriend’s father for the first time in an ordinary situation, but this one was beyond extraordinary. Her stomach fluttered at the thought that he was so nervous. People tend to think that celebrities are just oozing with confidence, but she knew better. He caught her eye and smiled, tossing her the look he reserved just for her.

  “Well, he’s obviously an Adonis,” she said, “that goes without saying. But now you need to tell me all the things you can’t say in front of your father—girl talk!”

  Tia’s eyes brightened and her smile split her face. “There’s so much I’ve been wanting to tell you that I don’t even know where to start! He wrote me a song…oh God, first I have to tell you about my birthday! It was the most romantic night of my life, Mom! We were in Paris…”

  They rested their heads affectionately together, and Tia was thrilled to finally share all the stories she’d wanted to tell her mom for months, punching up pictures and videos on her iPad to help her tell the tale.

  A few feet away, Dylan and Will touched glasses in a toast at the bar. “I want you to know I’m an open book, Will. Ask me anything you’d like. You must have a lot of questions.” Dylan opened as they sipped their drinks.

  “Probably,” Will replied, “but none of them seem to be coming to me right now. I’m still trying to reconcile the fact that my little girl is at the center of an international celebrity scandal, I guess,” he said with a chuckle.

  “I want you to know that I encouraged Tia to tell you who I was, especially after the summer ended. I’m sorry if you feel blindsided by all of this. It was never my intention to…”

  “Oh no, it’s not that at all,” Will interrupted, dismissing his concerns with a wave of his hand. “Tia explained why she didn’t tell us, and we completely understand her reasoning. She made the decision that was best for her, and it was probably the right one under the circumstances. It would have been really tough on her if the media descended and she had to deal with it alone. She did tell us a lot about you…it just never even entered our minds that you might be a celebrity. She talked about you like you were a prince, I’ll tell you that, but not like you were famous. It’s just a little more to take in, that’s all. We’ll get over it, I promise you,” he said with a wry smile.

  “That’s one of the things that drew me to her in the first place,” Dylan explained. “She never put on an act for me because I was a celebrity, and that doesn’t happ
en to me very often. She was real from the first time we met, and she got to know me as a person. I felt comfortable with her from the start.”

  Will smiled. “That’s my Tia,” he said. “She’s about as down-to-earth as they come. Always has been.”

  Dylan shifted in his seat. He couldn’t remember ever being so nervous—not even in front of 100,000 people at a concert venue—but then, he’d never before even contemplated asking the question he was about to ask. “Listen, Will,” Dylan began, his voice faltering just a bit. “I need you to know that I am completely in love with your daughter, and that this whole experience has shown me that I never want to be without her again. I know you just met me, and that you don’t know anything about me as a man. I’m a celebrity, yes, but I don’t revel in that. I live in Colorado, far away from Hollywood and all its crazy bloody drama. My main job is music, and I do it because I love it with a passion I can’t even begin to explain. I’d do it even if I wasn’t famous or didn’t make a lot of money…”

  Will simply nodded. He could sense that the man had something big to say, and that he was more than a little nervous about saying it. He’d pretty much already guessed it, just after seeing them together for a short time and hearing their story, so he maintained his calm demeanor even as he smiled on the inside. Dylan breathed deeply and continued. “Tia and I have had a wild and crazy relationship, and thinking that she didn’t want to be with me these past couple months about tore me apart.” He paused, stroking his chin with his fingers, feeling the tremble in them. He swallowed hard before continuing, placing his shaky hands in his lap and feeling the sweat on his palms.

  “I know this is far from the perfect circumstance, and in an ideal situation I would have met you months ago and given you a chance to get to know me, but…” he paused, taking a sip from his drink since his mouth had just gone as dry as a desert, “… I want to marry your daughter, Will. I know it’s too much to ask for your blessing, since you just met me a couple hours ago, but the couple weeks we’ll be in Australia will be the quietest we’ll have for a while, and I was hoping…”

  Will held up his hand to interrupt, smiling. “Take a breath, Dylan,” he chuckled.

  Dylan inhaled deeply and took another sip of his whiskey with visibly shaky hands. “OK,” he said, smiling back. “Guess I’m a little nervous. I’ve never done this before.”

  Will patted him on the back affectionately. “Tia is our only child, as you know, and all we’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy. When Nick died, we had our doubts that she ever could be happy again, and we worried about her constantly. When she met you, she started coming back to life, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. You brought her back from a dark place, Dylan, and we’ll be forever grateful for that.” Dylan looked at him and nodded, hope slipping into his eyes.

  “You’ve already proven that you love Tia. Just the fact that you’re here, that you resisted the advances of a beautiful movie star out of loyalty to our daughter, and that you immediately jumped on a plane to find her again when you found out how you’d been played proves that.

  “We trust Tia completely, and know that she has good feel for people. If she loves you, and it’s pretty obvious that she does, then I’d be proud to call you my son. You absolutely have my blessing.”

  Dylan smiled wide, and shook Will’s hand, his breath rushing out in a whoosh. “Thank you sir, you don’t know how much that means to me! I promise you that I’ll spend the rest of my life making her happy.”

  Will smiled back. “I trust that you will, Dylan. It’s pretty obvious that you mean it.”

  “I’m planning to ask her on New Year’s Eve,” Dylan said excitedly. “I’m working on a little side trip to Sydney after Christmas, and I’m going to come up with something really special.”

  “Your secret is safe with me,” Will said, smiling. “I think we both know what her answer will be, so I guess I can just go ahead and welcome you to the family.”

  “Thank you sir, thank you very much!” Dylan replied enthusiastically. He felt lighter suddenly, his breathing settled, and he felt as if the final piece of the puzzle that was his life had finally fallen into place. He could see only happy endings in his future, and the thought made him smile wide.

  “I don’t need to tell you not to tip off Danielle, right?” Will smirked. “Tia may have told you that her mother has a love of gossip. She’d never purposely spoil the surprise, of course, but…”

  Dylan nodded. “I definitely want it to be a surprise, so my lips are sealed.”

  “Mine too,” he said, locking his lips with his fingers. “Now, son, shall we get back to the ladies before we raise too much suspicion? The look on your face alone is enough to give it away. Besides, I see Lexi dying to come and join us.”

  Chapter 6

  Tia felt much better about everything as they pulled up to the curb next to Paddy’s. The introductions at the club went better than she’d hoped, she’d been able to introduce Dylan to most of her family at her parents’ place afterward, and she was looking forward to now being able to share the real Dylan with her true friends.

  Ryan’s Mustang pulled up across the street just as they were getting out of the car, and Lexi opened the door before he even stopped, causing him to have to slam on his brakes.

  “This is so exciting!” she yelled across the street as she came running over. “I mean, the looks on the faces of the people at the club were absolutely priceless, but I can’t wait to see how all these guys react—I mean, they’ve actually met Dylan before—this is going to be crazy.”

  “Yeah it is,” Tia said excitedly. “I was nervous about the club, but I seriously can’t wait for these introductions.”

  Dylan turned to Ryan. “That’s a really sweet ride,” he said, looking at the Mustang. “Great paint job.”

  “Thanks,” Ryan said proudly. “I had it done at Midwest Craft Motors…you know the place that has the TV show? They actually featured it on one of their shows.”

  Lexi rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. That was Ryan’s fifteen minutes…or should I say fifteen seconds of fame. He actually got to be on television when he went to pick it up.”

  “Really?” Dylan said. “That’s pretty awesome, mate. They did a great job. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Ten coats of clear over that baby,” Ryan added proudly. “And the engine’s bored thirty over, so she rides like a dream.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if he loves that car more than me,” Lexi smirked. “But hey, I look good in it, so I don’t complain. Not too much, anyway.”

  Tia pulled out her phone. “I’m going to text Sean and have him meet us at the kitchen entrance around back,” she said as she tapped out the message. “I want him to “meet” Dylan first,” she said making air quotes with her fingers, “and maybe let him do one big introduction on the mic so we can get that out of the way and just mingle.”

  Lexi shrugged. “We’ll go in the front, then, and meet you inside. We’re on the list, right?”

  Tia nodded. She’d asked Sean to close the place for a private party, telling him that she had a surprise for him and that she wanted to be surrounded by her friends when she shared it. She really wanted the night to be just about the people she cared about, and he was happy to oblige. It wasn’t like the usual crowd wouldn’t pack the place, anyway.

  “Hey, it’s about time you showed your face again, my friend,” Sean said as he opened the back door. “About damn…” He stopped short when he saw who was standing there, his mouth still forming the next word and his eyes widening.

  “Sean, you remember Dylan,” Tia said slyly.

  “Great to see you again, mate,” Dylan said smiling.

  “Oh, fuck me man!” Sean exclaimed, blinking his eyes to make sure that what he was seeing was real. “No way!” He grabbed Dylan’s hand in an enthusiastic shake and pulled him into a tight embrace. “Seriously?” When Tia told him she had a surprise for him, he’d been sure that she was going to announce t
hat she and Dylan were engaged. He was thrilled for her; knowing how hard it had been to recover after the loss of his cousin, Nick. Tia had shared a lot of information about their relationship over the past few months, but had never hinted that her new love was Dylan Miller. Oh yeah, this was a surprise, alright.

  “Holy shit,” he said again. “Dylan effing Miller. I knew there was something…I knew you looked familiar…I should have known!” He shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m such an idiot. You even told me you worked in the entertainment industry, but I never put it together…” He punched his fist into his open hand. “This is just so crazy…you and Tia…”

  “Sean,” Tia said, a warning in her voice. “Chill out. You’re the one I’m counting on to stay grounded with this whole thing.”

  Sean shook his head vigorously, as if trying to make the pieces fall into place. “Of course. Absolutely. Just let me have my little freak-out minute of shock here, will you? It’ll be cool in a sec. I mean, you can’t spring something like this on me and not expect a reaction.” He turned to Dylan. “Am I right?”

  “Take your time,” Dylan teased. “We’ll just stand here and wait for you to get your head out of your ass.”

  “Screw you,” he teased back, giving Dylan a friendly shove. “This is just…completely unexpected. I can’t believe…”

  “Believe it Sean, and shut the hell up already,” Tia joked. “You’re making an ass of yourself. Not that that’s any different from a normal day, but still…” she grinned.