The elevator抯 silver doors part to reveal the rooftop. Gray stone covers the ground. Artfully placed trees and flowers interrupt the spaced tables. Twinkling lights illuminate the space. We抮e the only people up here. Crew must have rented out the whole terrace.
揥ow,?I breathe.
揂 server will be up shortly to take your orders. Enjoy your evening.?The man steps back into the elevator, leaving Crew and me standing alone up here. He walks over to the edge of the roof, overlooking the whole city. I follow.
揧ou like it??
揑 love it.?I glance over at him. 揝ince you accused me of being jealous, I抳e always wondered: what did you say to that guy in Proof? The night you came over to the booth, right before we were engaged??
揟echnically, we got engaged when we were sixteen.?
I roll my eyes. 揧ou know what I mean.?
揑 told him you were mine,?Crew replies.
揟hat抯 all you said to him??
揌im? You don抰 even remember the guy抯 name, do you??
揝top changing the subject.?
揇o you??
I think back to that night. Try to remember the guy who came over to my booth and talked to Sophie and Nadia. But all I remember about that night is Crew. How he looked. What he said. 揘o,?I admit. 揑 don抰。？
He grins, pleased. 揑 might have threatened Evan with a little bodily harm if he got handsy with you that night.?
The possessiveness in his voice elicits a contrary mixture of contentedness and annoyance. 揑 wasn抰 yours. We weren抰 even married then.?
Crew shrugs. 揑t felt like you were.?
I remember how pleased I was when he dismissed that redhead. I shouldn抰 have cared who he screwed back then. But I did. 揝ee? I knew you were romantic.?
揧ou said wasn抰。？
I raise a brow. 揥hat??
揧ou said, 慖 wasn抰 yours.?Does that mean you are now??
揧eah,?I tell him. 揑 am.?
In the past year, I抳e learned a lot. One of the things I抳e discovered about Crew is that his assurance means he is rarely without something to say. This is one of those rare moments. Where he gifts me with a sentimental smile that tells me he抯 as much mine as I am his.
揇id you think we would be here the day we got married? Like this, I mean.?I gesture between us, as if love is a tangible connection you can see between two people. 揈ver wonder what it would be like if you抎 married someone else??
揇o you??
揑 asked you first.?
He ignores me. 揧ou know one thing about us that was always confusing? Why me? Up until my father told me I抎 be CEO, it made some sense. But once he did, I always wondered厰
His musing is too pointed, too precise. 揧our dad told you.?
揌e mentioned you卹equested me.?
I smile wryly. 揌anson Ellsworth doesn抰 grant requests.?
揝o厰
揝o, it was more of a threat. I told him I抎 marry you卭r no one.?
揥hy??
I shrug. 揚art of it was rebellion. Back then, everyone assumed Oliver would end up at the top. Asking Arthur to change the terms after they抎 been set would be embarrassing for my father.?
揂nd the other part??
揑 wanted you.?I chew my bottom lip. 揑 wanted you,?I repeat.
The aftermath of that confession leaves me embarrassed.
揅ome on.?I try to tug Crew toward the table. 揥e should look at the menu.?
He doesn抰 budge. 揘ot yet. Wait.?
I look around the rooftop. 揥ait for wha棓
Loud flashes of color light up the sky, cutting me off. I stare at the spectacular sight.
揥e抮e celebrating,?Crew tells me.
I realize, if anything, I was underselling his soft side earlier.
Money can buy a lot. Importance. Accolades. Relevance. Lavish vacations and expensive dinners and a dazzling display meant for two people in a city of millions.
Love is immune to currency. Money isn抰 why there抯 a soft half-smile on Crew抯 face. Why there are butterflies in my stomach and a total certainty in my head that we抣l last.
Side by side, we watch fireworks explode over the Manhattan skyline, illuminating the city we call home. And there抯 nothing fake about any of it.
* * *
THE END
AUTHOR扴 NOTE
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Fake Empire. I hope you enjoyed Scarlett and Crew抯 story! Whether this is the first book of mine you抳e read or the twelfth, I抦 so grateful you chose to.
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Please take a moment to rate or review this book. It抯 the best way to help me reach new readers, and I抎 love to hear your thoughts!
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All the best, C.W. Farnsworth
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To put it simply, I had a blast writing this book. It抯 the first one I抳e written in a while that just flowed from start to finish. I was excited to open my laptop to type every night, to get lost in the glitz and glamour and decadence of Crew and Scarlett抯 story. I hope you had as much fun reading this book as I did writing it. And to top off a book I was already super excited about, I had a team of amazing women, all of who I抳e been lucky enough to work with before, to help me polish this book into its best possible version.