Epilogue
Mccoy
Six months later
“Everything came together like it should. I’m proud of you, baby,” I said to Saturn as I looked around the remodeled shop.
She’d been working so hard to make sure the shop stayed up to par.
The new colors of the walls and many new additions had been exactly what the shop needed.
Saturn had won the competition that night of the festival and used the prize money to make necessary upgrades.
The biggest thing she’d been struggling with was coming up with a new name.
She still wanted her grandmother to be a part of it, so she’d been going back and forth between a few names.
The name she finally settled on was Perfect Blooms and I felt like that was a good choice.
If Saturn passed the shop down to our children, they wouldn’t have to go through the struggle of changing the name unless they wanted.
“Thank you. My parents said it fit. They left right before you pulled up,” she explained.
“Was Aaron with them?”
“Nope. I called him and he was somewhere with Ava. Apparently, they’ve been spending more time together lately.”
The night of Saturn’s party, I’d caught Aaron looking at Ava a few times.
I didn’t say anything about it, just because they’d known each other so long and I wasn’t sure what kind of bond they had.
But from man to another, I knew the look Aaron gave Ava wasn’t brotherly.
A few months ago, Saturn had called Aaron and she heard Ava in the background.
It wasn’t until then that I inquired about the two of them.
Saturn refused to tell me everything, but she confirmed that Ava and Aaron had indeed had relations.
I wasn’t sure what they were doing, but I knew for a fact they always seemed to be together these days.
“Well, maybe they’ll walk down the aisle shortly after us.”
“I doubt it. We’re getting married next year and Ava is being tight-lipped about what they have going on. At this rate, Justin and Sapphire will be getting married before them,” Saturn joked.
To my surprise, Sapphire had let Justin in just a little bit.
It still wasn’t enough in my opinion, but it was enough to keep Justin around.
He still barely knew anything about Sapphire’s personal life, but they talked on the phone often and hung out whenever she could get a babysitter.
Their relationship was something Justin didn’t bring up and I figured it was because he still lingered in limbo.
I’d listen whenever he wanted to talk, but I wouldn’t press him about it.
At the end of the day, he was a grown man who made his own decisions.
“I don’t know about them either. My money is on your brother and Ava.”
Last month, I took a chance and proposed to Saturn over a private dinner.
Part of me wanted to go all out and have a public proposal, but just in case she said no, I chose to do it privately, so I wouldn’t be embarrassed.
Saturn assured me that she was just as into me as I was to her, but people changed every day.
Since the day of the festival, I hadn’t heard anything from Carmen and I couldn’t be happier about that.
“I’m not putting my hard-earned money on either of them,” she laughed.
“Only time will tell.” I shrugged. “But finish showing me around. My parents will be here any minute now.”
Since the first time they set foot in Pleasant Springs, my parents and Stacey had been here damn near every month.
I was happy to have them around more often.
Stacey thought I didn’t know she was looking at apartments here, but I let her think she was being sneaky.
Having my sister here full-time would only make me feel even more complete.
Moving to this small town had proved to be the best decision I ever made.
I’d found the love of my life and my business was thriving.
I was able to provide for my fiancé and that was most important to me as a man.
Saturn would be going back to school in the spring and I didn’t know who was more excited out of the two of us.
She’d been able to hire two more people and that took even more weight off her shoulders.
Now, all she had to do was focus on the backend, but Saturn was too hands on not to be on the floor from time to time.
Whenever the shop had a rush, Saturn threw that apron on and got to work.
One of the many new additions was the candle section Sapphire contributed to the most. Saturn had a lot of the candles at both of our homes and I had to give it to Sapphire because they smelled good.
They were scented but not too overpowering.
“How long you planning on being here?”
“Not too much longer. Everyone who wanted to see the shop has seen it. I’ll be going home in less than an hour,” Saturn told me.
“Okay. I’ll be there once I get my parents settled. Don’t be in here all night, baby. I know how you get.”
“I won’t. I’m ready to get home and lay up with you.”
This was what I now lived for. Not just any love, but sweet love from Saturn.
The End