Epilogue
Ashford, Six Months Later
“Ollie, honey, the cake server is not a sword.” Piper dashed past me, chasing after her son.
Grinning, I left her to it. We weren’t serving cake for another half hour. I had no doubt Ollie would return the server by then. Thankfully it was plastic, so it wouldn’t do any permanent damage.
I only felt a tiny bit smug that my little angel would never do such a thing.
“Hey, birthday girl and Aunt Ayla,” I said, lifting my phone for a picture. “Smile.”
Maisie looked up from her art project. Ayla leaned in with her arm around her niece. “ Cheese ,” they both said.
I lowered my phone. “Anyone seen my girlfriend?”
“No, I haven’t seen Emma.” Maisie went back to gluing music notes onto the edges of a picture frame. “You shouldn’t call her a girl though, Daddy. She’s a woman .”
I arched my eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re turning seven, monkey? Or twenty-seven?”
Maisie stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at me. Much better.
It was March, and a fresh layer of snow blanketed the ground outside the Big Blue Monster. Maisie’s birthday party had taken over our entire building. Maisie had been thrilled that her aunt Ayla could make it in between studio recording sessions. And because our connection to the superstar was old news at this point, no reporters bothered to show. She could even walk down Main Street without drawing a crowd. Any tourists who tried to film her were gently, but firmly, scolded by Silver Ridge locals.
Ayla was one of ours now, and we took care of our own.
Grace stopped me, her party hat askew on her head. “I think I saw Emma go into the kitchenette.”
“Thanks.”
I left the training room and headed down the hall, though partygoers kept stopping me to chat. Then my phone rang, and I took a detour into the office to answer it.
It was Dane. My best friend from the Army.
“You calling to wish Maisie a happy birthday?” I asked.
“Of course I am! It’s her birthday again? Didn’t that just happen?”
I snorted. “Exactly how I feel.”
“Sorry for bugging you on her birthday.”
“No worries. I would’ve invited you to the party, but you’d probably parachute here off a private jet or something equally obnoxious. Emma might decide she likes you better than me. And then I’d have to kill you.”
Dane barked a laugh. “How’s Emma doing, man? How’s everything?”
“Good,” I said sincerely. “She’s pretty damn amazing.”
The past six months had been the happiest of my life. Our business was booming. Emma had a slew of music students, including Maisie, who was now learning violin. I’d hired a couple of new teachers. We’d accepted Dixie’s new rent terms, and we had extra every month to go into a piggy bank toward…something. We hadn’t decided yet.
I had ideas, though. Maybe a special trip. Nervous energy had me shifting from foot to foot as I thought about it.
“I didn’t just call to catch up,” Dane said. “I have an ulterior motive. You know we’re always looking for new investments. I’ve been looking into opportunities around Silver Ridge.”
“ Here ?”
After insisting on his independence for years, Dane had finally agreed to go to work for his dad’s company. They invested in properties all over the world. I couldn’t imagine why they’d be interested in my hometown.
“Yep. Rumor has it the ski resort is looking for a new owner. They’ve got an expansion underway and a hotel most of the way finished, but it’s run into financial trouble. They can’t complete the project.”
I’d heard about that. “So you’re going to swoop in? I guess that would be good for the local economy and the people who work at the resort. As long as it doesn’t cause too much extra traffic.”
“I see a tremendous upside. Not just the investment. I’ve never met Emma or your brother or sister, and I haven’t seen Maisie since she was a baby. Just wanted to see how you felt about it. If you’d mind me showing up in your backyard.”
“Not at all. You’re always welcome. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I thought you were too much of a jet setter to bother with Silver Ridge, and I didn’t take that personally.”
Dane exhaled into the phone, pausing, and I sensed that he hadn’t liked what I’d said. “Maybe Silver Ridge is exactly what I need.”
“Then don’t let me stop you.”
“I wasn’t, actually. But I figured I’d try being polite.”
I tipped my head back and laughed.
Someone knocked at my office door, and it opened. “What’s so funny in here?” Emma asked.
I tilted my head, beckoning her closer. “My buddy Dane is on the phone.” I put him on speaker and introduced them. My chest lifted in pride, the way it always did whenever I had the chance to claim her as mine.
“Hey, Emma. Hoping to meet you in person soon.”
“Anytime. Ashford’s told me all about you.” She smiled at me.
I didn’t know what exactly was going on with Dane. But I hoped he would find his happy ending. Maybe even here in Silver Ridge.
I was sure I’d found mine.
Emma
I climbed onto the roof of the Big Blue Monster and shivered. “Springtime in the Colorado mountains sounds far more idyllic than it actually is.”
Maisie giggled. “Stella loves it!” Our dog bounded around the tiny square of space on the flat roof. Stella and Maisie were both riled up from the party. It was too cute.
Maisie’s party was over, and our guests had all finally gone home. Callum, Grace, and Ayla had stayed until the very end and helped us clean up. Then Ayla had to take off. Her driver had whisked her away to the nearest private airport. She had an event in London tomorrow.
Now, we were up on the roof for birthday stargazing. Ashford and I had bought Maisie a telescope. She loved the one at Ollie’s house and had been begging for her own. Ashford had carried the box up earlier to assemble it.
“All of you be careful,” Ashford said, his head appearing as he mounted the ladder. “It could be icy.” Even though he’d cleared every inch of snow from the roof this morning.
“We’re being really careful, Daddy.” Maisie had a puffy coat and a beanie with a pom-pom on top. She clutched a thermos of cocoa in her mittens. “Come on, hurry. I want my hot chocolate.”
“Because you’re in desperate need of sugar? You ate every bite of that slice of birthday cake. Aunt Grace cut it way too big.” Ashford stepped up beside me, his arm going around my waist.
His daughter held out the thermos for him to unscrew the lid. “Ollie said I should get blue icing on my cake next time. It will turn my poop green!”
Ashford made a horrified face.
I couldn’t have held back my smile, even if I’d wanted to. They were so much stinking fun.
This was my first Colorado winter, and I’d loved every moment of it. Not so much the snow. I was tired of that. But Ashford and Maisie brought me more joy than I’d ever known I could feel. I didn’t regret turning down the internship Ayla had offered. Here in Silver Ridge, I taught music every day. My students challenged and delighted me. I had time to compose my own music and even perform on occasion.
And in between classes, Ashford and I snuck into the office downstairs for hot quickies. Our office.
We had Maisie and Stella. There was nothing that could make our lives any better. Except maybe finding the same happiness for the rest of our friends in the Lonely Harts club.
Ashford fiddled with the telescope. “Okay, monkey. Let’s try it out.” He stepped back. The telescope stood on a stand, pointing upward at the sky. It was a clear night. Even though it wasn’t that late, a rich tapestry of stars already painted the sky.
“I want Emma to go first!”
Ashford and Maisie stood on either side of me as I peered into the eyepiece. But it didn’t look right. “It’s blurry.”
“Huh, pretty sure I followed the instructions,” Ashford said.
Maisie stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a glimpse of the lens. “Emma, I think something is in the way. What is it?” She wiggled like she could barely contain her excitement. And I suspected it wasn’t just the cocoa and birthday cake. But I decided to play along.
I stepped closer to examine the business end of the telescope.
There, balanced on the ledge of plastic that bordered the glass, was a ring.
I gasped.
Ashford reached over and carefully plucked the ring from the end of the telescope. He held it between his fingers, and the tiny diamonds glinted in the starlight.
A lump gathered in my throat.
“What if you’d scratched the glass of the lens?” I asked helplessly.
“I didn’t.” He went to one knee. Stella crowded him, wanting in on whatever he was up to. “Emma, you and Maisie are both the brightest stars in my sky. You’ve brought so much beauty into our lives. Last summer, you agreed to stay. I’d like to make that permanent, because I can’t live without you. We can’t.”
“Can we keep you forever?” Maisie asked.
Hot tears gathered in my eyes, a contrast to the cold. “Yes.”
Ashford stood up and slid the ring on my finger. Then kissed me. “I love you.”
“I love you too. I love you both.”
He picked up Maisie, his other arm pulling me close. Stella whapped our legs with her tail.
For the moment, the telescope was forgotten. All the other countless stars overhead. Those could wait.
Everything we needed was right here.
Grace
I was so thrilled for my brother and Emma. As spring turned to summer, the strength of their love amazed me every day. If anyone could beat the odds, it was those two.
But me ? No way. After what had happened with Elias, I was done with men.
As I walked into the ballroom of the new ski resort hotel, feeling the gazes of at least a dozen men rake over my body, I reminded myself of that resolution.
The surroundings were opulent. The chandeliers overhead glowed with a warm, flattering light. My dress was equally fancy. A floor-length, body-hugging gown in a silky red fabric. Mesh cut-outs teased the lines of my figure along the sides.
It was the hotel’s grand opening party. Not only a black-tie affair, but a masquerade ball. Like something out of a movie. Piper had talked me into coming, and it was so not my usual scene. The dress belonged to Piper too. Why did a small-town coffee shop owner have an extra evening gown waiting in her closet? My best friend was quirky like that.
Yet the dress, combined with the new glittery red mask hiding my eyes, made me feel confident. Like I could pretend, for one exciting night, that I wasn’t some mousy accountant with an abysmal dating history and zero trust in the male species.
Tonight was about me . Feeling good in my skin and nothing else.
I didn’t see Piper or her date anywhere. The bar seemed like a safe bet. That was what I needed to soothe my nerves. A drink.
“Glass of merlot, please,” I said, elbows on the bar top with my purse clutched in my hands.
Then a heavy grip landed on my shoulder and squeezed. “You were supposed to wait for me in the lobby.”
“ Excuse me?” I looked over to find a gray-haired man scowling at me, his face ruddy beneath his blue jeweled mask. I tried to shake the man off, but he wouldn’t let go. “You must have me confused with someone else.”
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but this isn’t what we agreed.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
A new presence loomed at my side, towering over the guy in the blue mask. The newcomer was close enough I could feel the heat from his body, though he didn’t touch me.
“There you are, gorgeous. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
He had thick dark hair, broad shoulders. His full lips slid into a charming smirk. But when I met his steely gray eyes, which were framed by a satiny black mask, they were full of concern.
I almost told him he had the wrong woman too. But something about the newcomer’s soft smirk told me to wait.
Then he angled his body, which was clad in an impeccably tailored black tuxedo, and winked at me. Like this was a joke, and we were both in on it. Go with it , he mouthed silently.
Who was this guy?
The creep in the blue mask hesitated, no longer so sure of himself. “This is your date?”
“Exactly.” My would-be hero’s gaze turned cold and menacing as he glared at the other man. “So unless you want me to break every one of those fingers, you’d better take your hand off of her.”