Epilogue
Lou
One year later…
“Is it everything you imagined?”
I turned, finding Frankie standing beside my chair. I could’ve answered her immediately, but instead, I took another glance around the dining room at the inn. Ivory cloths. Flickering candlesticks. Bouquets of white roses and lilacs. My and Wade’s wedding was everything and nothing like I’d imagined.
It was the intimate elegance like I’d seen on the magazine spread… only better. Better because it was Frankie’s candles that lit the table and Max’s blooms that colored every vase. It was Jamie’s craftsmanship that built the table itself, and Kit had promised us a wedding portrait to memorialize the special day.
It was better because it was Mom’s fruit spreads layered into our wedding cake and a little bit of Harper’s honey drizzled on top. And because the champagne flutes Wade and I drank from were made by Nox. They were the very first set of glasses he felt were good enough to sell—or give as a wedding present .
It was better not only because of my family but because of Wade’s, too.
Ever since the whole truth came out, Joanna had surprised us all by deciding to stay in town. It seemed Wade wasn’t the only one who realized that Blaze needed the space to figure out his own life now that he was a father.
“It’s better.”
My sister smiled wide—extra wide because she was holding back tears. She was also holding her stomach because she and Chandler were pregnant again. Logan was getting a baby brother.
“Love always is,” she said and sighed, finding her husband’s gaze from across the table. And then Gigi called to her. “Oh no,” she groaned. “They’re going to try and recruit me to their club. Help me,” Frankie begged through the smile she’d pinned to her face.
I covered my mouth and laughed. “Sounds like a you problem.”
Joanna and Gigi had started a Canasta Club that met weekly at the inn, the two of them manning the reception desk for a few hours while they played so Wade and I could go out. They were actively recruiting new members. Or holding them hostage, depending on who you asked. Harper didn’t seem to mind joining in a game every once in a while, but she was facing her own challenges at her bee farm.
Even after Wade stepped in with some legal help, the online backlash from the smear campaign had lingering effects. But Harper had nothing if not grit, and in a lot of ways, I’d seen how the struggle had matured her. She wasn’t going to give up fighting for her dream even when things got tough.
“Seriously, Lou?—”
“Frankie, come down here,” Gigi ordered with another frantic wave.
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” I murmured encouragingly, watching her drag her feet to the far end of the table.
“Everything okay?” Wade wrapped his arm around my shoulders and nuzzled the side of my neck.
“Perfect.” I turned to him, his mouth instantly claiming mine in a deep kiss.
For quite some time, I’d waited for the day when his kisses would stop spinning my head. For when the heat wouldn’t sweep me off my feet and make my limbs melt into Jell-O. That day still hadn’t come, but I wasn’t waiting for it anymore.
There was a high-pitched shriek, and we pulled apart. Everyone’s attention turned to the living room where Blaze chased Paisley around the chairs. His daughter had beautiful, golden curls, the most adorable laugh, and her father’s eyes. Blaze caught up to her and scooped her into his arms, spinning them around.
“He looks good. They both do,” I murmured.
We didn’t see too much of the famous actor. After returning to his real world, Blaze finished his rehab program and went through the lengthy legal process to get custody of his daughter, Paisley’s aunt fighting him tooth and nail along the way. The entire time, he’d been filming his latest movie.
Sometimes, Wade wondered if the coma changed his brother. If it reset something in his brain chemistry while he was sleeping. But then I had to think that maybe Blaze’s coma had changed the people around him. It changed how Joanna and Wade saw him. How they treated him. How they thought they had to be there for him. And I wondered if it was the change in them that allowed Blaze room to finally grow into the person he wanted to be.
Or maybe, it was the smiling little girl in his arms. He certainly looked at her like she’d changed his whole world.
“Yeah,” Wade agreed and then went tense, seeing Blaze take a call on his cell.
I put my hand on his leg. “He can handle it.”
Blaze carefully put Paisley back on her feet and ushered her over to Joanna so he could step outside to take the call. As the little girl ran to her grandmother, I caught the tail end of Harper’s stare following Blaze as he disappeared. She still harbored a crush on him, but surprisingly kept her distance whenever he was around. Though sometimes, the way Blaze looked at her made me wonder…
“I know.” Wade took my fingers and squeezed. “I’m proud of him for handling it.”
Wade was still learning he couldn’t jump in and save his brother from whatever media scrutiny was headed his way. After Blaze left Friendship, Wade gave him Mikey’s phone number, effectively pulling him out of the loop unless something legal had to be done.
Unfortunately, Blaze’s new life wasn’t providing the usual fodder for tabloids. The things they did print had become harsher. And according to Blaze, they were starting to print things about Paisley, and that was where he was going to draw a hard line.
“I wish he’d come up here more. I think Paisley would like it.”
“I suggested it…” Wade trailed off. What he wasn’t saying was that Blaze hesitated because he knew what happened wherever he went—he knew who followed. In the city, it was easier to hide in the masses.
“Excuse me, everyone,” Frankie stood, clinking her knife onto her glass of water. “I’d like to make a toast.”
“Oh no,” I murmured, and my twin only smiled wider.
“To Lou. Everyone always thinks that I led our way into the world with my personality and pranks, but the truth is, you’ve led me,” Frankie began, my eyes tearing as her voice trembled. “With your patience. Your graciousness. Your kindness and selflessness. You’ve led us all, and this whole time, I’ve only ever been trying to catch up to your goodness. When you do something, you do it right. Whether it’s making lattes at The Maine Squeeze, turning Kit’s stack of untouched artwork into a booming gallery, or transforming a forgotten inn into a cherished landmark, you always do it right on the first try, which is why I’m happy to see that for once, you took some of my advice when it came to love.” Her watery grin turned into something mischievous as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “You lied and cheated and stole your way into Wade’s heart, and I couldn’t be prouder of you for it.”
The entire table burst into laughter. My brothers shook their heads because… only Frankie. Mom and Gigi hugged each other and then Joanna, and my cousins chuckled and nudged each other.
When everyone quieted, Frankie shifted her attention. “And to you, Wade, because you won the Kinkade with the best heart.”
Everyone lifted their glasses, but it was Wade who claimed my focus, his mouth finding my ear as he murmured, “The bravest heart.”
I turned, losing myself in the love in his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“To Mr. And Mrs. Stevens!”