FOLLOW YOUR HEART

EPILOGUE

Shawn held Camila's hand tightly. Their wedding rings were bright and new on their hands as they did so and they both noticed and shared a grin. It had been six months, and a busy time at that, with Camila's album dropping and debuting at number one, her single doing well, and plans underway for her next tour. Shawn, in the meantime, was working on his next album and in addition he had a short stint on a popular Netflix show which he was finding lots of fun. It had just finished airing and garnered acclaim but although he had enjoyed it, music was always his first love and he was happy to be writing again.

The car arrived at the gates and they saw the first big change. The gates were the same but had been repainted and now the crest of the luxury hotel company hung above them and the words Unger Hall had been added in wrought iron and painted gold. They could see the Hall as they approached. It was huge now, but still beautiful. The car pulled around in front of the steps and a uniformed doorman trotted down to open the doors for them and collect their luggage. George stood in a very smart suit, and a very big smile, to greet them.

He held out his hand and Shawn took it then pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey buddy, how you doin? Look at you! Look at this place!"

"George!" Camila almost shrieked, launching herself at him and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek and a rib-cracking hug. He laughed and pulled back to look at them.

"Well, your first six months of married life seems to have agreed with you! I can't believe it's been that long since I saw you at the wedding!"

They shared a look and grinned. "It definitely has!"

"Come on then, let me show you around and then I'll take you to your suite."

They entered what was now the lobby with some trepidation. To the right of the stairs a couple of antique tables worked as check-in desks but George had already sorted that and had their keys with him. He took them into the drawing room first and to their astonishment, apart from some sprucing up, it looked just the same. A couple of new sofas in front of the fireplace, but the piano was still there, the books had been replaced in the bookcase, it looked warm and cosy and beautiful. The morning room and dining room were the restaurant and although it looked quite different, the essence was the same. They walked up the staircase with it's newly stained and polished balustrades and updated carpets and were shocked when George stopped outside their old room. It bore a plaque that read "The Barrington Suite" and he opened the door and ushered them in. The set out was the same, the furniture had been updated but the bathroom had barely changed since it had already been newly renovated to a very high standard. Shawn saw Camila's face, it was hard not to cry.

"I hope you will be our guest for dinner tonight," George said, blushing.

"By 'our' I am assuming you mean Marcel, the manager, will be joining us?" Camila asked teasingly. "How's that going by the way?"

"Really good," George said shyly, trying to hide his grin. Shawn was so happy that George had met someone new. Jake had turned out to be a bit of a snake, and he was well rid of him. Marcel was a little older, but he adored George and would whether he had two cents or a million dollars (well, he had a lot more than that, but Marcel didn't care!).

"And Tally and Pam are joining us too, if that's OK?"

"Oh that's more than OK!" Shawn said. They never had caught up before they left that last time, but the older couple had made it to the wedding, and they all kept in touch, so it would be lovely to see them.

He left them to return to his duties and Camila sat on the bed and Shawn joined her.

"What do you think, wife? Is it as horrendous as you feared?"

"I thought it would be so sad, and I would be asking you to book a room in the village, but this is beautiful, and this room...it's virtually unchanged!"

"I know, I'm so glad we came. I was trying to find an excuse, but I wanted to catch up with George...."

"I'm glad too, husband," she teased in return. "I'm glad for everything."

"Are we going to tell them, at dinner?" Shawn asked.

She placed her hand protectively over her stomach. "It's probably too soon, but I so want to..."

"Well, our families and teams know, and I think we can trust them...."

He bent to kiss her, staring into her eyes. It still made her heart miss a beat. She loved him so much. He was her home. Her person. He sighed with a faint smile, his eyes shining with happiness.

"I wonder where we'd be without Garry, without his will, without this place....."

She sighed in response, smiling back at him.

"I wonder."