Epilogue #2
“I’m not sick,” I promise her. “I’m just really tired. I won’t be long. I just need a little nap.”
“But Mommy …” Mia’s lips pinch in.
“You’ll be okay, sweetheart. I promise to come as soon as I rest, and I won’t rest long.”
I pick up my phone off the coffee table and call my sister.
“Hey, what’s up?” Avery answers on the first ring.
“I’m wiped out. Would you mind bringing Mia to the celebration? I’ll catch up with you guys after I sleep for like a half hour. Would that work?”
“Ummmm …” Avery stalls. “I think it’s best if you bring her.”
“Why? Aren’t you going?”
“I am. Of course. But it’s her championship celebration. She wants you there.”
I look at Mia. She’s got her hands on her hips and her expression has morphed into what I call her thinking face.
“How do you know she wants me there?” I ask Avery. “And I will be there. Just a half hour later.”
“I just figured … It’s her championship.”
“Maybe Mom will take her,” I say. “I’ll see you there in a bit.”
“Hallie!” Avery’s voice carries through the phone, but I’m already clicking the call off so I can call Mom.
I pause. Maybe Avery’s right. Mia’s still looking at me with a furrowed brow and her eyes narrowed like she’s trying to solve a problem.
“Mia?” I say softly.
“Yes, Mommy?”
“Would you be sad if I took a nap first?”
“Not sad. It’s just …” Her brows draw in even further.
“Your friends will be there,” I remind her.
“I know.” Her face fully scrunches inward. “It’s just really important for you to be there this time.”
“You’ve been to Mo’s,” I say, but the fight is leaving me. Mia seems to really need me to go, for whatever reason, so I may as well give up the idea of getting a nap in.
The front door opens and Mom barges in. “There you are! What’s this talk of a nap?”
“Why is everyone acting so weird?” I say.
“Weird?” Mom asks.
Mia’s eyes go wide and she looks up at my mom. Mom’s brows draw in and she gives a slight shake of her head to Mia. Weird. Definitely weird.
“Yes. Weird. I’m tired. I want to just grab thirty minutes of sleep and catch up with you. All three of you are acting strange.”
“We’re not acting strange,” Mia says. “Are we, Nana?”
“No. We are not.”
I point between the two of them. “See. That. That was strange.”
“Get in the car, Hallie,” Mom says. “Jonathan’s out there waiting.”
“In your car?”
“Yes. My car.”
“What about my van?”
“We’re going to drive you and Mia.” She looks me over. “But brush your hair first. And … maybe wipe under your eyes. Your mascara smudged a little.”
“Weird,” I say, walking to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water and freshen up.
I stop by my room and switch T-shirts while I’m at it. When I walk back into the living room, Mom and Mia stop talking abruptly.
“Okay, you two,” I say. “Spill it. What is going on?”
“What do you mean?” Mom says, an exaggerated expression of innocence on her face.
“Yeah,” Mia says, popping her hand on her hip and standing side-by-side with Mom in a show of allegiance or conspiracy, I can’t tell which. “What do you mean?”
“Ugh. Nothing,” I say, giving up. “Let’s go celebrate you, okay? You played a great game! Your team won the championships!”
“Are you excited, Mommy?”
“Of course I am. Very excited. And proud. I’m sorry if it didn’t seem that way. I’m just tired from my work last night. But I couldn’t be happier or prouder.”
“Okay. That’s good. Let’s go celebrate,” Mia says. “I think Coach G is really waiting for us.”
I chuckle and walk out past Mom, who is holding the door open for me as if I’m about to change my mind and bolt back through the house in an attempt to stay home.
“You don’t have to kidnap me and drag me,” I say to her under my breath.
“Are you sure about that?” she asks, shutting the door behind us.
I climb into the back seat of Mom’s car. Mia sits next to me and once Mom is in the front passenger seat, Jonathan puts the car in drive, taking us out through Downtown Waterford and then out the country roads that lead to Mo’s. I close my eyes as we drive, resting for a few minutes.
“This place is darling,” Mom says as we pull up. “Just like I imagined it.”
Greyson’s Jeep is in the parking lot—and Dustin’s truck, Patrick’s sports car, and Avery’s car. There are a few other cars parked around, but not many.
“Where’s the rest of the team?” I ask. “I thought I was making us late.”
Mom mumbles something and gets out of the car.
“Let’s go, Mommy,” Mia says, smiling widely.
“I’m coming,” I say, climbing out behind her and walking toward the front door of Mo’s.
Mia’s practically skipping. She gets to the door first and opens it.
I walk up and Mia waves me in like one of those characters from Beauty and the Beast—the clock or candlestick, acting out Be Our Guest. I think, weird, but I don’t say anything.
Mo’s behind the counter. When he sees me walk in he says, “Ah! Hallie! You’re here!”
“I’m …” I look around, my crew is here. My family is here. Mrs. Kinkaid is here. But Mia’s the only player in the restaurant.
“Where is everyone?” I ask. “I thought this was a team celebration.”
“They're at the Pizza Den,” Greyson says with a broad smile.
My face draws in with confusion.
I glance over at Mia. She’s smiling one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen. Then I look around at Avery, Mom, Jonathan and my crew. Everyone’s beaming like they’re in on a secret.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
The room stills. Everyone glances around at one another.
Before anyone can answer me, Greyson steps forward, grasps my hands and drops down in front of me on one knee. My mouth pops open and I raise one of my hands to my face to cover my gaping expression.
“Greyson!”
“Hallie.” He looks up at me, a tear forming in his eye. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I gasp out. Tears fill my eyes.
“And I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of our days together, raising Mia, snuggling by the fire in the rain, building a life with each other. I wanted to ask you here, in our favorite breakfast place.” He squeezes my hand gently, rubbing his thumb over the top.
“You stole my heart in Munich. And I thought I lost you. But you came back to me. And you’ve become more than I ever imagined you would.
You’re my best friend, my safe place to land, and the woman I want to spend every waking minute with. Will you marry me?”
“Say yes, Mommy!” Mia shouts, bouncing on her feet and clapping.
“Yes!” I shout. “Of course it’s a yes!”
Greyson chuckles softly. Then he holds out a ring and slips it on my finger. He stands and draws me into his arms, placing a soft kiss on my lips.
“Ewwww! Gross!” Mia shouts, but then she’s wrapping her arms around us and shouting, “Group hug!”
Avery steps up next to us. “Group hug!” she shouts, joining in.
Then Dustin shouts, “Group hug, guys! You heard them.” And he joins the four of us, wrapping his arms around us. My mom, Jonathan, Mrs. Kinkaid, Patrick, Cody, Emberleigh, Carli, and Daisy all join in.
Then Mo says, “Aw, might as well.” And he joins the circle.
Mia squirms out of the huddle. “It’s getting hot in there!”
We all break apart, laughing. Mom and Avery lift my hand, admiring the ring. Greyson stands next to me, holding my other hand, giving it a private squeeze. My eyes lift and meet his.
Mia looks up at Greyson. “Now can I call you Dad?”
Greyson’s eyes meet mine. My throat tightens and I nod, smiling through fresh tears.
Greyson looks back down at Mia and says, “I'd like that if that's what you want.”
Mia wraps her arms around Greyson’s middle and says, “Finally. I've been waiting for-ev-er!”
The room bursts into laughter.
Avery stands next to me and says, “Man, I almost thought we weren’t going to get you here.”
I laugh. “I had no idea what you were up to.”
Mo says, “Can I have everyone’s attention?”
We all stop talking and look over at him.
“As much as I want to have you all eat my food, we’ve got an actual celebration to get to at the Pizza Den. But you can come back here anytime. Not that I’m giving discounts. I just cook the best grits in town.”
“Facts,” Greyson says.
I lean into him and he wraps an arm around me, whispering into my hair, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I tell him.
“Want a ride to the Pizza Den?” he asks.
“Me too?” Mia asks.
“Of course, you too.”
The three of us drive together, Mia in back of the Jeep and me in the passenger seat. Greyson holds my hand on the console. I glance into the rearview and then over at him.
This is my family now. Greyson, Mia and me.
We spend an hour at the Pizza Den. All the moms want to see my ring, and everyone congratulates us over and over. When we leave, Greyson drives me home so I can finally grab a nap.
That night, after dinner, he comes back to pick me up. He sent a text saying he has something special he wants to do—just the two of us.
“Are you taking me to your house?” I ask him.
“Yes. Sort of.”
“Sort of? You’re just full of surprises today.”
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he says. And that’s all he says until we pull into his driveway and he kills the engine.
He walks around the car, opening my door for me. Instead of walking me inside, he takes my hand and leads me to the guest house.
“I was thinking,” he says. “And I’m open to whatever you want. But …” He opens the door to the little house and we walk inside. “What if your mom and Henry move in here for the time being, after the wedding.”
“And Mia and I would still be across town?” I tease him.
He chuckles. “Well, I had thought maybe you and Mia would want to move into the main house.”
“She did mention that to me over dinner,” I tell him.
“She did?” His smile is instantaneous.
“Yeah. She already knows which bedroom she wants.”
“She can have her pick,” he says easily.
“My mom …” I say, carefully. “Might have another option soon.”
“Jonathan?”
“I think he’s working up to asking her.”
“I had wondered,” Greyson says. “He’s so good for her.”
“He really is. Sort of like a steady anchor to a ship at sea.”
Greyson laughs softly. “Well, she could stay out here if they’re not married yet.”
“Thank you,” I say, looking up at him.
He brushes his hand down my cheek. “Thank you.” He smiles, leaning in to kiss me. “Walk with me?”
I nod. He takes my hand and we walk out of the guest house, up the driveway, and down the road to the pond—our pond.
When we get to the water’s edge, Greyson lifts my hand, admiring my ring in the moonlight.
“Did you want to stay in town?” he asks the question in a soft voice. Then he adds, “I’d sell my house if that’s what you wanted.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No.”
I run my hand down his jaw. “I love your house. And your property.”
“Our house,” he corrects me. “It’s going to be yours now too.”
“Ours,” I say, smiling. “You make me so happy.”
“Not as happy as you have made me,” he says.
He pulls me in and holds me to himself, and we look out over the water quietly together. The smell of damp earth and the trills and peeps of frogs and crickets surround us. I snuggle into the warmth of Greyson’s arms when a breeze blows across the water.
“I’ve got one condition,” Greyson says.
“Oh?” I smile up at him. “What’s that?”
“I won’t ever share a bed with Henry Cavill.”
My laughter overtakes me. “Most men wouldn’t.”
Greyson’s laughter mingles with mine, floating into the night with the peeping of the frogs and the sound of a soft breeze through the trees.
He tilts my head up and places a kiss on my lips and I wrap my arms around him. This man who asked me for forever. But he never really had to ask. Forever has been his since Munich. I just had a few detours along the way.
“I want to marry you soon,” Greyson says, tucking my head under his chin. “Like, next week.”
I laugh and pull my head back so I can look up at him. “Next week? I don’t even have a dress.”
“We can get married in our turnouts.”
“I kind of want the dress.”
“Okay,” he relents. “What about next month?”
“Next month sounds amazing.”
“Good,” he says. “I’ve never been known for my patience.”
“I beg to disagree,” I say. “You’re the most patient man I know.”
And this time, when he kisses me, I wonder why I need a dress or a chapel or flowers. We could get married tonight as far as I’m concerned. Right here, under the moon and stars with the nighthawks and owls as our witnesses.
“Soon,” I tell him, when he pulls back from our kiss.
He smiles down at me and says, “I was right.”
“About what?” I laugh softly.
“Our bubble.”
My eyes softly shut and I open them to look up at him. He was right.
“Every day, I love you more, Hallie.”
“Never going to pop,” I tell him, allowing myself to believe him this time.
“Never,” he promises, and I know he’s the man I can trust to keep that promise.
Did you love Greyson and Hallie?