One Night

Epilogue

Epilogue
Two years later
Piper held the door open for Shiana as they exited the boutique. She smiled at her friend, who still attracted as much attention as she did when they were kids.
Every eye focused on a beauty that Shiana often ignored. It was one of the many reasons why she loved her friend so much. Looks weren’t important to either of them. They both had better things to focus upon.
“Who’s getting married?” a voice asked from behind them.
Piper turned and saw Colah. She rolled her eyes and kept moving forward. That man always wanted to know anything about her, Shiana especially, and the band.
It wasn’t hard to find out anything about the band and its success. That was out in the world for everyone to know about.
Shiana clicked her fingers, and a man approached her. She pointed to her father as he tried to sidle closer to them. The man, one of their many bodyguards, simply blocked Colah’s access to either of the women, as he did every time Colah tried anything.
“That’s not the way you should treat your father,” Colah complained.
Neither Shiana nor Piper replied. They had leaned not to verbally spar with him. He didn’t deserve any answer with the rumours he had made up about them over the years to try to crush them.
He had nothing, and now he knew it. The man had lost every battle that he tried to fight with them, but he still continued to try. Both Shiana and Piper knew that the best way to act was to ignore him, so that was the stance they used.
“Moving on,” Shiana said as they marched forward.
“As we always do,” Piper replied.
“Your dress looks gorgeous,” Shiana said with a clap of her hands.
“It would want to for the amount of money I’m spending on it.”
“I can’t wait for the wedding!” Shiana enthused.
“It almost sounds like you’re the bride,” Piper chuckled.
“Oh my God, is that Piper Delaney?” a voice squeaked.
Piper glanced behind her and smiled at the overzealous person, “hello, how are you?” Piper asked.
“You give me hope that I can be whoever I want to be,” the teenage girl gushed as she clasped her shaking hands together.
“I try my best,” Piper answered as the girls words left her feeling humbled.
“You are awesome! Could I please get your autograph?”
“Of course.”
Piper signed the paper the girl held out shakily towards her. She offered the girl a hug and almost had her breath squeezed out of her before the girl released her.
“Thank you,” the girl squealed with delight as she stepped away.
“You have always presented a much better image than I ever did,” Shiana mused.
“You had your dad controlling that image. We didn’t have much say, and you really couldn’t say anything,” Piper gestured behind them towards where Colah had been.
“Whereas you’ve always had your say about who you and the band are.”
“I like it that way,” Piper agreed.
“Yeah. Imagine what would’ve happened if Dad never took control in the way he did,” Shiana pondered.
Piper stopped and turned to her friend, “where is this coming from?”
“I don’t know. Seeing him always puts these questions into my mind.”
“Without your dad my voice wouldn’t be as good as what it is. Yes, he took over, but he also gave me the tools to become a better musician. Yes, he had me hide behind you for a while there, but he also showed us how to work within the music industry. As much as he did wrong, he also did a lot of things right,” Piper explained.
“I guess I never thought of it that way before.”
“Probably because since he lost us he’s been doing the craziest things to get our attention, but in the beginning, he did a lot of good things,” Piper insisted.
“Thanks for helping me see him in a different light.”
“He knows he won’t get us back, but he keeps trying. It’s a foolish move because it only pushes us further away.”
“I just want him to be my dad again. If he stopped trying all this other nonsense we could at least go back to being father and daughter, but he won’t let it go,”
“I know,” Piper wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“You can’t change people,” Shiana said sadly.
“No, you can’t. Now, I’ll drop you home before I make a quick stopover at Gram’s,” Piper said as she led Shiana towards her car.
“Thanks.”
It was quiet on the drive until Shiana’s phone rang. By the happy, delirious tone of her voice, Piper knew that Logan had called.
It hadn’t taken long for Logan to convince Shiana of how date worthy he was. Then it was a small stretch for her to consider him boyfriend worthy as well.
In the beginning, it had threatened to tear the band apart, with Kaeden wishing for the same thing. Seeing their happiness had given Kaeden a different perspective and he stopped trying to compete with Logan.
Shiana and Logan had been together since soon after the band had signed the recording contract. Piper loved that her best friend had found someone who treated her so well and loved her.
Shiana hung up and turned to Piper, “apparently, Evan wants to know how the dress fitting went.”
“It’s none of his business. He needs to wait until the day of our wedding before he gets to see me in that dress,” Piper said with a smile.
“You can’t blame him for his curiosity,” Shiana shrugged, “plus, your dress looks fantastic and you look gorgeous in it.”
“Thanks, Shiana.”
“I’m thrilled to be your Maid of Honour. It’s going to be so awesome,” Shiana declared.
“As long as the media don’t find out, it will be,” Piper mused.
Ever since The Pips released their first album the media attention had increased. Nobody could understand why Shiana had such little involvement in the band. No matter how many times Shiana told everyone that she was the manager of the band, nobody took that truth on board. Shiana wanted Piper to shine and always stayed in the background organising everything the band needed.
The Pips grew famous and their music spread world wide, which still amazed Piper. She had always believed that Shiana’s beauty had been what drew the crowds to her music, but that proved incorrect.
Then came the questions and curiosity about her life and all that entailed. She could understand because Shiana had been her face for so long that nobody knew her. Together their story built up a fascination within their fan base, which then grew.
Between Colah and Piper’s parents making up rumours or insinuating things about the two women, interest in the truth spread. All of the nonsense rumours fell short. The Pips fan base knew the people who had caused them any trouble and shunned Colah and her parents.
Colah found little support from anyone but still continued to try to make himself a part of their lives. Piper couldn’t understand why he would bother.
Kay, on the other hand, had returned to the motherly figure who Piper had grown up with. It warmed her that she hadn’t lost Kay in amongst Colah’s terrible behaviour.
Piper still had a support network who loved her. She appreciated all of them, including Evan’s family, who also loved her.
Her mind fell back onto thoughts of her parents, and she rolled her eyes. The desperation of Barbara and Mason bordered on both hilarious and ridiculous. They didn’t bother her as much as they used to, but every time The Pips achieved something big, they had to be there fawning over her.
If only they had cared this much when she was younger and wanted their attention. Now, it was only to make themselves seem all the more important that they had a famous daughter. She gave them the same amount of time that Colah received.
She pulled up in front of Shiana’s beach side chalet. Logan waved from the front yard where he played fetch with their dog.
“Aww, he’s even waiting for you,” Piper said.
“The same way that you’ll find Evan waiting for you,” Shiana replied.
“I know,” Piper said giddily.
“Catch you later, Pip,” Shiana said as she stepped from the car with a wave.
Piper waved back and saw Logan rush out to greet Shiana. Driving away, Piper couldn’t hide her smile. Life was so much better than she had expected it to be, and that always left her happy.
At her Gram’s she pulled into the driveway and saw the ever-present bodyguard sitting on the porch. Bridget often had reporters trying to question her, so Piper had to make sure to look after her.
The one person who had always believed in her. The one person who gave Piper the opportunity to be the best person she could be. The one person who had started to need a cane to get around, which troubled Piper.
“How did the dress fitting go, dear?” Bridget asked when Piper entered the house.
“All good, Gram,” Piper replied as she hugged her and then sat down at the table.
“Why exactly are you here?” Bridget raised her brows.
Piper fell silent. It had become a habit to check in on her Gram daily. Normally, she used the excuse of keeping her grandmother informed of whatever had happened that day. As subtle as she tried to make it, Bridget had obviously noticed.
Some days, Piper regretted moving away from her Gram. When Evan lived next door, she always had the excuse to drop around.
When his lease ended, they found a property they both loved that was closer to the beach, which Piper had always wanted, so they moved. It worried her when she was away from her Gram, hence why she always found the excuse to drop around.
“Aren’t I allowed to visit my favourite relative?” Piper finally answered with forced humour.
“Yes, you are, but you are checking on me obsessively, and it’s starting to feel a bit irksome,” Bridget replied.
“Irksome?” Piper couldn’t hide her hurt.
“Bad choice of words. You need to live your life and not worry over me so much,” Bridget insisted.
“I love you, Gram, and I’m going to worry, and I’m going to keep checking on you,” Piper told her.
Bridget shook her head, but a smile filled her face, “come here.”
There was no way that Piper could resist another of her grandmothers hugs. She fell into the older woman’s embrace and squeezed her gently.
“I love you just as much as I do appreciate your visits. Now, I’m not about to drop dead, so you don’t need to check on me every day,” Bridget patted her shoulder as Piper backed away.
“Too bad, because I’m still going to drop in and see if you need anything. It’s who I am. It’s who you brought me up to be.”
“It’s good to know that you love me,” Bridget smiled cheekily.
“Did you need anything, or are you all good?”
“I’m all good, my little darling. Now go home and spend your time organising your wedding like you promised you would do,” Bridget headed towards the door, and Piper followed.
“I am organising, but the wedding planner has most of it sorted already. Now that I have my dress sorted that’s a huge weight off my shoulders.”
“I know you’ll look gorgeous,” Bridget touched her cheek and smiled.
“Thanks, Gram.”
“Now off you go, and we’ll catch up soon.”
Bridget waved as Piper drove off. Piper chuckled to herself at her Gram’s attitude to everything. No matter how much Bridget protested, Piper would always check in on her well-being.
Arriving back at her home, Piper parked and headed inside. She relished knowing that she had her family and friends close to her. It made her happy that she could visit them and they could visit her whenever they wanted as well. It warmed her heart to have the people she did in her life.
“There you are. I wondered when you’d get home,” Evan said as she entered the kitchen.
“I wanted to stop in and check on Gram,” Piper replied as she accepted his kiss in welcome.
“Did she tell you to stop visiting again?” Evan asked with a chuckle.
“Same conversation every day,” she rolled her eyes but then laughed, “she’d miss it if I stopped, and then she’d ring me about it for sure.”
“She would. How’s the wedding dress coming along?” he asked as his eyes skimmed over her body.
“You’ll find out on our wedding day,” she said with a wink.
“I wrote a new song today. It may or may not be about you,” Evan leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Another one? How many is that now?” she teased him.
“I think it will fill most of our next album if we aren’t careful,” he warned.
“Sounds good to me,” she said as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.
“Before we get too comfortable, Mauve said that she needed to tell you something and will probably turn up at any moment.”
“That sounds like Mauve.”
“Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
“I’m not sure, but we’ll wait and see.”
Mauve had become one of the biggest supports in the band. All of her previous animosity against aspects of the band receded. She was always assisting wherever she could and gave everyone her time when needed.
“In the meantime.”
Evan pulled her back into his arms and kissed her with delightful heat. She returned his ardour with a fiery passion all of her own.
The inevitable knock upon the door pulled them apart. They smiled ruefully at each other, and Piper walked back to answer the door.
“Hi Mauve,” Piper said with a warm smile.
“I’m not sure about the dress you want me to wear,” Mauve said before she even walked in the door.
Piper sighed, knowing it was less of a problem than she had expected. The dress was a little more revealing than Mauve had wanted, but she had liked the way it fitted her at the time.
“Hey Mauve,” Evan said when both women walked into the kitchen.
Mauve greeted him but then continued with her distress over the dress. It took a while, but Piper convinced Mauve that she could get the dress adjusted and refitted by the seamstress.
Mauve, being a part of the wedding party, meant that Piper wanted her to feel comfortable in her dress.
Upon farewelling Mauve, Piper came to realise that all of those involved in the wedding wanted to make sure that it all ran smoothly. She loved knowing that people in her life cared so deeply for her.
“Another wedding dilemma sorted,” Evan teased.
“And I get to sort them all out,” Piper said.
“Yes, you do. We all know that you’re the best at staying calm and organised. Imagine where any of us would be without you,” Evan pondered.
“You would all feel very lost without me.”
“We would,” Evan agreed as he tugged her into his arms, “without you, I would never have met the most important person in my world.”
“Aww, thanks,” Piper smiled warmly.
“I would also still be a mechanic, instead of that being one of my hobbies. Without you or Shiana, our band would still play only for our family and friends. You made us who we are,” Evan insisted.
“Maybe,” she shrugged.
“That night when I first heard you sing is still such a significant memory for me.”
“Why?”
“That was when my life changed forever more. I got you, and I’ll always feel grateful for that.”
The way he smiled at her with such light, love, and joy buoyed her heart with a fluttering delight. She loved to hear his sweet, wonderful words whenever he spoke them. It made her love for him only deepen. He appreciated her and loved her. She could want for nothing more than that in her life.
One night, as with every night, the girl who had suffered so much rejection now knew how loved she was. One night, her life changed forever. One night had led her to a love and freedom that never stopped growing.

The End