Bonus Epilogue
Five years later
Andie was a hot mess.
Was it possible to be a happy hot mess?
What about a happy, exhilarated, overwhelmed hot mess?
That pretty much nailed it.
If that wasn’t a big enough pot of screwed-up soup, she was also harboring a secret.
She sagged in the passenger seat of Clay’s truck as he drove them back toward San Amaro. They’d spent the past few hours at her college graduation ceremony, then gone to dinner with Clay’s parents, his sister and her significant other, and of course Payton.
Her handsome husband reached across the cab for her hand. When she looked at him, he took his eyes off the road and smiled at her. “So damn proud of you, Andie,” he said as he returned his attention out the windshield.
She squeezed his hand. He’d told her that countless times, but she wasn’t sick of hearing it.
She was damn proud of herself.
Her, a high school dropout, a girl who’d drifted aimlessly for years, who’d lived her life in a nomadic way with zero long-term commitments…
She’d earned a degree in biology, landed a job as assistant director of the aquarium on the mainland, and had been married to the hottest firefighter in the department for nearly five years.
In some moments, she was so proud she could burst, and then others? She nearly hyperventilated with the panic of her immediate future.
She’d handled school while becoming Payton’s full-time stepmother and working part-time at the Shell Shack, but could she handle even more than that? Because—she sucked in a deep, terrified breath—she was getting ready to take on so much more than that.
“How’d it feel to walk across that stage?” Clay asked.
“Surreal. It went by in a flash, and I hardly remember it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got video.” He laughed. “You’ll be able to hear our family yelling for you.”
Andie leaned her head against the headrest and smiled. “It was sweet of your parents and Bridget and Reid to come. And to take Payton with them for the drive home.”
“The quiet is nice, isn’t it?”
“Especially after being stuck in a building with bajillions of people all day. It’s going to take me a week to recover.”
“Better than an outdoor ceremony.” He glanced at the dash. “Going on eight p.m. and it’s still ninety-two degrees.”
“Thank God for air conditioning.”
She closed her eyes, basking in the cool air blowing on her, in the quiet, in the break from chaos, even if it was only for one day. She started her new job the day after tomorrow.
Not thinking about that tonight, she coached herself, fighting off the nervousness.
A few minutes later, when she sensed they should be nearly home—to the duplex they’d converted into a single-family home—she opened her eyes and frowned as she took in their surroundings.
“Where are we going?” she asked. He’d missed the turn-off to their street.
“I promised Macey I’d bring you by for a hug and to show her the video of you getting your degree.”
“At the Shell Shack?”
“Unless she got a third job I don’t know about.”
“I think you mean fourth job. Between the Shack, her nonprofit, and their daughter, she has three.”
“Or four if you count Derek,” Clay said, laughing.
“My husband is a dream, not a job,” she said, laying on the sugary sweetness extra thick, making him laugh as she’d hoped. “Are you sure we can’t wait till tomorrow to hug Macey? They’re probably super-busy at the bar.”
“She specifically ordered me to bring you by before we go home. Maybe she has something for you. I don’t know,” he said vaguely.
Macey was one of her best friends. She’d been disappointed there was a limit on tickets to the graduation ceremony, but then the bar owner had ended up needing to cover for someone tonight, so she wouldn’t have been able to make it anyway.
As much as Macey, Selena, Faith, and the other department wives had supported Andie over the years, she could spare a few more minutes for a celebratory hug.
Clay pulled into the crowded lot just as another vehicle backed out.
“Look at that,” he said, turning into the space. “Destiny.”
They laughed. It just so happened the parking space was the very one where he’d rammed into Andie’s beloved Harley all those years ago. They’d joked about the sacredness of that specific space over the years. If he hadn’t hit her bike, who knew if they’d ever have gotten together.
“No wrecking into anything tonight,” she told him.
“Don’t need to. I got my girl.”
They shared a loving look as he cut the engine.
Andie flipped open the mirror on the visor to make sure she was presentable as Clay got out of the truck.
She didn’t often wear makeup, but in honor of graduating from college, she’d used mascara and eyeliner today.
The heat and her sweat had faded out the liner a bit, but her face was mostly intact.
Clay opened her door and held out a hand for hers like a noble gentleman, making her smile as she gazed into his beloved eyes. As her feet landed on the pavement, he leaned in and kissed her.
She caught the back of his neck, pulled him in for another, then said, “Sure you don’t want to go straight home for alone time before your parents show up with Payton?”
He growled. “Tempting but not enough time. They left at the same time we did.”
“Your dad drives slow though…”
“I’ll be taking my time with you later tonight, Mrs. Marlow.”
“I’ll hold you to that, sexy husband.”
They walked toward the open-air bar, the din of a good, Saturday-night crowd finally registering in her ears.
“Looks like a busy night,” Andie said. “Some of the guys are here.”
Penn, Rafe, and Evan stood together inside the bar, watching their approach. When Andie waved, they nodded nervously, making her wonder what was up with them.
Clay took her elbow and directed her to the counter to their right. Andie scanned behind the bar for Macey, expecting her friend to be too busy to notice her. Macey’s eyes were locked on her though, and her hand was up in the air, lifting with each beat of what seemed to be a silent countdown.
Before Andie could process anything that was happening, everyone in the place yelled, “Surprise!”
“Oh. My. God,” Andie said, her hand on her chest as she took in the crowd. She glanced up at Clay, catching him mid-wink with Macey. “Clay?”
“Happy graduation, Andie,” he said, squeezing her in a side hug and kissing her temple.
“Did you do this?” she asked him in disbelief and shock. Before he could answer, she turned back to the crowd, realizing she knew every single face that was staring at her with a happy grin.
“I might’ve had some help,” he said.
Macey came around the counter and hugged her. “Happy graduation, my friend.”
“I’m… How… You guys… I can’t believe you did this. This is for me?”
“Of course it is,” Macey said. “Private party. Didn’t you see the sign out there?”
“I missed it.” She’d been too distracted by their special parking spot and the memories it had evoked.
Something collided with Andie’s side. “Mom! You made it! Happy graduation!” Payton said.
Andie hugged her stepdaughter, then allowed Clay into the hug as well. “I can’t believe this. Were you in on it too, Pay?”
The nine-year-old nodded. “I promised not to say a word so you’d be surprised. Are you surprised?”
“So surprised,” Andie said, laughing. “Surprised and happy and so very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.” She kissed the top of Payton’s head, then kissed Clay. “Come back here, Mace.” She hugged her friend again.
“Love you, girl,” Macey said. “Congratulations again. You made it.”
God knew Macey had listened to her whine about homework countless times, some of those sitting at this very bar during a slow shift in the off-season.
Before she could say more, Mercedes and Nadia came up to her, doling out congrats and demanding hugs. They were closely followed by two of Clay’s sisters and their significant others, then his parents.
Andie was drawn into the heart of the place, stunned by everyone who’d shown up to celebrate with her.
Clay made the rounds with her, with Payton at their sides as well.
Most of the people Andie was closest to from the fire department were here, with only a couple on duty.
The crew from Turtle Town was here, as were the neighbors they were friendly with.
Gus, Derek’s uncle, and his wife, Thelma, had shown up, as well as several other regulars from the bar.
“This is incredible,” Andie said to Clay when she had three seconds to breathe.
“You only graduate from college once,” he said. “Probably. Unless you change your mind on the doctorate?”
Andie lovingly swatted him in the abdomen. “Not anytime soon. Probably not ever. I’m studied out.”
She’d given heavy consideration to a doctorate program in marine biology with the goal of becoming a researcher, but besides not wanting more years of school and more loads of debt, she’d finally decided that wasn’t her goal.
She loved marine animals, the sea turtles still her favorites, but standing in a lab for hours on end wouldn’t be her happy place.
Andie was on her third soft drink, mingling on the patio where there was more of a breeze, when Daniela, her friend from classes who’d connected her to the director of the aquarium, came up to her.
“Hey, you,” Daniela said, dragging Andie in for her nine hundredth hug of the evening. “Congratulations, Andie!”
“Thank you!” Andie said. “I can’t believe you came. It’s good to see you.”
“Pshaw. I just live on the mainland. Not a big deal at all. This is so great,” she said, taking in the crowd. “Sorry I’m so late but I didn’t get off work till nine.”
“No apologies. Thank you for coming.”
Daniela had another semester to go, and then she was planning on grad school, likely on the East Coast.
“Are you stoked for your new job? When do you start? Monday?”
“Monday,” Andie confirmed. “Thanks again for putting in a good word for me.”
“You’re going to kill it,” Daniela said.