EPILOGUE—Four months later
Alex couldn’t believe it was April already. Four months since getting together with Brody, and they were still going strong. Being in love was a lot easier than she thought it would be.
In January, Brody purchased a house on five wooded acres.
He spent his days working there and his nights wherever Alex was.
His vlogs gained in popularity every day, and advertisers lined up to pour money into his channel.
He’d started traveling again, but with a much lighter schedule—one week, sometimes less, of each month.
His first book would be released in December.
After Brody’s commercial and follow-up vlog, the waiting list for Whispering Pines was over a year long.
Alex had been able to raise the rents to cover the losses from the previous fall and the costs associated with upgrading all the cabins.
To get ready for the summer, she purchased bicycles, paddle boards, and more canoes, laid the foundation for half a basketball court, and made plans for a second rec cabin.
She gave Lauren a raise and left her in charge whenever she traveled with Brody. Which was often. They’d already been to wine country in Italy, stayed at a beautiful beach resort in Fiji, and taken an Alaskan cruise.
Pops told her that Blossom had been green with envy to learn Alex was seeing the world, but Alex took no joy in one-upping her mom. In fact, she’d reached out to try and smooth over their relationship, but Blossom hadn’t been receptive. Yet.
Violet came to visit often. She and Pops had become fast friends, and she was even talking about moving to Green Valley Falls.
Daisy survived the winter and seemed overjoyed when her flock migrated back.
Holly was due in May, and as a last hurrah before the baby came, they planned a trip to Boston. Maddie even flew in for the weekend, completing their sextuplet.
Nick, Brody, and Cole did their own thing while Alex and her girls shopped and got pedicures. They met the men for dinner and then headed to TD Garden for one of the last regular-season Celtics games.
Their crew took up an entire row. Brody had been weirdly adamant that he and Alex sit by the aisle. She acquiesced without giving it much thought, figuring he just wanted easy access to get in and out.
At halftime, Ken—the same announcer who’d run the three-point contest several months prior—took to the microphone.
“We got a little somethin’ different to kick off tonight’s halftime entertainment,” he said. “One lucky fan will be chosen at random from the audience for the chance to win a special prize.”
“I don’t know, Alex,” Tess said. “Getting picked twice seems unlikely, even for you.”
“Fine with me,” Alex said. “I’d rather go out on top anyway.”
“All right, we’re looking for section twelve…” Ken said.
“So far, so good,” Faith said.
“…Row ten…”
“That’s us too,” Maddie said.
“…Seat number…two!” Ken finished dramatically.
Alex was intently focused on the tray of nachos in her lap and only half listening.
“Alex!” Juliet said. “What seat are you in? I think it’s you again.”
“It is you, babe,” Brody said, pointing to the number on the arm of her chair.
“No way,” she said. “Even I don’t believe I’m that lucky.”
Brody pointed to the Jumbotron, which was zooming in on her stunned face. “Come on,” Brody said. “I’ll go with you.”
She passed the nachos to Holly for safekeeping, and they made their way down the stairs and onto the court. Brody waited on the sideline while Alex walked out to where Ken stood.
“Hey. I remember you. The three-point queen. Tell everyone your name again.”
“Alex,” Alex said. “I’m a little rusty on the threes, Ken.”
“Hah.” Ken laughed. “Well, I have good news then. Today, all you have to do is answer one question.”
“Celtics trivia?” Alex asked hopefully. She knew tons of useless facts about Boston’s team. Maybe she could win again.
“You’ll get no clues from me,” Ken said cryptically. “Come stand right here.” He led her to one of the free-throw lines. “You ready?”
Alex glanced to the sideline at Brody, who gave her a thumbs-up and a smile.
“Lay it on me,” she said.
“Okay. The question will appear on the Jumbotron. Take your time answering.”
Alex craned her neck to look up at the ginormous four-sided screen above her head. It showed live video of her and Ken and then abruptly switched to a static image, which read, “Alex, will you marry me?”
It took a second to register, but realization caused her jaw to drop.
She looked to where Brody had been standing, but he wasn’t there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement and glanced down to see Brody, on one knee, holding up a small black box, opened to show a beautiful—and big—diamond.
She clapped a hand over her mouth. A proposal was kinda sorta on her radar. Things had been going great with Brody, and she thought the summer might bring such a thing, but was still stunned. The crowd started chanting, “Say yes! Say yes!”
“It’s a yes or no question,” Ken said. “Should I have put a time limit on it?”
The hopeful look in Brody’s eyes was slowly turning to panic. She was taking too long. Of course she wanted to marry him. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest as she took a step toward him and nodded empathetically.
The stadium erupted as Brody stood and swooped her into his arms, swinging her around, her legs dangling like a windmill.
The whole scene was straight out of an eighties rom-com, and cliché as hell, but she didn’t care. Nothing could dampen her excitement over the fact that this man was going to be her husband.
“The crowd appears to approve of your answer, Alex,” Ken said. “Looks like you’ve won again.”
Brody slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her. The screaming throng fell away when Brody pulled back and stared into her eyes.
“He’s got that right,” she said so only he could hear.
“I’m the one who’s won,” Brody said with a wink. He grabbed her hand and held it up in victory. Smiling and waving at the cheering fans, they walked off the court.
When they returned to their seats, her best friends engulfed them in hugs, laughing and crying and congratulating them.
“That was ballsy, Collins,” Alex said once everything had calmed down and they were seated again. “What would you have done if I’d said no?”
“Was ‘no’ on the table?” he asked in horror.
Alex shook her head and smiled. “Didn’t even cross my mind. And I love the go-big-or-go-home vibe.”
“I have a confession,” he said. She raised both eyebrows, and he continued. “I’ve been talking with Sylvia. From the writers’ group? She explained ‘grand gesture’ to me and helped me pull this off.”
“I forgot about them,” Alex said. “We fell right into their trap, didn’t we?”
“We sure did.”
“You don’t think our story’s going to end up in a book, do you?”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” He laughed before turning serious. “Everyone thinks you’re lucky, but you’ve made me the luckiest man alive.”
“You know how much I love to win. But in this case, I’m happy to call it a draw.” She winked. “I love you. And I can’t wait to spend a lifetime with you.”
The End
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