Epilogue
Stella
“ T his place is beautiful!” Sawyer says as I walk her and the rest of the girls through the kitchen.
Miles was giving everyone a tour of the house now that they had all arrived, but he and the rest of the guys got sidetracked the moment they saw his new gym, so he asked if I would continue showing the girls around.
After taking them upstairs to see the master bedroom and bathroom of my dreams , we made our way down to the kitchen, where I showed them my favorite room in the house.
Over the last few months, as they were finalizing the details of Miles’ house, he asked for my input on a lot of the rooms. But I was most excited when he asked for my help with the kitchen. I mean, he said it made perfect sense for me to decide since I use the kitchen the most, and I completely agreed—although I didn’t expect the choices I was given to all be dream appliances that made me wet just thinking about them being in our kitchen.
That still feels weird to say, but it’s something I’m slowly getting used to. After we finally committed to being together and told those around us, we ended up moving in together. Well, I moved in with him, permanently. We talked about maybe looking for a new place that would be just our own, but I wasn’t ready to give up the place that brought us together.
Or his kitchen.
“Isn’t it? I’m in love with the way it turned out,” I say as I admire the beautiful kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, finished off-white granite counter tops, and sage green cabinets straight from a vision board.
“Did he let you help him design it?” Gwen says as she grabs a water from the fridge.
“Yeah, especially here in the kitchen,” I laugh. “He let me make all the decisions in here, which is why I’m so excited to finally get to use it to make something.”
“Yeah, he’s not much of a cooker,” Sawyer laughs.
“And my brother is?” I smirk.
“Fair point. Rex has a couple of things that he will make but if we want variety, I have to do most of the cooking,” Sawyer says right as the guys come into the kitchen.
“Why does it sound like you ladies are talking shit?” Cade says with a smirk as he takes the seat next to Gwen before pulling her onto his lap.
“Because they obviously were,” Harris says as he walks in with a beer in hand.
“Us? Never,” Ellie adds with a giggle.
I feel arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me up into a warm, solid body, and I know it’s my Miles. Leaning into his embrace, I look around at my brother and his friends as they go back and forth with their women—all jokes, of course—and I feel so blessed, so happy. In this moment, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting for independence, fighting to prove I could carve out my own path, so much so that I didn’t stop to realize I’d been doing it my entire life. My parents, my brother, hell, even my friends, have always been nothing but supportive of my dreams. But somehow, I’d convinced myself that if they helped, it wasn’t my achievement. In fact, in hockey terms, they were playing shorthanded, doing everything they could do to break through my walls—but I was tough.
That was until Miles. He bulldozed through my defenses with his help, never taking no for an answer, but he always made me feel in charge. And then he scored, proving just how sneaky he could be, but that was exactly what I needed. I needed to be taken down by surprise, hit with a penalty kill I never expected, one he delivered flawlessly. I’ve been so thankful for him every day since then.
Looking around at our friends, now all paired up—some dating, others engaged or married with kids—there’s one thing that stands out.
Everyone is so happy and in love, and we’ve created a sort of family that I’m so proud of. A mix of family, some by blood, but most by choice. I can’t believe we’ve all been so lucky to find each other.
“What’re you thinking, baby?” Miles says as he whispers in my ear.
“Just how happy I am,” I tell him, looking at my brother and Sawyer next to me, who are now married and expecting a little boy. I couldn’t be more excited to meet him, although I think Rory takes the cake for being the most excited. She squealed so loud I heard her from the elevator.
“Me too, baby,” he says, kissing my neck before pulling me back.
“Get a room you two,” Rex says from next to us, his eyes full of love, and I know my brother is happy for me—even if he’s constantly giving us shit.
But I wouldn’t expect anything different, especially after he and Max went through something similar when Rex fell for Max’s sister, Sawyer.
“I own this entire house. I am in my room,” Miles says from behind me, and I laugh.
“Fuck off, man,” Rex laughs, winking down at me.
All of a sudden, I hear the sound of a pop, and Trevor and Ellie start pouring champagne for everyone—apple cider for Sawyer, of course—and we all start grabbing a glass. Once they’re all passed out, I’m shocked when it’s my brother raising his in a toast.
“When I moved home years ago, I was in a shitty place, with my daughter and my family—you all included—doing everything they could to hold me together. Back then, I never expected that I’d be standing here in a room full of my best friends, all in love and with little ones crawling around—or growing,” he says, smiling down at Sawyer, who looks at him like he hung the moon. “I love you all, even you, Henderson, even after you broke the rules with my baby sister. In all fairness though, I couldn’t handpick a better partner for any of you, and I thank you all for being on my team. Cheers to the next twenty years with all you fuckers by my side.”
Glasses are clinked and hugs are shared because we really are all one big family. It doesn’t matter the distance—we are always there for each other. Since I’ve been with Miles, I’ve realized it doesn’t matter where we are in the world, whether it’s in New York, Nashville, or somewhere else random.
When we are together—we are home.