Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
CARA
Isat between Gabi and Summer at the Claus Towne Bar.
In one back corner of the space, there was a six-foot tall, freshly cut evergreen covered in wildly blinking colored lights.
In the other back corner, where space had been cleared and a mic had been set up, Nick and Mason stood chatting with Sam, the manager, about the upcoming Christmas-themed trivia event.
“I can’t believe Mason outed Nick’s hidden talent to Sam,” I said to Summer. “The man is supposed to be on vacation with me, not working as the host of Christmas trivia night.”
Summer leaned over to the chair beside her, where she’d insisted I set Snowy, the little white fuzzball who was the light of our life, in her backpack cat carrier. “Mommy’s just cranky because she wants all of Daddy’s attention for herself. But Daddy gives good trivia, so—”
“Do not say perverted things to my kitten or I’ll separate the two of you,” I admonished her.
“She’s not wrong though,” Gabi said unhelpfully. “And besides being good at it, he loves it.”
I smiled. “Yeah, he does.”
Besides, I couldn’t hold anything against Mason, given the way he’d always supported me and my art.
The minute Nick had told him that Buddy and Sue were hosting an official unveiling of Mother Tree, Mason had rearranged his entire holiday schedule to be here.
And the debt I owed him for that paled in comparison to what he’d done for me by bringing Nick into my life.
As if he felt me staring at him and thinking sexy thoughts, Nick glanced at me and winked. My stomach still got fluttery when he flirted with me.
Summer drummed her fingers on the table. “You need to either stop glowing like that or help the rest of us find zaddies of our own.”
“Speak for yourself,” Gabi said. “Some of us are interested in younger men.”
I didn’t mention I’d seen her and my brother flirting almost constantly since he’d met us here in Klosston yesterday.
“As for you,” Gabi told Summer, “I think Sam’s about Nick’s age. And he’s cute in a nice, Midwestern kind of way.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Summer narrowed her eyes as she assessed him.
Poor guy didn’t stand a chance. Not that he would want to. I’d caught him checking out Summer when we’d arrived ten minutes earlier.
“And Mason is looking pretty fine himself, these days,” Summer said. “Decisions, decisions.”
“I’m going to pretend I did not hear you thinking about seducing Mason,” Gabi said. “Our Mason.”
“Well, he was our Nick before Cara jumped his bones,” Summer said. “And he still is, although he’s off my menu of choices now.”
Nick and Mason shook Sam’s hand, then headed toward us.
“Behave yourselves,” Gabi whispered.
“It’s all set,” Mason said as they joined us. “Trivia starts at ten. Sam’s excited to add it as a new attraction. And karaoke will be at eleven.”
“That’s a late night.” I grinned at Nick. “You up for that, Geezer?”
He shot me a wicked look that said I’d pay for that later. The form of payment he extracted was one I was always happy to pony up.
“Just in case, we’re signed up to be first for karaoke,” Nick said.
Gabi clapped her hands together. “Tell me the two of you have planned a duet.”
“We have,” Nick confirmed. “It’s a Christmas number.” He fake whispered, “Care’s a little pitchy, but I can carry her.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Keep that up and I’ll make you carry me over to the inn.”
He opened his arms to me. “Climb on up.”
“Where does a man your age get the energy?” I asked.
He arched an eyebrow, ready to tell me.
Gabi cleared her throat to interrupt our conversation, which was about to turn obscene. “We all need to go get ready for the big unveiling. If we’re late, Cara’s mom will kill us.”
Nick shrugged. “Not me. She loves me. But I don’t want Cara to miss a minute of her party.” He reached for Snowy’s carrier.
Summer pushed his hand away and picked up the backpack herself. “No. Snowy is staying with Aunt Summer tonight. The things that poor kitten would probably see, locked in a small hotel room with the two of you.”
Summer walked between Mason and Gabi, and Nick and I fell in behind them.
“If only she knew the things Snowy’s seen us do in every room in our house,” Nick said to me, but not quietly. “Especially that thing you like in the kitchen.”
“Gross!” Gabi said.
“Yeah, we all had dinner at your house last weekend,” Mason said.
Summer glanced over her shoulder and winked at me. “But also, go you!”
An hour later, Nick and I were running late.
He was fumbling with his tie and I was rushing to apply mascara without making a smudged mess of it.
Neither of us could stop grinning, though, because the reason for our delay was that the thing I loved so much in the kitchen at home was the same thing he’d done to me for the first time a year ago in this very room.
This afternoon, the second we’d closed the room door, he’d backed me up against it and had performed a remarkably accurate reenactment.
I stood and put my hands on my hips, waiting for Nick’s assessment.
He whistled. “Wow. You’re stunning, Care. No one man should be as lucky as I am.”
He told me some version of that nearly every day, whether I was spending the day in sweats and a messy ponytail, or putting on my new blue dress that fell just above my knees and had a plunging neckline reminiscent of the dress I’d borrowed last year for the HEAT holiday party.
“Give yourself more credit than that,” I said. “There’s serious skill involved in keeping me as happy as you do.” I sauntered up to him and ran my hand down the smooth material of his suit jacket. “And being a silver fox doesn’t hurt your cause.”
“There’s not that much silver.” He stared at my mouth as he spoke and I could almost see the calculations in his head as he determined whether he had enough time to show me his skills again before we joined the party.
“Down, Tiger.” I backed up a few inches, then touched his temple. “And there’s a little bit of silver. But I love it. Turns out I have a serious kink for zaddies.”
“Plural?” He playfully slapped my ass.
I bit my lower lip. No. No, we did not have enough time to do the things I wanted to do to him right now. “Just one,” I promised. “And we have to leave the room this minute or we’ll miss every event we have scheduled today.”
He pressed his large, warm hand into the small of my back and guided me to the door. “Not a chance. This is your day to shine, and we’re not going to miss a thing.”
By the time we exited the elevator on the lobby level, the large space was filled with a vibrant, noisy crowd.
As people recognized me as the woman of the hour, the crowd parted like the Red Sea to let us through.
It was more daunting than I’d expected as people shook my hand and hugged me and snapped photos as we passed.
I was glad to for the comfort of Nick’s strong hand on my back.
We spotted my parents and were on our way to greet them when Summer and Mason emerged from the crowd.
“Look at you two,” Summer said, her eyes wide. “No wonder people are snapping pictures like they’re paparazzi. You look like Hollywood royalty or something.”
Mason hugged me. “You look gorgeous.” He pointed to Nick and clapped his back. “And you clean up pretty good yourself.”
“Stop flirting with me,” Nick said. “You’re making me blush.”
“You know,” Summer said, still glancing between Nick and me, “you two could make a super-hot porno. You look so good together, people wouldn’t even believe you’re amateurs.”
I shook my head. “How do you come up with these things? And why do they not get filtered out between your brain and your mouth?”
Summer waved her hand in the air. “I might have had a couple of glasses of champagne already and it might be loosening my inhibitions.”
Mason grinned. “Wouldn’t you need to have inhibitions first?”
Summer grinned at him.
I looked around the room. “Have you seen Gabi?”
“Not since we left the bar,” Summer said.
“Cara, Nick!” My mom’s voice floated over the crowd.
“Best behavior,” Nick, Mason, and I told Summer at the same time.
Mom hugged each of us, including Mason, whom she’d only met yesterday.
But if he was Nick’s friend, he was her friend, and Dad’s as well, despite my ex’s attempts to paint Nick in a terrible light.
The image of the monster he’d tried to conjure had disappeared the day they’d met the real Nick, when we’d shown up at my parents’ house to make Christmas breakfast last year.
“Have you seen Jake?” Dad asked. “He texted he’d be late, but I thought he’d be here by now.”
I glanced at Summer, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. So, I wasn’t imagining that it was weird that Jake and Gabi were both MIA.
Sue rapped on a glass with a spoon, and when the noise in the lobby quieted to a low hum, she announced that it was time for everyone to move the library for the formal unveiling, I glanced around the crowd one more time and finally spotted Gabi on one side of the room and Jake on the other.
It was a valiant effort on their part, but I didn’t believe for a minute they’d come late to the party from different places.
The ceremony was a short but heartfelt one. Buddy introduced me. Then he and Sue did the honors of dropping the curtain that stood in front of Mother Tree, who now rested on a pedestal I’d made for her out of reclaimed metal.
Sue asked me to say a few words, which led me to talk about my mother’s life as the inspiration for the piece.
I called Mom up to join me, and we were both crying by the end of the short talk.
I wiped away tears and smiled once more for the cameras while the mayor, who was Sue’s cousin, Jerry, handed me the key to the city.
It was two feet long and shiny silver, and I was sure it had been minted just for the occasion.
Jerry spoke, then introduced the head of a local charity that was benefitting from the proceeds of this reception and the next event at the church.