"Fair enough."

"He wants to try to get you off the board. Probably so he can keep you far removed from what he's been doing."

"I knew about the board. The monthly meeting was last week, but for some reason he didn't bring it up. Maybe because I've been doing my own campaigning to keep my place, but of course, the one with the gold makes the rules. I did well in the divorce, but I can't keep the organization going by myself. He's had the upper hand."

"If all this comes to light..."

Her emotionless mask seemed to come down. She rubbed at the frown between her brows. "I can't begin to think of the repercussions of all of this. It's a lot to take in."

I slid the thumb drive across the table. "It's all here. You can do with it what you wish, but I'd be grateful if you didn't tell him that I gave it to you. I don't expect to have a job in finance after this, but I don't want to be in the middle of the storm if I can help it."

She sighed. "I can relate. I've weathered the storm with him for many months now. I want justice too, but I'm not looking forward to facing off with him again. We do what we must, though."

I was sorry she'd have to deal with him a little bit longer. Unlike me, however, she could console herself with more money than I could really wrap my head around possessing.

I stood, satisfied with having completed my mission. I was ready to move on. So ready. To what, I had no idea, but it wasn't with Reilly. I had Darren by my side, which made the vast unknown ahead of me seem a little less frightening.

"Good luck with everything, Cheryl."

I stood to leave when she said my name.

"Is this something you could see yourself being a part of?" She motioned around the courtyard. "Helping the initiative?"

"Like, to volunteer?"

"No, at a higher level."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure how qualified I'd be to help. All I've been doing-"

"You've kept his life in order for two years, which is no small task. I'd say you're highly qualified." She held me in a thoughtful stare. "I have no idea what will come to pass when the truth comes out about what he's done, Vanessa. I don't need an occupation, but I want one. This place has been a home to me at some of my most difficult times. If I'm able to stay, I could use help from good people like you who see its value and can honor our vision."

I was flattered and overwhelmed at the proposition. I'd had no idea where I could go from here. I'd never have a life on Wall Street again.

Cheryl looked down at the thumb drive and back up to me. "Think about it."

I nodded with a sigh of relief. "I will."

Epilogue.

DARREN.

"Well, aren't you quite the catch?"

Vanessa's mom stood at least a head below me, and at least a few inches below her daughter. Her hair was coarse, a sharper shade of red than Vanessa's. It had definitely been dyed.

Happiness lit up her smile, like I'd been the one she'd been searching for all along. I hoped like hell I was.

"He is, Mom." Vanessa blushed a little.

Melody looked to her daughter and shook her head. "Isn't she amazing?"

I followed her warm gaze to the woman who'd stolen my heart. "One in a million."

"I can't wait to hear you sing, sweetheart," she said.

I couldn't either. I'd been looking forward to this day since Vanessa had told me about the concert. She'd taken a spot at the Youth Arts Initiative not long after the news about Reilly's shady business dealings became public. Even with an investigation under way, the organization had to go on, and Vanessa had found a place.

Today was their first open-air concert where Vanessa and her students would be performing. I couldn't think of a better way for her to channel her love of music and make a difference in the lives of others.

An older man with a guitar in hand walked up to us. His wavy gray hair hit his shoulders, and he was dressed casually in blue jeans and a Hawaiian shirt.

"Dad!" Vanessa brightened and went to him.

He held her in a long tight hug that I guessed was long overdue. She hadn't seen him in a year. I had a feeling today was going to be one of the most meaningful visits they'd share.

When they broke apart, he looked to Vanessa's mother.

"Heaven, I think I missed you, Melody."

Her cheeks turned pink. "Oh, stop."

"Honest to God, I think I did."

Their gazes settled over each other. I wish I'd ever seen my parents look at each other that way. Even if it meant knowing they weren't together anymore.

The group singing a capella on the stage wound down, and applause filled the air.

"Okay, they're about to start. You ready, Dad?"

"Always, darling." He grasped the handle of the guitar in one hand and slid the strap over his shoulder.

A teenage girl wearing a T-shirt that associated her with the organization hopped up on the stage. She tapped the microphone. "Thank you, everyone, for coming out to our debut Youth Arts Initiative summer concert. And now to wrap things up this afternoon, our program director, Vanessa Hawkins, will perform with her father, singer and songwriter Beau Lehane."

The audience clapped and hollered, and a few people shouted Vanessa's name in support. Together they went up onto the stage. Vanessa sat on a stool. Beau was beside her, guitar poised in his arms just so. She smiled to the audience and then to him before looking down to the ground, the same way she'd done that first night doing karaoke at the bar.

Up there, she looked gorgeous and natural as she always did. But also happy and relaxed. The tension had left her in a way I couldn't name. She was free of an old life, a chapter past, and reaching for a dream she'd never really accepted as her own before.

This is where she was supposed to be, using her talents and her mind, sharing the goodness inside of her that others had taken for granted. The sentiment lingered right next to the other one that struck me daily and often-that I loved her. That she'd defined love, personified it for me. She'd transformed before my eyes, changing from a set of physical features that had lured me in to becoming my reason for living.

Beau spoke into the microphone. "Thanks, y'all, for coming out. We're going to sing a little song for you. Hope you like it." He glanced over at Vanessa and then out into the crowd with a crooked grin. "I wrote this song a long time ago for a beautiful woman who I had the pleasure of performing with for many years. She went on to bigger and better things, but I'll never forget the good times we had. This one's for you, Melody."

Beau strummed his guitar. The opening notes of a song that I didn't recognize rang out over the park through the speakers on either side of the stage. He sang the first verse, and then Vanessa's voice took over the next. Goose bumps raced over my flesh, and my heart sped up.

The song was about love, a love so wild and passionate that it made you take chances, do crazy things you'd never do.

Vanessa's voice rang out, strong and true, mingling with her father's, fading back and taking over in a beautiful harmony. She was singing her heart out, and I wondered if I'd ever loved her more.

As the song faded out, I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

She and Beau took a bow, and the clapping went on and on. She was loved here, appreciated in a way she hadn't been before. She left the stage, and the crowd started to move now that the show was over.

When she reached me, she seemed tentative. But as soon as she was close enough, I went for her, hauling her into my arms and lifting her off the ground. She squealed and laughed when I held her tight.

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it," I said. "You were amazing. I have no words."

I lowered her down, but kept her close, tight against my chest. My heart raced. Adrenaline thrummed. Like I was about to do something crazy, launch myself into a situation that someone else would run away from. I gazed down into her eyes, at a face I wanted to cherish for the rest of my life.

"Marry me."

She blinked once, scanning my features. Her jaw fell a fraction. "What?"

"Marry me. Be my wife. I want forever with you, Vanessa. Every single day. I love you so much, and if I don't do something about it right now, thirty years are going to go by and I'm going to look at you the way your dad just looked at your mom. And I'll know that I wasted a lifetime not loving you the way I should have."

"You're serious."

I kissed her softly. "You know I am. Now say you'll marry me. You know I love you."

She smiled. "You make me do crazy things."

I waited, breathless, like I was at the edge of the cliff.

"Vanessa..."

"I'll marry you," she whispered.

Bonus Scene

From Cameron & Maya

CAMERON.

Maya Jacobs was my life. My whole world. And in a matter of hours, she'd be my wife.

I'd carried her with me everywhere...for years. Through war. Through painful separations. By some miracle, I'd found her again. Now we were together and so close to taking the next step in our relationship.

But something wasn't right. I could feel it.

I was supposed to stay with Darren tonight. Go out with the guys and throw some back. But nothing could keep me from her. Darren didn't even try to argue. I knew something was wrong, and I was determined to unearth it before we said our vows tomorrow.

I knocked on the door to our penthouse room.

After a few seconds with no answer, I opened the door. Ocean air wafted over me, and the curtains at the balcony billowed with the wind. I shut the door and crossed the room. The sky was a midnight blue. Only a sliver of moonlight reflected over the ocean waves.

Through the tall arched doors, I found Maya curled up on a wicker couch with a light shawl around her shoulders. She looked up at me, wide-eyed. Her blond hair whispered in the wind.

"Cam. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you."

"But we're not supposed to see each other until tomorrow."

"I know. I guess I don't care." Probably sounded crazy that I couldn't spend a single night without her.

"I don't really either," she said softly. "I'm glad you're here. I've missed you."

I sat beside her and took her hand in mine. We hadn't spent a night apart since I'd proposed to her months ago. I hoped we'd never have another reason to. Why start now?

We sat in silence for a while. She leaned against me, and together we listened to the soothing sounds of the ocean.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?"

She looked down at our fingers now entwined. "I'm ready. A little nervous, I guess, because of all your family being around. But if all goes to plan, I think tomorrow will be wonderful."

I traced the contours of her hand, tightening my grasp in hers.

"Maya..."

She looked up at me with her thoughtful brown eyes. "What?"

"I know you, Maya, and something feels off. It's like a stone in my stomach, and I can't shake the feeling. I want tomorrow to be perfect for you, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's bothering you. Is it your mom?"

She stared silently a moment before looking out to the horizon. "No. I mean, I miss her, of course. I wish she could be here more than anything. But every time I think about it, I think about how grateful I am that I have you and our friends who've become my family."

"Then what is it?"

She sighed, and all my instincts told me I'd been right. The stone only grew in size as the seconds passed.