Epilogue
Four Months Later
“Thanks so much for coming out.”
I gave the customer a broad smile as I handed over their copy of the book, my fresh signature scrawled over the title page. The customer quietly thanked me and left the table.
The quaint little bookshop that I’d been fortunate enough to set up in wasn’t as large as a corporate bookstore, but it was way bigger than most small towns were accustomed to. I glanced down at the now smaller pile of my book that decorated the table, pleased with the turn out.
When I’d first contacted the bookstore about whether they’d like to have a local author around to sell their book and meet with readers, I wasn’t sure the type of response I’d get in return.
I’d been lucky that they weren’t just open to the idea, but wanted to celebrate local authors and try to advertise them to the community.
Phoebe was definitely the best place for me.
Since the meeting with the Triad, giving Arze and I a blessing to continue exploring our relationship, things couldn’t have been better for me.
I’d rejoined Jane’s and was back working on the year-round haunts that she had to offer, giving me even more time to spend with Arze.
Aside from being able to resume my work at the haunts, I’d been able to finish my novel, complete with multiple drafts and painstaking edits.
The fact that I had a physical book in my hands was amazing.
I was an indie author, but an author nonetheless.
“How’s it going?”
My sister bounded over to my table, which resided between the farthest stacks of bookcases towards the back of the establishment.
It was a great spot, considering that I could see anyone who entered the bookstore and I was right next to the small coffee shop section of the place, the smell of fresh coffee beans wafting over to my table every few seconds.
Larsky, who of course couldn’t get enough of Myers, hung off her like he never wanted to be separated, trailing himself off of her shoulder as they walked in tandem, only parting as they neared my table.
I couldn’t help but smile. They were going strong in their own relationship, and Larsky had proven himself over and over that he was a great match for my sister.
He’d already proven himself with our parents during their first visit a few months ago, getting the ultimate seal of approval on their subsequent visits afterward.
They’d given the same to Arze when they’d met him too.
Just like we’d hoped, our parents had fallen in love with Phoebe as fast as we did. Our mother in particular was enamored with the culture, the vibe, and the people. Dad seemed to love it too, but I knew he’d move in a heartbeat if Mom said the word. Thankfully, her word came pretty quickly.
Our parents were ecstatic for both of us for finding love in Phoebe. They were officially moving to North Carolina next weekend and I was eager as fuck to have the family reunited again.
“Pretty good,” I said, my response ending my reminiscing. “I’ve already sold over twenty copies and I’ve been here, what, an hour?”
“Hell yeah, dude!” Larsky bellowed, throwing up a red hand for me to high five, making me chuckle. He was such a bro sometimes, but I loved it. Obviously, Myers seemed it was charming enough to keep him around. “Big time author man.”
“Thanks, Larsky.” The laugh fell off my sentence lazily.
“Do you think the amount of traffic has anything to do with the upcoming Alistair Finn concert that’s coming to Charlotte this weekend?” Myers asked as she plucked the can of sweet tea I had on my table and stole a sip. “Ugh, I wish I had tickets.”
I nodded. Alistair Finn was not only a huge pop star that had gained popularity in the past few months, but was originally from Phoebe.
His Charlotte show was only just shy of an hour from here, so we’d been getting tourists for the past few weeks.
Naturally, his tickets were highly coveted and the show had been sold out for months.
“Probably, but book sales are book sales.”
The sound of a bell chiming rang loudly throughout the store, signifying the entry of a new potential buyer. I straightened up in my seat on instinct before I realized that the handsome figure heading my way was one of severe familiarity.
“There he is,” Arze smirked, leaning over the table to give me a quick kiss. Coming out of it, the smile was stained to my lips.
We were in such a good place. Arze and I were talking about moving in together.
While Myers was spending so much time at Larsky’s place, leaving us alone at the RV, where we were still staying until we figured out whether we were moving in with our guys or not, I was teetering on giving up the space for good.
I’d been to Arze’s apartment, and he had the extra room, so it made sense for me to move in if we really wanted to make it happen.
And we did. I wanted to wake up each morning to his handsome face, and as luck would have it, he wanted to do the same with me.
You’d think we’d be getting tired of each other, especially with working together, but it didn’t wane our affection.
If anything, it gave us more creative places to hookup under our co-workers noses, reminding us of our first sexual encounter.
That seemed like child’s play to the antics we got up to now at work.
I beamed back at my boyfriend. “How was babysitting?”
Arze rolled his eyes. “Betz wouldn’t stop asking where you were and Chrizel kept saying he was too old to have a babysitter.”
I snickered. “So…a normal night?”
“Exactly.” He sighed. “Khalice and Jgel are keeping me well paid to cover for their date nights or else I wouldn’t bother. Betz always wants to play princesses and Chrizel just wants to shoot stuff in his video games.”
“Typical kid stuff.” Larsky chimed in, pressing a kiss to Myers’ cheek, inciting a giggle that she tried her best to stifle. She failed, but it was cute to witness anyway.
A group of young women happened by the table then, holding copies of my book that they had either gotten from the front register or from the shelves.
Arze excused himself from the front of the table to stand next to me behind the table.
Myers and Larsky waved goodbye and busied themselves off in the bookstore, presumably to kiss and giggle more.
The first of the women, an aged blonde with an inviting energy presented my book to me. I grabbed it, smiling at the swirling typography that spelled out Of Death & Demons across the front of the book.
“You’re Krueger Lin.” She said with a feeble smile. Gesturing to her friends, who each had their own copy of the book, she added, “We found your book on BookTok, but had no idea you lived right here in Phoebe.” She handed me her copy of the book.
“That’s right.” I said back, opening her book and flipping to the title page. “Thanks for being interested in the book.”
“Thanks for writing such a steamy dark romance.” She tittered. “I’ve actually already read it, but I devoured it on Kindle and decided I needed a book trophy of it.”
“That’s awesome, thank you so much!” My smile was Cheshire Cat levels of broad. “I can sign it if you’d like?”
“Yes, please!”
“Alright, what’s your name?”
“Anna.” Blush tempered her cheeks, tossing her middle aged head back to beam at her girlfriends.
Scribbling over the title page, I wrote her name and a thank you for buying the book, finishing with my signature, which I’d been perfecting in anticipation for today. I presented the book to her. “Thanks again for reading, Anna. It means a lot to me.”
I felt Arze’s comforting hand on my shoulder, making me look up at him from my chair with another grin. He leaned down and claimed my lips with another kiss. Anna and her friends looked overwhelmed by the exchange.
“This lovely man is the inspiration for Of Death & Demons, I take it?” Anna said with a knowing smirk.
Glancing away from the love of my life, the man that had dominion over my entire soul, the one I was completely in love with, I gazed back at Anna with a pacified demeanor. The upturning of my lips followed, and I snuck another look at Arze before I answered.
“He’s not the inspiration,” His hand on my shoulder tightened at my words, pulling another longing look from me. Staring into his beautiful orange eyes, I saw the peace and meaning I’d been longing for all my life. “He’s the reality.”