Epilogue
LUCY
“Are you ready to face the lions?” Miles asks as we stand on his grandparents’ porch.
It’s an old farmhouse on the outskirts of Sisters.
There are a couple of cows in the front pasture, a golden retriever standing between us, breathing heavily, and a beautiful horse trying to get our attention.
It’s a storybook place, and I’m scared to walk in the front door.
We were invited for the weekend, and it will be the first time we’ve been around his family since we decided to keep this marriage real. It’s been seven weeks since the camping trip.
“I guess we don’t really have a choice, do we?” I reply nervously. “Do you think they’ll hate me?”
Miles pulls me into an awkward hug—the golden retriever is still standing between us—and kisses the top of my head. “If you feel uncomfortable at all, you just say the word and we’ll leave. But my family loved you when we were camping, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one doing the worrying,” I mutter against his chest.
The front door swings open, and we jerk apart to turn and look at Goldie, who’s standing there grinning at us. “Should I come back another time?”
I bite back a nervous laugh. Goldie steps forward and flings her arms toward us, pulling us into an attempted group hug.
The dog wiggles his way in as well.
“I just knew it would work out perfectly.” Goldie sighs as she finally lets us go.
“Coming here for the weekend?” Miles asks.
“No, you two figuring out that you actually love each other.”
Miles and I look at each other, startled by this. I’d told him about blurting out the truth to Felix during the camping trip so I’m not sure if she means from that point on.
Goldie drags us inside. “I’ve known since Ainsley proposed to Lucy for you. Who do you think gave her the idea?”
Miles scrunches his brows together and looks at me. “I think we’ve been had.”
I’m not sure whether I should laugh or feign anger at the family’s manipulations.
“You realize that we probably had this coming…” I admit to him.
“True…”
“And we were the ones who tried to trick them,” I remind him.
His shoulders relax. “I’m still tossing Ainsley in the pool tonight.”
“I’ll hold her feet,” I promise him. She was a sneaky, manipulative stinker if she thought she could trick us into getting married.
Although, it worked. And I’d go back and do it all over again. So maybe I should be thanking her.
We follow Goldie into a large living room with matching couches that are full of Miles’s family members. Andrew and Lillian are here. Ainsley, Karis and her boyfriend, Holden. Ben and Kelly. But someone is missing.
“Where’s the baby?”
“Oh, she’s with Felix!” Kelly says. Just then, Felix walks around the corner holding the baby. There’s a suspicious smear of chocolate on her face.
“Grandpa, have you been feeding her cookies?” Ben asks with a laugh.
Felix looks guilty. “She asked! What was I supposed to do, say no?”
“Penny can’t talk. How did she ask?” Kelly asks shrewdly.
Felix grimaces. “Fine; she pointed. But I still couldn’t say no.”
Penny grins at the room, as if announcing that she is well aware of the power she has over her great-grandpa.
“I’ll remind you of this when she won’t go to sleep at midnight,” Kelly threatens good-naturedly.
Miles and I sit down on a loveseat together as we watch the exchange.
“Oh, that’s all right,” Felix says. “We’ll enjoy a good cup of coffee together. I don’t sleep much at night anyway.”
Penny grins at him and pats his cheek as though she’s sealing the deal.
“She’s going to be drinking coffee and sneaking Grandpa’s pipe by the time she’s three. I’d put money on it,” Miles whispers to me.
I press my lips together to keep from laughing at the image of a little toddler sitting at a table with her great-grandpa, smoking a pipe and playing chess.
“Ben and Kelly are going to have to keep an eye on her,” I whisper back.
“More like keep both eyes on Grandpa.” Miles grins.
Felix makes his way over to an open seat close to us just as Lillian turns from where she was deep in conversation with Karis.
“Oh my goodness, I didn’t even hear you two walk in, and there you are!
” She leaps up and crosses the living room to give each of us a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you guys came!”
She returns to her seat next to Andrew, and Felix clears his throat. “You know, when I heard everyone’s plan about getting you two together…I thought it was the worst idea I’d ever heard of.”
I glance at Miles, and he raises his eyebrows, as though he’s long suspected this of being true.
“But then I met you Lucy, and you couldn’t even lie to me. I knew then that you were perfect for Miles. Not to mention an all-around good egg.” He reaches over and pats my hand that’s lying on the arm rest.
“We have an announcement,” Goldie says as she claps her hands together.
The chitter chatter dies down, and we all focus on Goldie.
“I know I’m missing half my grandchildren, but Felix and I will make sure to tell them. As you all know, we have been so excited for our grandchildren to get married and start having families of their own. So excited, in fact, that we put a bounty on it.”
There are some nervous laughs throughout the room. I have no clue where this is going to go.
“And we know exactly who the winner is,” Felix cuts in. He’s smiling at Penny. “We want to give it to Ben and Kelly. We consider you as just as much our grandkids. And Penny, our first great-grandchild. We should have named you the winners of the bet the day you got married.”
Oh, dang it. I’m going to cry. It’s the sweetest thing. I look at Ben and Kelly. There’s a tear sliding down his cheek, and Kelly is clutching his hand. I know it’s the fact that Felix and Goldie love him that means more than money ever could.
Miles jumps to his feet and begins clapping. The rest of the family joins in, slapping Ben on the back, whistling, and hugging Kelly.
“You don’t have to pay us—” Kelly starts to say.
Goldie cuts her off. “We know you’ve been wanting to buy a house. We’re selfishly hoping that we can help you buy something close to us.”
Now Kelly looks like she’s going to cry as she starts nodding.
Penny is perfectly oblivious as she sits on Felix, who’s sneaking her another piece of Hershey’s chocolate.
I sit back down next to him and meet his gaze. “It’s perfect.”
He nods and says quietly, “I knew you would understand. It’s why I’m so glad you’re part of this family for real.”
The couch shifts as Miles sits down next to me and drapes an arm around me. “Out of curiosity, when did you decide you liked Lucy?”
Felix smiles. “When I first met her. I haven’t seen you so happy and content in years, Miles. She’s good for you.”
I look at Miles. “And here I thought he was going to say it was my honesty. I’m disappointed.”
Felix laughs. “You’re both horrible liars. If you’d been auditioning for a play…well, you wouldn’t have been picked.”
“I think I’m disappointed now,” Miles says with a chuckle as he stares down at me.
“I guess we can’t fake it anymore.” I lean against him.
“Every time we kiss from now on, it will have to be for real.”
“What a shame,” I murmur as Miles lowers his lips to mine.
He wraps his other arm around me and pulls me against his chest. “I love you, Lucy Granger. With all my heart.”
“Have I ever told you you’re the best roommate I’ve ever had?”
He kisses me again.
“Oh, and I’m going to love you forever. So you better get used to me.”
Miles throws his head back and laughs at that. And it’s a sound that I’ll be happy to hear the rest of my life.