Epilogue #2
Together, we’ve spent the last four months getting the business together and ready to open.
J&J Café is everything I ever dreamt it could be.
I designed it all myself, from the interior décor to the appliances, and obviously the menu, which I’ll be changing up regularly. And James helped me make it a reality.
He’s been handling the business side, though by no means has he taken it over.
Mainly, he’s just helping me learn about it, sort of like a silent partner.
And I have to appreciate the hell out of him for that.
Because business has never really been my forte.
But it comes easily to James, since he ran his own business for years.
A successful one, at that. He could easily just take the reins, but instead, he’s patient and supportive.
He’s actually a really good teacher. Just one of his many talents.
He also helped me hire my staff. Six servers for a rotating schedule, a sous chef, and two additional cooks to help me and make it so I don’t have to work all day every day, and just a few more people for cleaning and whatnot.
It’s crazy to think I have people working for me… And I’m not even twenty years old yet!
But I believe I can do this. And with James’s help, we can’t lose. We make a great team… We always have.
On top of all the exciting things happening with the café, James is going full speed ahead with his garden. The dude has a very green thumb.
It’s been so successful in yielding fruit and some vegetables, we’ll actually be using a lot of the produce in our cooking at the café. Talk about fresh ingredients.
I’m just loving life right now. Living the dream here in our tropical slice of heaven.
“Okay, so which was your favorite, from each course?” I ask James, pencil in hand, ready to jot down some more notes.
I need to make sure I’m choosing the best options for the tasting.
James gives me his list of favorites, and I have to agree with him on most of them. We spend the next hour finalizing it, and I give the list to Sean, my sous chef, who’s going to prep everything.
By the time we’re done, the sun is setting, and James and I head outside, bidding farewell to my home away from home for the night.
Our place is walking distance from the café. It’s fully amazing. It’s ten minutes on foot, but still. The weather right now is perfect, and our favorite thing is to walk around with the ocean breeze brushing our skin, holding hands while we chat and decompress from the day.
Once over the bridge, with our house in sight, James tugs me down a side street, and I give him a peculiar look. “Where are we going?”
He has a mysterious little smirk resting on his lips as he hums, “You’ll see.”
This man is full of surprises… It could be stressful, if he weren’t so awesome at making all of my dreams come true.
The quiet street leads us down to the water, a few yards from our little stretch of beach. James brings me along a path, to an inlet. It’s a purely stunning sight.
Tropical plants and flowers everywhere, the tranquil sound of the water. Beneath some trees, he stops me, holding my hands in his. He faces me, biting his lip with his stormy eyes resting on mine.
“What do you think?” His brow cocks.
My gaze moves around us, and then I blink up at him. “For what?”
“Do you like this spot?” He ignores my question, asking his own.
“Yea,” I huff through an obvious grin. “It’s beautiful. Aren’t we on someone’s property, though?”
He chuckles. “This is town property. This little spot right here, beneath these trees… I think it’s the perfect place.”
I swallow hard. “Perfect place… for what?”
“For us to get married.” He beams.
My heart is immediately racing. We haven’t talked much about our actual marriage ceremony in the last four months. We’ve been pretty preoccupied with getting the café ready. And really, we’ve just been enjoying being engaged.
It’s not like we have to worry about inviting people to a big wedding, or having a fancy ceremony. We both agreed it makes the most sense for it to just be us. Maybe even have a small reception party thing at the café afterward, with the staff, who are now my friends…
I think it could be fun.
But still, it’s all been just talk… Until now.
Now, he’s standing here, eagerly gazing at me, awaiting my confirmation about this spot… As the location for our wedding.
I’m floored. But excited. Actually, I’m brimming with anticipation.
And I think it shows, because James chuckles and grabs my face, brushing his soft lips over mine.
“Do you love it?” he whispers, and I nod.
“I love it,” I rasp.
“Do you want to get married right here?” he asks, sealing our bodies together while the ocean breeze rustles our hair.
“I do.” I grin wide, and he laughs some more.
“Good. Meet me here this Saturday evening.” He presses a kiss on my mouth, but my head is spinning.
“This Saturday??” I gasp. “As in… three days from now??”
He nods with confidence. “Mhm. As long as you say yes, baby… I can’t wait to marry you this Saturday, right here in this beautiful spot.”
My eyes creep open and I stare at him, admiring the hell out of this amazing man… The man who raised me, who brought me up, who taught me everything I need to know about life and the world…
Who will spend the rest of our lives teaching me, and loving me, and supporting me…
Being my husband.
“I want you to open that café married to me,” he says, his deep rumbling voice packed to the brim with so much love and devotion, it almost brings tears to my eyes. “I want us to move into this next phase of our lives… betrothed.”
I cackle out loud. “Betrothed? I’ve literally never heard you say that word.”
His smile is brighter than the moon over the sea. “I never had a reason to say it before.”
Biting on the inside of my cheek, I nod. Fast and frantically. “Yes. I can’t wait to marry you… right here. On Saturday. I can’t wait to dive headfirst into this awesome life with you, James McCallister.”
He lifts my left hand, kissing my finger. “I can wait to put my ring on you.”
“You’ll be stuck with me…” I smirk, and he kisses it.
“I’ve been stuck with you since you were two years old, Jesse.” He chuckles, and I squint at him. “The best thing that ever happened to me.”
I nod. Because he’s right.
From the sadness, and the devastation, we were able to make joy. Out of the forbidden, we found forever.
The End.