Epilogue
F our weeks later, Olivia surveyed the private party room at Barclay’s Steak House with a nervous knot in her belly.
Everything looked perfect—the wooden tables were covered in white linen and accented by mason-jar centerpieces, the buffet line was set up and waiting for dinner to be served, and all the guests had arrived.
All except Jake’s sister and one of his cousins, who were stuck in traffic. Probably the only traffic Cypress Valley had ever had.
“Jake just pulled in. He’ll stall until he gets the signal, but it can’t be too long,” Noah said, slipping up beside her. He’d been keeping an eye on the parking lot.
Olivia fidgeted and checked her phone again.
Olivia: Are you close??!!!!
Ashlyn: Two more lights! Are they there?
Olivia: They’re outside, on the left side of the parking lot. Come in the front door and tell the staff you’re with us. Hurry!
She chewed on her lower lip and tried to breathe slowly. This was the hardest secret she’d ever had to keep from her best friend. Well, except for the fact that Jake had a ring in the first place, but really, the two things went together.
Minutes ticked by, and finally, the door to the main restaurant opened. Two flustered young women dashed inside.
“Did we make it?” Ashlyn asked.
“We parked next door, just in case,” Brooklyn added. She was slightly out of breath. “I ran the whole way.”
“Just in time,” Olivia replied, relieved. She nodded at Noah, who pulled his phone from his pocket and typed in a message.
“Should be any second now,” he said.
“Alright, they’re coming in! Everybody ready?
” Olivia called, raising her voice above the murmur of conversation.
Everyone she could think to invite was there—Jake’s immediate family and cousins, Jake and Lexie’s coworkers, Robin and Kate and Conner.
An eerie hush fell over the guests, and it was so quiet they could hear the thump of a car door just outside.
Suddenly the side entrance swung open, and Jake ushered Lexie in ahead of him.
“CONGRATULATIONS!”
Olivia joined in the deafening shout, and beside her, Noah and Conner whistled loudly enough to lift the roof from the building.
Lexie looked shell-shocked. Both her hands flew to her face, and Olivia saw the glitter of an engagement ring on the left side.
Well, times they are a-changin’ , she thought, and she felt a sting at the corners of her eyes.
This was exactly what her best friend deserved: a man who loved her, a new family who welcomed her, and a crowd of people who wished her well.
It had been a long time coming, but life had found a way to work itself out after all.
“Don’t get weepy on me now,” Noah whispered close to her ear, and Olivia wiped the moisture from below her eye, careful not to smudge her makeup.
“Shut up, Campbell. I can cry if I want to.”
Olivia was refilling her drink when one of Jake’s cousins sidled up beside her almost an hour later.
“So, do you know the bride or the groom?” the young man asked, and Olivia recognized the glint in his eye. This was a man on a mission.
“Both,” she said vaguely.
“And do you have a name?”
“Yes.” She raised her glass to her lips and took a sip.
“Care to tell me what it is?”
Olivia tried to suppress a smile but failed; this conversation was starting to remind her of another one.
She glanced toward where Jake and Lexie were talking to one of their guests.
Beyond Jake, she saw Noah sit up a little straighter in his seat and scan the room, almost like he could sense a disturbance in the force.
“It’s Olivia,” she answered politely. “And you’re a Tanner.”
The young man’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he smiled. He was cute, though a little too “cowboy” for Olivia’s taste.
“A Walker, actually,” he corrected. “But that’s a technicality. I’m Jonah, one of Jake’s cousins. ”
“Nice to meet you, Jonah,” Olivia offered. “I’m Lexie’s best friend. I’ll probably be the maid of honor.”
“Oh, really? Well, I’ll probably be a groomsman, so you’ll get to boss me around.” He flashed a smile that at one time might have made her belly flutter, but this time it did next to nothing. The poor boy was simply too late.
Olivia laughed, more at the irony of that thought than at Jonah’s words.
If someone had told her she’d be head over heels by graduation, she’d have said they were crazy.
She still had a lot of dreams to chase before she settled down, and so did Noah, but there wasn’t a person alive she’d rather do the chasing with.
“So, what did Jonah say that was so funny?” Noah asked after the party was over.
His eyes were on the box of centerpieces they were packing away, and Olivia could tell he was pretending not to care about her answer.
She placed the last two jars alongside their fellows and bumped him gently with her hip.
They were the last two people in the room, the other guests having found their way to their cars long ago.
“He told me I could boss him around,” she said flippantly, and she saw Noah’s face grow dark.
“Did he now?” he muttered.
Olivia leaned back against the edge of the wooden table and gave him a wicked smile. “Why, Noah Campbell, are you jealous?” she teased.
He grumbled something unintelligible, which made Olivia laugh happily. She reached out and hooked her finger through one of the belt loops on his jeans before tugging him over to stand in front of her.
“Do you want to know what I told him?” she asked.
The crease in the center of his forehead grew deeper. “Of course,” he replied.
She narrowed her eyes and regarded him with suspicion. “It’s a secret. Can I trust you?”
“I’m a vault, remember?”
“That skill has been tested.”
“Only by you,” he retorted. “What’d you say?”
She smiled and rose to her full height. Then she looped her arms around his neck and pressed up on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. “I told him I’m already in love with someone,” she admitted.
Noah’s arms came around her waist. “Oh, really?” he whispered.
“Yeah. It’s hard to resist Conner James.”
Noah reared back, his nose wrinkled in disgust, but Olivia tightened her hold and laughed. “I’m kidding, Campbell. There’s no one but you. As hard as that is to believe.”
“There’d better not be,” he grumbled, though she felt him relax into her arms.
Olivia waited several moments, but when he didn’t say anything else, she jostled him slightly. “Aren’t you going to say you love me, too?” she prompted.
The corners of Noah’s mouth quirked up. “I told you yesterday.”
“Yeah, and?”
He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Do I have to tell you every single day? That’s a lot of days. ”
“It’s only a lot of days if you’re lucky,” she countered, and he brought his gaze back down to hers with a smile. Then his arms slid further around her waist until they were sharing the same breath.
“I loved you yesterday, and I love you today, and I’m pretty sure I’ll still love you tomorrow.”
Olivia raised one eyebrow. “Just pretty sure ?”
“Completely sure,” he amended.
“Good. Now say it again.”
“I love you.”
“No, the other thing.”
He let a full grin creep across his mouth. “What thing?” he asked, his voice full of false innocence.
Olivia prodded him in the ribs. “You know what thing,” she answered.
Noah chuckled and inclined his head until his mouth hovered against her ear, and then he whispered the words she wanted.
“As you wish.”