“This is an incredibly generous offer.”

“Well, to be fair, I’ve been trying to get you on my team for the past five years. I’d like to make it impossible to say no.”

I tap the arm of my chair. “What about your nonfraternization policy?”

Her grin widens. “It doesn’t apply to already established relationships.”

“And what if I don’t accept the partnership? Does the offer still stand?”

“Of course.”

“And it would mean there’s still a partnership available.”

Beverly nods. “It would.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like a minute with Kailyn.”

“Of course, take all the time you need.”

I stand and shake Beverly’s hand, still half in shock as I walk down the hall to Kailyn’s office. I close the door behind me with a quiet click. “You can’t give up the partnership.”

She turns, her expression soft. “I want it to be mine because I earned it, not because I brought someone else on board.”

“You have earned it.” I cross the room to stand in front of her. “Why walk away from it?”

“Because you’re more important than a partnership, Dax. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, too. Besides, I’m great at trusts, but it doesn’t give me the sense of fulfillment I need. When I help a family work through an adoption, or negotiate terms for custody and parental rights, that fills my heart and my soul, and gives me pride and validation. It’s where my passion is.”

“But can’t you switch departments and still be partner?”

She runs her hands over my chest and grips my lapels. “I want this security for you and Emme. I want you to be happy and I want to make sure you believe, without a doubt, that the partnership wasn’t ever a factor when it came to you and me.”

“This is an incredibly selfless thing to do, Kailyn.” I cover her hands with mine.

She shakes her head and smiles. “It’s probably the exact opposite of selfless. I love you, Dax. I want you to have this because it’s what’s best for you and Emme, which also happens to be what’s best for me.”

“I love everything about you.” I dip my head and kiss her softly. “Especially your perfect heart. Which is why I’m not accepting the partnership. I’ll come to Whitman, but that position is yours. Besides, I have a teenager to raise and a girlfriend I want time with, so partner can wait.”

epilogue

NUMBER 1 FANGIRL

Kailyn

Six Months Later

I’m in the middle of a Holly and Emme sandwich in the back of an Uber. “Where exactly are we going?”

Holly wears a passive smile. “It’s a surprise. If we tell you, then it’s not a surprise anymore, is it?”

I look to Emme, who’s grinning so wide I can practically see her molars. “Come on, Em, give me a little hint. I’ll take you shopping.”

“I’ve already bribed Emme,” Holly says, “with tickets to the Taylor Swift concert, so whatever you think you have up your sleeve, it’s not going to top that.”

“She got three tickets, so you can come, too, though.”

Holly purses her lips and leans forward. “That was supposed to be a surprise, too.”

Emme bounces in her seat. “Oops. Sorry. I’m excited.”

Last month I moved in with Dax and Emme. I anticipated a transition period, but it’s been surprisingly smooth. I suppose that might be due, in part, to the fact that I was already spending every weekend and usually one night a week at Dax’s anyway.

I haven’t given up my house yet, opting to rent it for the time being. It has a lot of memories attached to it, and letting it go completely isn’t something I’m ready for.

Emme’s come a long way in the past six months. After Linda dropped the custody lawsuit, her anxiety calmed, so much of it a result of Linda’s interference.

Once the school found out about the planted bottle of vodka, she lost her job, and since has moved into an apartment. Last we heard she’d taken a job at a temp agency, and Dax, being the good man he is, hooked her up with a credit counselor when he found out she’d sought help for her addiction.

Emme finished the school year on a high with marks that were far more representative of “the regular Emme.” While she has her bad days, she’s certainly much more settled. I don’t ever expect that she’ll get over losing her parents, but Dax has taken on the role with grace and the typical father anxieties. And of course I’m part of all of it. Holly was right; by being involved with Dax, I’ve taken on the role of mom for Emme. And I’m happy to be a source of support and love for her, just as she and Dax are for me. In some ways I think I was wrong when I told Dax he would get used to the holes in his heart, that they couldn’t be filled by other people. Having the two of them in my life has soothed my previous losses. They fill me with love and purpose in ways my job can’t.

A few minutes later we pull up in front of my favorite restaurant. It’s a little pub in West Hollywood that serves the best sweet potato fries with chipotle mayo. They also have the best burgers in the entire history of the universe. I may have written that in a review on Yelp and managed to get a few free burgers out of it.

It’s normally pretty packed on a Friday night, so I’m surprised to see the empty booths near the window. Maybe we’re just ahead of the rush.

Holly gets out first and I follow, waiting for Emme. She’s wearing her typical hoodie-and-jeans ensemble, although she’s retired the one with all the holes in the sleeves, for the most part. Holly has a cardigan on, despite the warm evening breeze. Although, to be fair, they like to blast the air-conditioning in this place.

As soon as she opens the door, I realize I’ve been duped. This isn’t just a birthday dinner out with my best friend, my boyfriend, and Emme. There are balloons on every table with the number thirty on them, and a huge banner that reads Happy 30th, Kailyn is strung across the ceiling.

But that’s not even the worst, or best, part. Everywhere I look there’s It’s My Life memorabilia. Posters hang on the walls and those freaking Dax Barbie dolls function as centerpieces. The hostess who greets us is wearing what looks like one of the It’s My Life shirts I used to have with Dax’s face on it.

“Kailyn Flowers?” The hostess grins. “Follow me, please.”

I throw a look over my shoulder at Holly and Emme, who are both grinning stupidly. My parents always made such a big deal out of my birthday, probably in part because it wasn’t acknowledged prior to my adoption. But also because they wanted to celebrate when I came into the world, and how it brought me into their lives. Since my dad passed, Holly has taken on the task of making my birthday special, so I’m sure whatever this surprise is, she has more than a small hand in it.

I brace for whatever is coming, but nothing can prepare me for what I walk into. I expect to see Dax, and he’s definitely there, front and center. I’m not surprised to see a few friends and colleagues, but what I don’t expect is to be swarmed by a mob of people screaming my name like I’m the one who starred in a wildly popular TV series instead of my boyfriend.

I’m enveloped in the biggest group hug ever for about ten very confusing seconds before the hug mob steps back and I realize exactly whom I’ve been hugged by.

“Oh my God!” And all of a sudden I lose complete control of my hands. They start flapping in the air in front of my face. “Oh my God!” I scream a second time as I fight with my body not to jump up and down, and lose the battle.

I slap a palm over my mouth, uncertain if I can contain another scream of excitement, or another bounce. My gaze snags on Dax as he pushes through the crowd, which comprises the entire cast of It’s My Life. And they’re smiling like loons, shouting my name and clapping like I’ve just put on the best performance in the world. I want to simultaneously melt into the floor and make every one of them sign something for me. I want to be twelve years old again so I can pin the poster to my wall and swoon over it every day.

It’s only when Dax is a few feet away that I notice what’s printed on the shirts. It’s my face, with the text Kailyn Flowers #1 Fangirl. In fact, every single person in the room is wearing the exact same shirt. I look over my shoulder to see that Emme has lost her hoodie and Holly has taken off her cardigan to show off their own shirts. Holly’s reads Kailyn Flowers’s Bestie. Felix is behind her, hands jammed into his pockets, smiling along with everyone else.

“Happy birthday, beautiful,” Dax says as he wraps me up in his arms.

“I can’t believe you did this.” I bury my face in his shirt. I’m sure my cheeks are a vibrant shade of red. “I hate you so much right now.”

“No you don’t.” He tips my head back and smiles down at me. “You love me.”

“This is crazy. How did you manage this?”

“We were due for a cast reunion, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate your birthday than with all the people who helped bring you into my life. I’d like to think without them you never would’ve fangirled on me all those years ago, and then I might not have had the chance to fall in love with you.”