Epilogue
Afew months later, on a gorgeous late spring day, I married my best friend in the very gazebo we had our courting ceremony in.
Adrien and Vance were there of course, standing right by our side, as our friends and family gathered around to watch our vows. Their happiness and pride radiated through our bonds the entire time.
Of course, Riley and I had naturally conspired against them, making the reception we’d held under a big white tent in the green a full pack bonding celebration. Front and center, next to our cake, was the courting gift we’d received from the town, our pack picture.
Riley, in true fashion, had picked out all of our outfits. Yes, that included the dress. Although, to be fair, he narrowed it down to three options and from there I had a fitting with both of our moms, Autumn, and Lindsay to pick which one I wanted. The damn beta was so good I had a hard time choosing which one was my favorite.
Ultimately, I went with one with an off the shoulder sweetheart neckline that clenched around my waist before dropping dramatically into a flirty high low situation. By the looks my pack had given me all night, I knew it had been the right choice.
“What are you thinking about, Peach?” Vance asked as he led me around the dance floor.
“Everything,” I said with a happy sigh. “I never thought I’d have this. And now that I do, it’s beyond my wildest expectations.”
He hummed happily, pressing a kiss to my temple. “That’s what you deserve every single day. Even on the inevitable hard days, we’ll always find our way. Together.”
“I love you, Vance,” I said once the song had ended. “Let’s go find our pack.”
I found our men at one of the high tables, drinks in hand, ‘Ol Beatty just leaving.
“You’ll never guess who is coming back to town?” Riley hissed in a low voice, looking over his shoulder.
“Do I want to know why it’s such a big deal that Beatty’s granddaughter is moving back to Holiday Hollow?” Adrien asked. “Has she been on one of those shows you’ve been having us watch?”
A laugh escaped me. As much as our refined Frenchman could admit, we had totally corrupted him with reality competition shows.
“It’s about time Summer came home,” I said, scanning the crowd for a particular face I knew I wouldn’t probably find before saying in a lower voice. “Does Cole know?”
“There’s no way,” Riley said. “Beatty just found out today.”
For Hollow’s sake that was going to be one hell of a show when he found out.
We’d grown up with them both, although they were a bit younger. Summer was almost like a younger sister to me. Instead of staying in town like Riley and I opted to do, they both chose to go to college in the city. Only Cole came home less than a year later, and Summer never did. Of course she had one huge secret that I’d tried multiple times to get her to confess.
Riley and I had only found out about a month ago on one of our catch up calls, and if she hadn’t promised to come clean soon, begging us to let her be the one to break the news, I wouldn’t have been able to keep it to myself.
At least with her moving back home, it was only a matter of time until that little revelation came to light. And when it did, there were sure to be explosions.
“Okay, enough Hollow drama for one day,” Vance said. “I believe we have a dessert bar to polish off and one more group dance to be had before we need to leave so that we can make our flight.”
“Flight?” Riley and I questioned together, looking between Vance and Adrien.
“It’s your wedding,” Adrien said. “I know we’re not the most traditional pack, but it only seemed fitting to take a trip following.”
“But you’re coming too right?” I clarified.
“Yeah, you better be coming too,” Riley said, looking rather put out.
“Of course we are,” Vance said, pulling Riley to him and smoothing the furrow in his brow. “Don’t be bummed, beta. There will be plenty of times in the future you can try to pull one over on us, but for now just enjoy.”
“Seven days with nothing but the four of us on a private beach,” Adrien said, his seductive tone making me squirm.
“Thank you, alphas,” I said excitedly, knowing our packmoon would be one to remember.
We sped our way through the desert bar, which of course had the truffle Adrien had dedicated to me along with the cordial he’d made for Vance, and his newest creation inspired by Riley. It was of course called un feu after his firecracker and was filled with the most delicious ganache and hint of spice. It might have had nothing to do with his scent, but it was still all him.
My cherry limeade cupcakes were there, along with the spring cookies that were Riley’s favorite. For Adrien, he had ended up inspiring my new best seller, a bourbon and smoked caramel brownie.
We’d talked about potentially combining our stores one day, but for now they were separate. Although, Adrien did agree to make some of those fancy boxes like the one he’d given me for our production line. They were already selling like hot cakes with multiple requests for future orders.
Overall, I couldn’t ask for more.
I got to share my passion with Adrien, and come home to my best friend, and cuddle and gossip under the covers, falling asleep intertwined with my entire pack. Then the next day, I got to wake up and go to the office with Vance, which was turning out to be an incredible set up for both of us.
Since I wanted to keep my cottage, we cleared out one of the bedrooms and turned it into an official writing cave for Vance and upgraded the appliances in the kitchen so it could turn into my product development space. We both got to do what we loved, and we didn’t bring home work with us every night which was a win-win.
With a pack like mine, there were plenty of more fulfilling things we could do with our evenings.
And to think it all started with one big crush that turned into a lifetime of the sweetest confections.
The End
Next up for Holiday Hollow, we have a second chance romance that is sure to hit you with all the feels. Summer is coming, and with her are secrets that are going to turn the town upside down.