Epilogue
Six months later…
Mackenzie
It’s our housewarming party! Except I already live here. Cal moved into my house and paid Harper her share of the equity in it. My man is a big-time saver. The accountant in me finds that so sexy. Ha.
My parents are here, along with my brothers, Cooper and Finn; Cooper’s wife, Rowan; and Harper, of course.
My cousin Owen’s off with Shayla on location in LA for a month, working on finding more clients while she does some postproduction scenes for a movie.
Nathan’s here, Sutton, and the newlywed Mason and May with their daughter, Sophie. More people are on their way.
I put on my house-party playlist, starting with Flo Rida’s “My House.” Harper catches my eye, and we immediately shift in unison to raise the roof, palms up.
We’ll move on to a few jumping moves and then spin on a certain beat.
Yes, we have a kitchen dance routine, only now we’re in the living room.
Felix, my antisocial cat, wraps himself around Sutton’s leg.
He used to only be attached to me, then Rowan, and now Sutton.
I think he senses when someone needs him, though Sutton seems to be doing much better now after her terrible breakup six months ago.
She’s even going to do a sologamy ceremony with me, Harper, Rowan, and Shayla.
We’re waiting for Shayla to wrap things up in LA.
Cal joins me and Harper in raising the roof. He looks ridiculous, which tells me I probably do too. I pull his hands down and start dancing with him. Harper continues the routine on her own.
“Good turnout for a housewarming party,” he says loudly over the music.
“I know, right?”
“Especially considering you already live here.”
I grin. “My family uses any excuse to get together and celebrate.”
“Too bad I couldn’t get Dad out here.”
“Maybe he can drive over with Henry for the holidays.” His dad recently adopted a standard poodle, all black, named Henry.
The dog has been such a blessing for him, the perfect emotional support animal.
Bill’s started to meet more people, taking Henry on walks and to the dog park.
He won’t leave the dog for more than a day, although now that Cal and Sutton both live in Clover Park, he’s been talking about relocating.
Sutton joins us, holding Felix in her arms. He tucks his head into her neck, closing his eyes. “Happy housewarming!”
“Thanks. You seem as happy as we are,” I say.
“She’s happy to finally have my apartment to herself,” Cal says.
He moved in with me last month. It was important to him to spend some time in grief counseling before taking the next step with me.
I supported him in that one hundred percent.
Sutton even joined him for a few sessions.
He seems lighter now, not so serious. Like the weight he’d been carrying for more than a decade finally lifted.
Sutton inclines her head. “He’s a slob. You’ll see.”
“I am not,” Cal says.
“Have you seen the way he leaves the potholders on the counter? And he never hangs up the dishtowel.” She shakes her head. “They have a place, Cal.”
Sutton, it turns out, is a neat freak. I’ve actually found Cal to be fairly organized. His clothes make it into the hamper, he cleans the sink after he trims his beard, and, most importantly, the toilet seat is always down.
I defend Cal’s honor. “I find him to be a considerate and neat roommate.”
“I’m a little more than that.” Cal grabs me and nips my neck.
I squeal and slap at his shoulder. “Back off, vampire.”
He grins. Sutton shakes her head, smiling.
Cal and I mingle as more family and friends show up. Even my cousin Rafael is here from the city. He’s Owen and Harper’s younger brother. He’s got his digital camera at the ready, snapping pics. So nice of him to do that for us. He’s a professional photographer, mostly doing shoots for models.
I give Rafael a hug. Like me, he has brown hair and blue eyes, tall with a mix of his parents’ looks. His dad’s sharp jaw, his mom’s full lips. His easy smile earns him friends and lots of admirers. “Thanks for coming, Rafael! It’s so great to see you.”
“You too.” He shakes Cal’s hand. “Congrats!”
“On living together, thanks,” Cal says, which is kinda strange. I thought Rafael was congratulating us on being a couple.
I put a hand on Rafael’s arm. “You don’t have to take pictures the whole time. Just relax.”
“I don’t mind.” His head swivels as he spots Sutton. “Who is that?”
“My baby sister,” Cal says with a hint of a growl.
Rafael can’t take his eyes off her. “She’s beautiful. I wonder if she’d mind if I took her picture.”
“Only one way to find out,” I say.
Rafael heads over to her. And on that note, I pull Cal away. Sutton is a grown-ass woman who doesn’t need her big brother running interference. “Let’s get the champagne.”
Cal follows me to the kitchen. “Can we trust him? Sutton just came out of a long-term relationship.”
“That was six months ago. You came out of a serious relationship the same day I snatched you up.” I grin.
He doesn’t smile. “Seriously.”
“Of course you can trust him! He’s my cousin. Also, he’s a model photographer surrounded by beautiful women at work, and they find him in the wild too. He was probably artistically inspired.”
He grunts. “Not making me feel much better.”
I kiss him, lingering a little longer than is decent at a party.
He gives me a tender smile and laces his fingers with mine.
I continue our journey to the kitchen, pleased with how easy it is to distract him.
It takes a while to get to the kitchen because more people keep arriving and stopping us to chat.
Once we’re finally alone in the kitchen, he boxes me in against the counter and kisses me, long and deep. By the time he pulls away, I’m dizzy with lust. He gazes into my eyes with so much love I’m momentarily speechless. I love him so damn much.
He cups my face in his hands, his voice husky. “I knew the moment I set eyes on you at that Valentine’s Day dance my world would never be the same.”
My throat tightens. “Oh, Cal. You’re so sweet.”
“I know all you saw was a sexy guy you had to have.”
I laugh. It’s his favorite story, how I saw green flags with his commitment-phobe self and a fabulous way to end my dry spell. “And I got so much more.”
He strokes my cheek with his thumb. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I know we’ve only been living together for a month, but it feels right. Have you considered ever maybe getting married sometime in the near future?”
I scrunch my nose in confusion. Was that a marriage proposal? “You don’t have to dance around the topic. I’ve always been open to marriage for future me. Like in my thirties.”
He drops his hands. “Okay, I can wait.”
I smile. “But that was before I met you.”
He smiles widely and pulls a ring box from a high shelf in the cabinet. The advantage of his height—he can hide stuff from me on high shelves. My heart races.
Mom appears in the kitchen out of nowhere. “Wait! We want pictures of the proposal.”
Dad pokes his head in the kitchen too, grinning.
Two things hit me at once. Cal cleared this with my parents ahead of time, and I’m getting married to the love of my life!
We move things into the living room. Dad turns off the music and barks, “Quiet! Big moment coming up for Mackenzie and Cal.” The room quiets instantly.
Everyone pulls their phones out for pics and probably video too. I don’t mind. It’s all family.
Cal takes both my hands in his and drops to one knee.
“Mackenzie Campbell, I will love you for all of my life and will do everything in my power to be your partner in all things, to support your dreams, to share your joy and your sorrows. I never knew how much I could love someone until I met you.” His eyes water from unshed tears.
“I will love you forever, always in my heart.”
Oh God, I’m going to cry. He talks now about keeping love in his heart after loss, and it helps him to deal with the fear of losing me. “Always in my heart, Cal.” Tears flow freely down my cheeks.
His eyes leak tears now too. “Will you marry me?”
I nod, barely able to speak over the lump in my throat. “Yes.” He slides the diamond ring on my finger, stands, and gathers me into his arms, hugging me tight.
“Congratulations!” Mom exclaims, wiping tears.
“Champagne!” Dad croaks.
After we’ve recovered from our teary emotional moment, Mom and Dad make a toast.
Mom holds up her champagne glass. “I knew I’d be planning your wedding soon!” she crows triumphantly.
Cal smiles and takes my hand. I shake my head at her.
Mom smiles. “And, yes, I was doing a teensy bit of matchmaking when I told you to stay away from Cal. And I’m not sorry.”
“You didn’t fool me for a moment,” I declare. “Okay, maybe a moment.”
“Reverse matchmaking is still matchmaking,” Dad says to Mom sternly. “I’d be mad if Mackenzie weren’t so happy.” He turns to us. “I hope you’ll both be very happy and have a long life together. To Cal and Mackenzie!”
Everyone drinks to that. After lots of congratulations from everyone, the music starts again. Mom directs clearing some furniture so the dancing can begin.
Harper pulls me aside. “Any chance I can stay in the garage for a while?”
“Why?” She’s been staying at her parents’ house until she finds a house of her own. Our detached garage was previously converted to an office space for Harper, fully wired and with heating and cooling. No kitchen or bathroom, though. It’s more of a storage space now.
Nathan joins us. “You want to live in a garage?”
Harper ignores him and looks at Cal. “If it’s okay with you. I know you’re newly engaged and all that. You wouldn’t even know I was there.”
“Fine by me,” Cal says.
“Why would you want to live there when you’ve got your parents’ huge house?” I ask.
Harper sighs. “Because Dad’s so happy to have one of his kids home that he’s reinstituted daily family dinners and weekend movie nights. He wants to know the best and worst part of my day, every day, like our family convos when I was ten years old. It’s stifling.”
I smile. Uncle Jake has become sentimental now that he and Aunt Claire have been empty nesters for a few years. “Aww, I think it’s cute.”
Harper grimaces. “He sings ‘We’re a Family’ every time we come to the table. It’s a Sesame Street song, Mac.”
We all laugh except Harper. “Not funny,” she mumbles.
“Maybe it’s time to go house hunting,” I say.
“No. I want to save up more before I house hunt. Maybe next year.”
I’m about to say it’s okay when Nathan pipes up, “You can stay with me.”
Harper’s eyes widen. “You want me to move into your place?”
“I have an apartment over the garage,” he says. “The guy who lived there moved out a few months ago. I’ll let you stay rent-free so you can keep saving for your dream house.”
“What is your dream house anyway?” I ask.
Harper doesn’t answer. She and Nathan are too busy staring at each other. “Why?”
He shrugs. “Helping an old friend out. I keep things in good condition, and I’m only a call away if something needs fixing.” Nathan worked construction jobs in the summer during college and can do handyman stuff. That’s right, the trust-fund baby likes to work with his hands.
She tilts her head, studying him like she’s trying to figure out his angle.
Nathan gestures toward her. “I’d feel better knowing someone was around to keep an eye on the place since I’m away for jobs a lot, and you could, uh, bring in the mail and water the plants.”
He’s not away for jobs that much, mostly local stuff. Usually Owen takes the jobs in LA, and his wife, Shayla, goes with him to take meetings. Nathan is holding out the olive branch of peace between them, but Harper focuses on completely the wrong thing.
“You keep plants alive?” Harper asks.
He gives her a sour look. “Is that a yes?”
“Let me think about it.”
He inclines his head. “You have until midnight.”
“Why?”
“Because then I put the rental back on the market.”
She crosses her arms. “So you have this apartment waiting, and suddenly it has to be filled right away?”
“Yes.” He crosses his arms, mirroring her stance. “And maybe I’m trying to do something nice for you because I’m tired of you thinking I’m death to every party. Whatever was in the past is water under the bridge.”
She lifts her chin. “Past never bothered me a bit.”
“Good.”
“Fine. I’ll get the keys from you tomorrow.”
They stare at each other. I tiptoe away, and Cal follows.
Once we’re out of hearing range, Cal asks, “Was that their version of flirting?”
“That was a truce. It’s good. This falling-out of theirs has gone on long enough.”
He grins. “Is this like that movie where she says she hates him, but she secretly loves him?”
I smile widely. “Look at you with the romcom movie references. And I thought you fell asleep during that one.” I loop my arms around his neck and kiss him.
I only started loving romance once I experienced it for myself.
In fact, I’m the newest romance reader in the Happy Endings Book Club.
What a fun group. There’s nothing better than swooning together over true love.
He wraps his arms around my waist. “I take an interest in everything you love because I love you so much I’m bursting with it.” He mimes his heart exploding.
My heart melts. Still, I like to tease Cal about his newly blossoming sense of romance.
“Next thing you’re going to be writing me love poems,” I say.
“Now you’re being ridiculous. You’re the one who’s going to be writing me love sonnets and sending me flowers.”
We smile at each other. He’s still in awe that I got him flowers. I like that I was the first person to do that for him.
And then our song starts playing, the slow song we danced to when we first met, Etta James’s “At Last.” So fitting. At last we found each other.
We join the party, where several couples are already dancing. I look into his soulful eyes with all the love in my heart, surrounded by family and friends. Now the fun part really begins.
Don’t miss the next book in the series, The Tempting Part, where Harper takes Nathan up on his offer of a free apartment, no strings attached. But will she be able to resist temptation when her sworn frenemy delivers such personal handyman service?