Epilogue
Four weeks later
Max
I’d been fighting all evening to keep my hands to myself—and my nervousness about later under wraps—as Harper shined her gorgeous heart out.
She looked like a million bucks and then some in a short teal dress with spaghetti straps and a lace-up open back that had my fingers itching to untie it.
She wore her gorgeous dark hair down with alluring waves cascading over her sexy shoulders.
Around her neck was a piece she’d made with a stone that matched her dress.
She wore multiple bracelets and rings as well.
Even as I stood off to the side, I couldn’t help but track her every move with my eyes, counting down the minutes till we were alone.
I and dozens of other people were celebrating the grand opening of Earthly Charm with the three women who undoubtedly would make it a raging success and a fixture on the square for years to come.
I wholeheartedly believed that. I never would’ve invested half the startup costs if I didn’t. Yes, I was crazy in love with one of them and the brother of another, but I’d gone into this financing deal with a mind to business.
The other half of their costs had shockingly come from Ian Finley, Naomi’s billionaire brother, as it turned out. The guy apparently wasn’t the aggressive bastard he’d presented himself as that fateful first night Harper and I had gone out.
The town had shown up for the evening open house in droves. For the past two-plus hours, the shop had been full of people filtering in and out, checking out the merchandise, congratulating the girls, and spending their money liberally.
Harper’s dad was perched near the checkout counter like a proud peacock. My mom and brother had left a few minutes ago, taking Danny with them for a sleepover.
Harper, Dakota, and Cambria’s friends had shown up in force, as had my dad buddies, some of them with their kids. I couldn’t count the number of my students and players, past and present, who’d greeted me, then gone on to check out the goods.
All of it made me so fucking proud of the woman I loved that I could barely contain it.
“You still haven’t wiped that obnoxious grin off your face,” Ben said.
The two of us stood close to the door to the back room, Ben holding his six-year-old daughter, Ruby, who’d tired of the crystals her older sister, Evelyn, was obsessed with.
Emerson Estes, single mom of Skyler and Xavier, had assured Ben she’d keep an eye on Evelyn since her kids were enthralled by the rock display as well.
“It’s a good night, with the potential to get even better.” I shared a look with him, as he was one of about five people who knew my secret plans.
“Have you seen any sign of Piper?” he asked.
“She’s still working away.” I glanced around to see if she’d snuck in.
“And Cash?”
“Verified.”
Emerson herded her two kids and Evelyn toward us, her phone pressed to her ear. She was involved in an animated discussion with whoever had called but broke off to say, “I need five minutes,” to Ben.
“I got ’em.” He took her daughter Skyler’s hand.
From what I could gather, Evelyn and Xavier, her son, were involved in a discussion about rose quartz and obsidian. Then my attention was drawn to Emerson, who didn’t move away as she continued her phone conversation.
“Kizzy, that’s crazy talk. No way can you turn it down.
” Emerson paused to listen, laughed. “It’s absolutely not a problem.
We’ll make it happen. For that kind of money?
You can’t say no. Nope, no more arguing.
” Another pause. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.
Yes, the chickens too. Call him back and tell him yes.
The timing isn’t a problem. Nothing’s a problem, my dear. ”
I raised a brow at Ben to see if he knew what she was talking about since she wasn’t hiding her end of the conversation. He shrugged.
“You’re welcome. Congratulations, Kizzy,” Emerson said, her face lit up. “Now hang up and call him back. We’ll talk tomorrow. Love you.”
She ended the call and looked at Ben, then me.
“Good news?” Ben asked. They were good friends, I knew. Ben had been close to Emerson’s late husband, Blake, growing up. Some Saturday nights, Emerson watched Ben’s kids during our single-dad get-togethers.
“My mother-in-law got a preemptive offer on the house for significantly over the price she planned to ask.”
“Your house?” Ben asked.
“Our house,” Emerson confirmed. “She owns it. You know that.”
Emerson and her two kids had moved in with Kizzy after Blake’s death. Skyler had been an infant, if I remembered right. Just a few weeks ago, Kizzy had shocked the town with her elopement with an old friend who lived in Vegas.
“But you still live there,” Ben said. “What are you going to do?”
“Find a place to live. ASAP,” she said with a laugh that sounded nervous around the edges. “Somehow. But first, the chickens.”
“I can house the chickens,” Ben said before she could ask.
Emerson let out a breath. “Thanks. You’re the best. One challenge down.”
“How long do you have to find a new place?” I asked.
“Oh, you know, about three weeks.” Her smile disappeared as she scrunched her face and squeezed her eyes shut.
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” I said.
“There’s no way you’ll find a place that fast,” Ben said. “Not in this town. The market’s tight.”
I nodded, remembering what Harper had said before she’d lucked into her apartment.
“Something will turn up.” Emerson’s voice wasn’t as sure as her words.
“Why don’t you plan to stay with me for a couple of months. That’ll give you a place to land and some time to look,” Ben said.
“I can’t impose like that. Not with these two.” Emerson nodded toward her kids.
Ben grinned. “I hardly think two small humans plus you will make a dent with me, two kids, two llamas, a coop full of chickens, a rooster, three horses, two dogs, and a handful of cats.”
“You, too, can move into the zoo,” I joked.
“These two sometimes smell like a zoo,” Emerson said. “Ben, I can’t do that to you.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got room. You know that. But if you need to be stubborn first and waste a couple of weeks looking for a place while packing an entire house, that’s your right. My offer will be there.”
I watched the back-and-forth, doing my best not to weigh in. It wasn’t my business, but Ben made sense.
Emerson looked at me. “Happen to know of a long-term rental that’ll take a dog and six chickens?”
I laughed. “I don’t. It’s November though. The real estate market is probably deader than its usual dead. Is it the llamas holding you back?”
Instead of laughing at my joke, she frowned, as if the llamas were indeed an issue.
“Do you have a girlfriend you could move in with?” I asked, flipping to help mode. “One without llamas?”
“The llamas stay outside,” Ben said as if we were idiots.
Emerson seemed to be thinking through options while Xavier pulled at her arm to ask if she’d buy him a crystal.
“The holidays are around the corner, your busiest time at the salon,” Ben said.
“You have two young children and a four-bedroom house to pack in three weeks. You’re more than competent, Emerson, but you don’t have superpowers.
” That seemed to get through to her as she closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and took in a tight breath.
“You can stay with us until the end of the year, then find a place without all the pressure.”
Emerson’s eyes were still closed, but she was nodding. “Yes. You’re right.” Her eyes popped open, and she pegged him with an intense look. “Are you sure?”
“Of course,” Ben said, his tone light. “It’s what I do. Usually four-legged creatures, but we can do humans too.”
“Bless you. Thank you. I accept. And now I need to get these two home.” She put her hand on Ben’s arm and squeezed in gratitude, then picked up Skyler, grabbed Xavier’s hand, and rushed off with a “Bye, Max,” over her shoulder.
I was on the verge of cracking a joke about Ben’s tendency to rescue when a look flashed over his face that stopped me. It was gone before I could blink.
“Is there something going on between you two?” I asked quietly.
“What? No. Not at all. I’m just looking after her like Blake would want.”
Before I could comment on that, Harper waltzed up to us, all grins. “You two look like the hired muscle over here.”
I slid my hand around her, to her back, because damn if I could keep myself from touching her bare skin. Harper sidled up against me and kissed me soundly, her happy, joyful energy surging into me. “It’s almost toast time. Then we’re hitting Humble’s afterward,” she announced.
No, we weren’t. But she didn’t know that. “Who’s we?”
“Dakota, Cambria, me, you, whoever else wants to. Ben, you’re welcome.”
He gestured to Ruby, who rested her head on his shoulder, as if to say, no can do, while I scanned for my sister across the crowded room.
Dakota was behind the checkout counter, helping a customer, but she caught my gaze and gave me a subtle nod and a wink.
She was my coconspirator, so she knew Harper wouldn’t be there.
In the next five minutes, plastic champagne flutes were distributed and filled with bubbly or sparkling juice. Harper headed back to the counter and her business partners, then climbed on a chair so she towered above everyone. Someone in the crowd whistled to get people’s attention.
“Thank you!” the breathtaking love of my life said as the crowd shut up. “Thanks to every one of you for coming out to support us. We appreciate you! This store was Cambria’s baby originally, but she volun-told me to do the talking tonight,” she said to a scattering of laughter.
She might pretend she wasn’t good at speaking, but once again she was winging it, and once again I knew she’d have the crowd in her hands.