When they came together that night in the dim light of Carly’s hotel room, they undressed each other slowly. They took their time with each kiss, each caress, and each lingering gaze. There seemed to be a newfound appreciation of what they’d discovered in the other. For Carly, she’d found a best friend, the love of her life, a soul mate. She would cherish Lauren and spend every day making sure she knew that she was the most important aspect of Carly’s entire life.

“I love you,” Lauren said, as she gazed down into Carly’s eyes. She grinned and touched Lauren’s lips. “So much.”

“Say it again,” Carly whispered, cherishing the words.

“I love you. I’m in love with you. I plan to always love you.”

“I love you, too,” Carly said, cupping Lauren’s cheek with one hand. “To the moon and back.”

Epilogue

“What do you think about an entirely gray and white kitchen?” Lauren asked, hands on her hips. They’d been back in LA for a little over two months now. With Home Fires having been met with such critical success in New York, the producers were now mounting an LA run of the show and invited both Lauren and Carly to reprise their roles. There was nothing like satisfying stage work, and with two shows under her belt now, she looked forward to more. There’d even been a few calls exchanged between producers and agents about her and Carly reprising their roles as replacements in Starry Nights on Broadway. The water was definitely warm these days.

“I like gray,” Carly said, coming out of the bathroom. She had a streak of light blue paint on her cheek, and her hair swept up in a pink bandana.

Lauren laughed. “You look like Rosie the Riveter if she was awful at painting a bathroom.” She touched the streak on Carly’s cheek, but nope, it was already dry. “We can hire someone to do that, you know, if you’re struggling.”

“Struggling?” Carly squeaked. “Have you seen how closely I’ve stayed within the painter’s tape? I’m the Van Gogh of bathrooms.”

“Hmm,” Lauren said. “Maybe more like Picasso.”

“Still an artist,” Carly said gleefully.

The three-bedroom home Carly had purchased in Franklin Village was everything she’d once described it to be: adorable, full of sunlight, and perfectly situated. Now that it was Lauren’s, too, they spent their available days off making it uniquely in their joint style. Carly had the big ideas and Lauren reined her in, much like other aspects of their lives.

Rocky padded into the room, bleary-eyed from his afternoon snooze, and blinked up at them. Carly snatched him up and placed a kiss on his cheek. To pay her back, he offered her a tongue swipe. Then another.

“What time do you have to be on set tomorrow?” Lauren asked, giving Rocky a good scratch behind his ears.