Epilogue
Roxy
Four weeks later…
“Get back in here,” Gray says as he grabs me and pulls me down on the bed with him. I squeal.
“Hey, we need to get dressed for happy hour,” I protest. Clare and Jocelyn are manning the store this afternoon, so I snuck up here to visit with Gray.
I feel the length of his erection against my thigh, and I reach between us and stroke him. He groans. “You’re killing me, wifey. I thought you said we needed to get dressed.”
“We do, in a minute,” I tease, feeling his hard length against my fingertips.
“Damn, a minute. Way to kill a man’s ego,” he says, his breath hot against my ear.
I push him a little and he rolls over, allowing me to climb on top of him and impale myself. We both let out a moan as I sink down onto his erection. I’m not sure I will ever get tired of this.
“Fuck, you feel good,” he curses.
We both stop talking as he grips my hips, guiding me up and down his length. It definitely takes more than a minute.
When we finish, I fall against him, resting my head on his chest, while feeling him still deep inside me. I feel safe and loved and part of me doesn’t want to go to happy hour, but eventually, I roll off him.
Licorice jumps up and meows at us.
“I think someone wants to come with us,” Gray says. I giggle as Licorice rubs her head against my hand. She’s become quite fond of going for walks and also spending time at happy hour. She also likes sleeping on the chair by the window in my shop. She’s essentially one-eleven Hearts Lane’s mascot.
I get up and walk into the bathroom, turning on the shower. We make quick work of washing each other before throwing on our clothes.
“I’ll put her harness on,” Gray says as we finish dressing. He gets Licorice ready, and we head upstairs. Everyone is already sipping drinks and chatting as we take two seats at the bar.
“Awww! Licorice!” Ava cries out as she runs over to play with our cat. Al tosses her one of Licorice’s cat toys he’s hoarded under his bar.
“You’re spoiling her,” I tease as I take my drink from Al.
“Hardly, that cat’s our last line of defense against mice and bugs. She deserves more cat treats,” Al says.
“Hey, I just got the exterminator to come last week. He says our building is great compared to at least five others on the street,” Troy protests.
“I’m joking, Troy. We all know you care for this building like it’s your baby, and that’s why I hired you,” Al says, his voice softening.
“It’s a big, pain-in-my-ass baby,” Troy grumbles under his breath.
Everyone laughs.
“How’s that camera thing going?” Brayden asks Hutch.
“It’s not. I lost like two cameras to trash pandas, and another one got taken by some kids on scooters,” Hutch huffs.
“So, you giving up?” Drew asks.
“Hell no. I will get to the bottom of it,” Hutch promises.
“Get to the bottom of what?” a deep voice calls out from the stairwell door.
The entire rooftop goes completely silent as everyone’s heads swivel toward the doorway.
It only takes me five seconds to realize who the man standing there is…it’s Kasen. I recognize him from photos.
“Holy shitballs! You are alive!” Drew yells.
Cam and Carly run over and hug him, followed by Jessa, Margie, and Cornelia. Soon everyone is standing around Kasen as if he’s a long-lost soldier who has just returned from war.
Kasen greets everyone and then his eyes lock with mine. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he says as he holds out a hand.
I blush and shake his hand. “I’m Roxy. I own the bookstore downstairs and live in the studio.”
“Oh, right, Al said he was leasing out the commercial space. Nice to meet you,” he replies as he looks at Gray’s arm that is wrapped around my shoulders.
“Nice to meet you too,” I reply.
“Looks like I have some catching up to do,” he says.
Cam waves her hand in the air. “Hutch is trying to solve the flower bench mystery. Al closed up the antique shop and leased it to Roxy. Roxy and Gray fake dated but now are really dating. The entire building is part of a romance book club now. Oh, and Cam may be on the verge of finally owning her own bakery.”
“And I lost a tooth!” Ava squeals as she runs over and smiles up at Kasen so he can see her missing tooth.
Kasen grins at her and picks her up. She looks ridiculously small in his arms. “Wow, did the tooth fairy come?”
She nods. “I got five dollars because it was my first tooth.”
“Darn! That’s a lot,” he says as he looks back at all of us. “So, I didn’t miss much, then?”
Everyone bursts out laughing.
“Come on, I’ll make you a drink and you can tell us all about where you’ve been,” Al says.
And just like that, everyone meanders over to the bar, surrounding Kasen and asking him a million questions. But Gray and I remain where we are.
“Will our story always start with the fake-dating thing?” I whisper.
“Should we start with me yelling at you about the noise?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
I press my lips together to keep from smiling. “No,” I manage after a second.
“Well, then I guess it will, but I promise you one thing,” he says.
“What’s that?” I ask as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“There’s nothing fake between us anymore,” he adds as he leans down and kisses me.
“Ewww! Kissing!” Ava yells as everyone laughs again.
“That doesn’t look fake to me,” Kasen says.
“No, Kase, that is very much real,” Al states. And then there are some more comments from other neighbors, but I don’t pay attention because I’m too busy kissing my dream guy, my very own real grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, fake-relationship, one-bed-trope, neighbor-romance book boyfriend.
I hope you enjoyed this story. If you want more romantic comedies, you can start with my Perfectly Imperfect Love Series . In Book 1, a photographer has to move in with a baseball player.