Epilogue
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
Life is sweet in Sweet Haven. When it came time to choose a location for my brand-new bakery, I had a choice to make. Big city, suburb, or small town? I chose small town.
Sweet Haven doesn’t have a lot going on, but it’s close enough to Savannah to draw tourists, especially if it’s being opened by the winner of The Baking Games and the woman who’s besties with Keira Donaldson. Well, she’s technically Keira Mallory now.
And we’re not besties, per se. We are in my mind, though.
When Sadie got into her dream college in Charleston, it seemed perfect for me to open the bakery right between Savannah and Charleston. Sweet Haven was a perfect fit and holds my best memories. Plus, it was nice to leave my childhood memories behind.
Sadie got her own place close to college, but I see her all the time. It’s good for us to have our own spaces.
“To the left!” Sadie yells out as the poor sign man stands on a tall ladder trying to place our new sign.
“Here?” he calls down.
“Yes! Perfect!”
Sadie is bossy, and that is especially true when it comes to my new bakery. She wants everything to be perfect.
“Let the guy off the ladder, sis. It’s fine.”
“I can’t wait for your opening next week. You totally deserve this, Sunny.”
Yep. My sister now calls me Sunny, too.
“As long as Big Thelma isn’t working here, I consider it a win,” I say, laughing.
Big Thelma didn’t take me quitting as well as I would’ve hoped. She threw a pie at me. An actual cherry pie. I left the store looking like I’d been in a horror movie, but I smiled all the way to my car.
Maggie and I talk all the time, and she rented a place in an over-55 community in Savannah. She’s playing golf and tennis, and she just met a new man who saw her on TV and fell hard for her. I love that she’s getting another shot at her own romance.
I haven’t heard from Connor, thank goodness, but I did hear from Lainey a few times. She got a job in California, working as a full-time pastry chef for a resort. It’s the perfect job for her, and she seems happy.
The most shocking thing that happened was Rhett’s mother reaching out to us. After the show was over, she called Rhett and explained that on the day of the video chat, she got called to an emergency in the ER. Turns out, she had been waiting to chat while I was on with Sadie, but had to leave before it was Rhett’s turn.
To Rhett’s surprise, his mother’s friends were very impressed with him on the show and chided her a bit for keeping him a secret. Several of them requested that he travel to Boston to cater their parties and a few weddings. Rhett declined, of course. He said he wasn’t leaving my side.
His mother met Rhett and me for lunch in New York City right after Rhett and I reconnected at the celebrity wedding. It was awkward at first, but I think she’s warming up to me. She said she might even travel to Sweet Haven after the bakery opens. Baby steps.
“I need to run to the store to get those extra shelves you wanted for the walls. Oh, and the little centerpieces for the tables. I almost forgot!”
“You go, and I’ll finish setting up the payment system if I can figure it out.”
“Be back soon!” she shouts as she runs to my car.
I stand outside and stare up at the sign. I can’t believe I did it. I went for it, and I actually got it.
My cookbook comes out next year, and I actually have a whole signing tour. People will line up to meet me . Crazy world we live in.
As I look up at the sign, I feel arms slide around me from behind. Either the mailman is getting frisky, or Rhett has arrived.
“Hello, beautiful,” he says, pressing his mouth to my neck. Shivers run in every direction.
“Hey there,” I say turning around. He plants a kiss on me that would make most women faint.
“I love the sign!”
“Me too. It’s perfect, right?” I turn back around and look up at it while Rhett hugs me from behind.
“Absolutely perfect. It tells our story. I can’t believe you get to do this right here where it all began, Sunny.”
“It’s a dream,” I say, leaning my head back against him.
Rhett never left my side after we reconnected at the wedding. He quit the cruise line and worked at a local restaurant near where I lived. He even got an apartment in the same crummy building to be near me.
Once the money came in from the show, we decided together about Sweet Haven—me, him, and Sadie.
He adores Sadie. They fight like brother and sister sometimes, but he protects her. He encourages us to spend time together, and he always includes her.
Once we decided on Sweet Haven, Rhett applied to restaurants all over Savannah and got hired as a pastry chef at one of the top French restaurants in the south. He’s so happy at his job, and I’m happy because he’s happy.
“You know what today is, right?”
I turn and look up at him. “What?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day, Sunny.”
I totally forgot! I’ve been so busy with the bakery that it slipped my mind completely. “Oh, Rhett, I’m so sorry. I didn’t get you a card or anything. I’m a terrible girlfriend.”
“That’s why I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore.”
My heart suddenly leaps into my throat. He’s breaking up with me on Valentine’s Day? Dear God, could my luck with men get any worse?
“Wh… what?”
Before I have time to consider my next move, Rhett lowers himself onto one knee and holds up a turquoise-blue ring box.
“Savannah Greene, I’ve never met a more perfect woman in my life. You encourage me, challenge me, and make me laugh. Most importantly, you love me in a way I didn’t know was possible. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
Oh. My. Goodness.
I can’t form words because I’m sobbing.
“Um, my knee is starting to hurt, so an answer would be good,” Rhett says, his face contorting in pain.
I laugh. “Yes! Yes, I will marry you!”
I jump up and down as he stands up and slips the most beautiful diamond ring on my finger. He holds my face in his hands and kisses me deeply the way only he can do.
Suddenly, Sadie comes running from behind his car, squealing like a stuck pig.
“Congratulations!”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, sissy, who do you think helped him plan this? I was never going to the store!”
In all the days I’ve lived, there’s never been a better one than this one. Standing in the parking lot of my new bakery with my fiancé and sister, I realize that families are made of parts and pieces.
Sometimes, you don’t have all the right pieces right out of the gate. Instead, you assemble them over a lifetime. But if you don’t give up, when the puzzle is complete, you’re left with a tapestry of love that can’t be broken.
“I love you, my Sunny girl,” Rhett says, hugging me tightly.
“I love you too, Rhett.”
The sign guy turns on my sign to test it, and we all smile. Nothing tells our story quite like a hippopotamus wearing sunglasses. “Sunny’s Sweets” is ready for business.