Epilogue
James
A Year Later
“James!” my aunt exclaimed as Hallie and I walked through the door. “We have your usual table ready.”
“You need to stop saving that table for the two of us, Aunt Maria,” I said, leaning across the hostess stand to kiss her cheek. “There’s a line out the door.”
“We will always save your table, James. The two of you are family.” Aunt Maria reached over to squeeze my chin between her thumb and forefinger. “I’ll let your father and Tony know you’re here. And you look as gorgeous as ever, Hallie.”
Without hesitation, she pulled Hallie into a hug, and Hallie melted into her arms like she’d always belonged.
After we’d made up, the Rossi clan had welcomed Hallie back without hesitation.
They’d seen the magic between us and kept their faith in us when it looked like there was no coming back.
They claimed her as one of their own from the start and the Rossis never gave up on family.
“Is Nonno in?” I asked, as Maria led us to a small table nestled near the window between the dining room and the kitchen.
It was the only one draped in white linen. The others all wore our famous red-checkered cloths. A single candle flickered at the center of our table, casting a soft glow.
“I thought we said no candles,” I teased as I pulled Hallie’s chair out for her.
“Your Nonno insisted,” Maria said, her voice sweet and a little smug. A twinkle shone in her eyes that made it clear this had been planned long before we arrived.
I glanced toward the kitchen to see Lorenzo, where he appeared less and less these days as he enjoyed a proper retirement.
His trusty peel in hand as he pulled pizzas out of the brick oven and replaced them with fresh ones.
Once the restaurant had gotten busy enough to afford double the staff, my grandmother convinced my grandfather that it was okay to let go.
When he did, he finally let my dad and uncle take full control of the business, just like everyone had hoped. But the surprise came when he handed me something more.
After Hallie and Roxie’s glowing review brought the restaurant a flood of attention—mentions in major critic columns, a few national lists, even a short feature on a travel food show—I finally asked to be more than just the grandson who helped out when he wasn’t stuck in finance meetings.
I wanted to be part of it for real. To have skin in the game.
My grandfather, who never gave anything away lightly, pulled me aside and offered me his stake in the company.
When I wasn’t busy building something great with Theo Drake and Rooster, I was here, helping the pizzeria cement its legacy.
Now Lorenzo spent his mornings meeting up with his friends at a coffee shop down the street, and his evenings hosting poker nights in the dining room.
“James. Hallie.” Brandon appeared at our table.
He was still working at the restaurant waiting and bussing tables, but after expressing an interest in the business side, my uncle and father gave him a seat at the table so he could learn the ropes.
“Do you want your usual? It’s on the house tonight, per Nonno. Congratulations, by the way.”
Hallie gave me a soft smile.
“Thanks, Brandon. The usual would be great. Where’s Emilia?”
“She has practice tonight. Are you guys coming to her game this weekend?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Hallie told him.
My cousin bowed his head before disappearing into the kitchen where I could see him speaking with our grandfather.
“How would you feel about a night cap at Whiskey Locker?” I reached across the table to take Hallie’s hand in mine.
I couldn’t believe the stroke of luck I’d had with Hallie Woods.
How she’d swept into my life like a storm that I’d originally pegged only for destruction.
But what I didn’t realize was that she was making me a new man.
Stripping away all the hard-headedness I’d tried to disguise as commitment to my job.
“I think it’s only right that we end the night there. It is where it all started, after all.”
“I think Sebastian will probably be at our usual booth tonight. He sent me a congratulatory text message. Honestly, I was surprised that he remembered what today was.”
Brandon stopped by to drop off one of the pizzeria’s best bottles of wine and a bruschetta platter, one of Hallie’s favorites. “Nonno said to bring antipasto by the table before the pizza. So that should be out soon.”
“Thanks, Brandon.”
Hallie didn’t hesitate to dive into the bruschetta, sighing contentedly as she bit into the toasted bread. But she waited until my cousin had disappeared back into the kitchen before lowering her voice and continuing. “Well, Sebastian has made some very noticeable changes as of late.”
I raised an eyebrow as I reached for the bottle of wine and filled her glass. “And I wonder why?”
We shared a knowing look, laced with something close to amusement.
“I think he’s trying to prove something,” she said. “Like maybe he’s finally realizing that he can’t keep skating through life charming everyone and everything around him.”
I leaned back in my chair, watching her. “Do you think Roxie gave him some kind of ultimatum.”
Hallie hesitated, then gave a small shrug. “Knowing her, probably. But not in a dramatic way. More like … a quiet line in the sand. She’s not one for games.”
“She doesn’t seem like she’s into him,” I replied.
“That’s the point,” Hallie murmured. “She’s trying not to be. Roxie doesn’t trust people who are too smooth, and let’s be honest—Sebastian is practically bottled and labeled ‘ for short-term use only ’.”
I laughed, but Hallie’s expression stayed thoughtful.
“She likes him,” she added. “I know she does. But she also knows better than to fall for a guy who says the right things but won’t show up when it counts.”
I considered that. Sebastian had always been good at the chase with his easy charm, desire for low stakes.
But lately he’d been different. Asking about Roxie when she wasn’t around.
Turning down dates with women he would’ve casually flirted with six months ago.
Even his wardrobe had shifted—less flash, more intention.
“And what if he means it this time?” I asked. “What if she’s the one who makes him want to show up differently?”
Hallie gave a small smile, the kind that didn’t quite hide the worry beneath it. “Then he’s going to have to earn it. Roxie’s not a girl who falls for words. She waits for actions. And if he messes it up …”
“She’ll shut the door for good,” I finished.
Hallie nodded. “Exactly.”
There was a beat of silence as we both stared into our glasses, the candle flickering between us.
“There’s the couple of the hour!” My father, appearing rarely on the dining room floor, stopped at our table. “Happy anniversary to you two.”
“Thank you, Giacomo.” Hallie accepted my father’s hug.
My father had gotten onboard with my plans for the restaurant after seeing an uptick in foot traffic after only a few weeks of Hallie and Roxie’s review being live.
He immediately put out job ads for a new social media manager and asked for Hallie’s help in vetting the perfect candidate.
Hallie had helped him find Eliza, who had just graduated from college after majoring in marketing.
She had her finger on the pulse of the social media trends and had gotten a few posts to go viral within her first month on the job.
And the rest was history.
Rossi Pizzeria had embedded itself firmly back into the very fabric of the New York food scene. In under a year, it appeared on almost every tourist-oriented list of top places to visit in the city, and it continued to draw local customers.
“Thanks, Dad,” I told him when he turned to give me a hug next.
“Hallie, are we still expecting your family next Wednesday for family dinner?” my father asked. If I had known the two of us would be subject to multiple rounds of questioning from my family, I would have picked anywhere other than here for our anniversary dinner.
“Yes! They get in this weekend.” Hallie smiled up at my father, completely unbothered that my boisterous family had no sense of boundaries. “They are excited to meet everyone. It’s been a while since they’ve visited the city and with my sister’s baby, I’m sure it will be eventful.”
“Eloise is excited to have a little one around for a few days. I’m sure she will be more than happy to take your niece while you show your family around.”
Thankfully, he spared us from any pointed looks. Hallie and I had only been dating a year, and we were both focused on our careers, which were at their peak. We still had time to think about everything that came after. We were taking things slowly and enjoying each milestone of our relationship.
My father clasped his hands together. “I’ll let you two enjoy your anniversary dinner. If I don’t see you before next Wednesday, I love you both.”
“We have more than just our anniversary to celebrate.” Hallie lifted her wineglass in my direction. “I believe congratulations are in order for you. Officially official, now that the resignation letter has been sent in.”
“Now we just have to hope Rossi Equities lasts longer than a year,” I joked as I clinked my glass against hers.
“It will.”
Hallie’s undying faith in me was part of the reason that I had finally mustered up enough courage to take the next step—again.
I wasn’t walking away from Rooster entirely.
Not yet. I’d shifted into more of a consulting role while Theo and I searched for someone to take my place full time.
It was Theo, after all, who gave me the space and confidence to figure out what I wanted—to think about what kind of legacy I actually wanted to build.
While I’d helped Theo get the new division of Rooster off the ground, I think he saw that I was itching to claim something that was fully my own.
He was the one to approach me and suggest I look into chasing my dreams.
I hadn’t realized how rewarding it could feel, investing in a small business that just needed a little capital and the right kind of belief to grow. Those days were my favorite. It cut up the monotony of making lucrative business decisions.
I’d learned from the best about taking risks in your career after watching Hallie leave Sophisticate , which was once her dream company, only to achieve far greater things than she ever would have if she’d stayed. If she could do it, why couldn’t I?
“You said you had an interesting email today?” The nerves were growing as the little box in my pocket pressed into my thigh, reminding me that it was there.
“I did.” Brandon stopped by again, this time with the pizzas. Each hand-thrown and fired by my grandfather. “Someone from Odd Hour Films, that production company, emailed me about an idea for a series they’ve been thinking about. Something about eating around the world.”
“And they want you for it?” My excitement was almost uncontainable. This was more than Hallie had ever imagined—getting to become a figure in the food industry.
“They said I’m on the short list.” Hallie was trying her best to keep her own enthusiasm under control.
“Hallie!” I really wished I’d decided on that home-cooked meal instead. “That’s amazing. You are more than deserving of it.”
“I’m trying not to get my hopes up in case they don’t pick me.”
“They’ll pick you.”
Now it was my turn to show Hallie my undying faith in her.
“I’m going to show you just how proud I am of you when we get home.
” A deep red colored Hallie’s cheeks as she glanced around to see if any of the surrounding tables had overheard me.
But I didn’t care if they had. I’d climb to the top of the Empire State Building and announce my love for Hallie Woods if I could.
“James, this dinner is enough of a celebration.”
“Well, there’s more.”
“We already gave each other our gifts,” Hallie protested.
She was right. We’d exchanged gifts at my apartment before leaving for dinner.
I’d surprised her with tickets to Mexico, her number one bucket list destination, so we could hop all over tasting some of the best food the country offered.
While Hallie had gotten me hand-blown whiskey glasses imported from the province in Italy my family came from with “Mr. Old Fashioned” inscribed on them.
“There’s just one more.” I pulled the box from my pocket. It was a little square box that fit in the palm of my hand. But what lay within it carried more weight than the plane tickets I’d given to her earlier.
Hallie glanced nervously between me and the box in my hand before she reached out with trembling hands to take it from me. For a moment, I thought she’d give it back to me before she even opened it. But after steeling herself with one big inhale, she lifted the lid on her box.
“This is a folded-up piece of paper,” Hallie deadpanned.
“It didn’t feel right just asking you or handing the piece of paper to you. I had to dress it up a bit.”
“And give me a heart attack in the process?” She rolled her eyes. “You and I both know there are only a few things that come in little boxes.”
“I wanted to watch you squirm, just a little,” I admitted with a mischievous smile.
As she opened the note and read my hastily scribbled question, I held my breath.
“Wait, are you serious?”
“Roxie’s moving out, and I know you aren’t looking forward to finding a new roommate.
So I thought, what if you just didn’t? And we moved in together instead?
” I never thought I would be this nervous.
I’d even rehearsed this moment in my head earlier today, but nothing prepared me for her big, brown eyes staring at me while the moment continued to stretch between us.
“You’ve got me on the edge of my seat here, Hal. ”
The corners of Hallie’s lips pulled upward and the nerves that had been about to spill over subsided. “As long as you make room for my wine glasses next to your whiskey glasses.”
I stuck my hand out across the table for her to shake. “You drive a hard bargain, Hallie Woods. But you have yourself a deal.”