Epilogue
THREE WEEKS LATER
LUCA
A giant printout of a complicated van wrap design rolled across Luca’s desk as Lily emphatically pointed at it.
“So the Cooperstown Bloom van needs this color, Elliotsville Bloom van needs this color, and the Philly van needs this one. And make sure you add on the ‘cute as fuck’ Farmers Market package.”
“I think we can do that,” he said with a smile, excited to take on more work for a trendsetting business that was growing.
His shop was running smoothly, and business had picked up as people had discovered their new location.
He stood suddenly as he saw the clock. “I’ve gotta run to Annabelle’s Thanksgiving program. Angie will finish up any logistics with you.”
“Adorbs,” Lily sighed. “Go be the best dad ever.”
He waved to Angie as she walked in.
“Tell Little Boss to break a turkey leg,” Angie said as he grabbed his coat and walked out.
With ten minutes to spare, he walked into the elementary gymnasium. It was AB’s first school program ever, since kindergartners didn’t participate.
Children sat on the floor; parents sat in the bleachers. Olivia waved to him, patting an empty spot between her and Pearl, who sat next to Marcy’s parents.
He took the steps two at a time to the very top row. “Hopefully AB doesn’t get stage-fright again,” he said, kissing Olivia on the cheek hello. “I don’t know this choreography.”
Olivia laughed and squeezed his knee, and they chatted as the first class filed onto the risers on the gym floor.
Excitement bubbled in Luca’s chest. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment and the hum of chatter around him, as Olivia and Pearl talked about holiday plans. The woman he loved, his sister safe and sound, his heart was about to go on stage, and he was right here where he should be.
He’d thought about this moment for so long—over twenty years. On the outside, this was just a normal Thanksgiving play, but to him, it was the culmination of a lifetime of good choices, luck, and hard work. He’d made it out of his past, with only a few scrapes along the way.
Annabelle stood on the risers with her class. She looked for him in the audience, and he waved his arm high up so she’d see him. Her eyes sparkled suddenly, and she waved back, not even a little self-conscious.
He sighed, a grin bursting on his face. Life goal achieved.
Forty-five minutes later, after several first-grade turkeys sang songs about gratitude, he, Olivia, and AB walked hand in hand in hand to his car. Pearl and Marcy’s parents had oohed and aahed over Annabelle’s stellar performance as Tailfree, the turkey with no tail feathers.
“Now that I have taken in the thee-ah-tah,” Olivia said dramatically, “it’s time for me to go start the Thanksgiving prep marathon.”
“Sure we can’t help?” Luca said, squeezing her hand.
“Nah.” Olivia shrugged, giving him a smile. “It’ll be fun. My mom and I get wine drunk and creative with seasonings. Lily and Violet come over; it’s a whole thing.”
She hugged him goodbye hard as they stood beside the car, then bent down to hug AB goodbye with an oomf squeeze and a kiss on the head.
“You won’t be there to tuck me in tonight,” AB said sadly.
“No, kid,” Olivia said with a wistful sigh but a mischievous smile. “But a certain platypus is back in action with two arms and two legs. He’s on your bed. Can you cuddle him for me instead?” She swooped a boop onto Annabelle’s nose, making her giggle through her “yeah.”
“I’ll miss you both, but I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at my mom’s house.” She squeezed AB’s cheek as she walked away.
“Love you,” Luca called, placing a quick kiss on her lips.
“I love you too!” AB echoed loudly at Olivia.
Olivia laughed and blew them both dramatic kisses as she walked to her car.
Luca sighed. Turned out, there was no end to the pit of falling deeper and more helplessly in love with Olivia every day.
He popped AB up into her booster seat.
“Pleeeeeeease.” She stared at him like he was an absolute moron.
This was the seventh day in a row she’d campaigned for Olivia to move in. Patience had never been either of their strengths.
He glanced at Olivia hopping into her car across the parking lot. “I will take your input under advisement.”
He’d barely opened the driver’s side door when he heard—
“Her bedtime stories are better.”
He smiled. “I’ve been working on my Canadian accent for Anne of Green Gables.”
“She smells nicer.”
“Fair, she does smell nice.”
Out of ideas, AB flopped her arms. “Ugh, I just don’t like it when she’s not at home. ?Cause it doesn’t feel like home if she’s not there.”
His eyes caught AB’s in the rearview mirror.
That was it. The slip of the tongue he didn’t know he’d been waiting for. That AB thought Olivia’s home was with them.
Because it is.
And I really, really hope it always will be.
* * *
The next afternoon, they stood outside of Olivia’s childhood home. “Remember, we use our nice manners today,” he said to Annabelle, squeezing her hand.
“Pleases and thank yous and no cursing, even if I want to real bad,” AB said, parroting back the list.
They’d brought kid-friendly, cut-up vegetables, a peanut-butter pie, and he’d added flowers for Olivia’s mom. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but Olivia swung it open. “Hey, you. I missed you.”
AB ran in and hugged her, wrapping her arms around Olivia’s legs. She’d already run into the house by the time Luca stooped down to kiss Olivia.
“I missed you too,” Olivia said, lingering on their kiss with a sparkling smile.
Chaos was already underway as plates of food lined the large kitchen island. Pop was elbow-deep in five dishes on the stove.
More and more people piled into Martha and Pop’s house.
Allison was talking with Nash in the dining room.
Lily and Olivia and Annabelle were trying to do something with parsley, but it wasn’t working out well.
Lily’s sisters, Rose and Violet, and their husbands had been put to work by Martha and Pop.
Pearl and Reed would join them after the meal since he hated the sound of people eating.
“Hey, you.” Violet patted Luca’s arm. “Could you reach up there?” She pointed to a high shelf with a bunch of sheet pans.
“Here you go,” he said, feeling in the way in the kitchen with all these people. “Happy to be of help.”
Rose squeezed past him, and she and Violet bickered playfully about the vegan cheese ball Violet was making, while Olivia reached in to grab a bite from the bowl.
“It needs more dill, right?” Rose asked Olivia, who shrugged.
“Tastes like it always does,” Olivia said, licking her fingers, all of them perfectly at home in Martha’s kitchen.
Lily shoved in between them and mimicked Olivia, grabbing a sample as the three sisters started arguing.
“Having fun?” Olivia said with a smile over the chatter that, apparently, she was used to.
This is so nice, but overwhelming.
“Yeah,” he said, looking for Annabelle and seeing that she was sitting at a table with Martha doing a craft. “I’m going to step outside for some fresh air.”
“Okay,” Olivia said, kissing his cheek and smiling as she went back to stealing a bite from Violet’s bowl.
Luca stepped out onto the small patio of Martha’s pretty house. The chaos and noise of a happy family slowly quieted as he closed the door. It was so different from what he’d known when he was Annabelle’s age.
Warm and happy, bursting with love. His brain needed time to calibrate.
He sipped the cocktail Martha had shoved into his hand and choked at how strong it was, laughing at himself.
Wells walked from the little carriage garage in the backyard, and an expensive-sounding beep echoed as he locked his car.
Luca waved in greeting, and Wells returned it.
He loved that Wells didn’t bullshit around. He liked people who were straight shooters.
“Escape the crazy in there?” Wells said with a friendly smile.
Luca sighed, leaning against the deck fence. “I’m not really used to it, but it’s nice.”
Wells sighed. “Yeah. Me either, really. I didn’t come home that much until… recently.”
“Liv told me—”
Wells’s eyes flashed.
“And swore me to secrecy,” Luca said, crossing his heart. “It’s a nice thing you did.”
Though he was pissed at Wells for ruining one of the only two good restaurants in town, he had to admire that his heart was in the right place.
Wells shrugged it off, looking uncomfortable with Luca’s words. “I just didn’t imagine I’d be so bad at it. Pop made it look so easy. It’s one of the first things I wanted to be when I was a kid,” Wells said, smiling ruefully.
“A diner owner?” Luca asked, genuinely curious.
Wells laughed. “A line cook. Wanted to be just like Pop.”
A roar of laughter sounded from inside, and Luca realized he probably wouldn’t get a quiet moment with Wells again.
Wish me luck, universe. He gulped, looking over his shoulder, making sure no one inside would hear.
He squared his shoulders as he looked at Wells. “I had someone do this for me, so I’m returning the favor. I’m going to marry your sister. Not right now, but… someday. Soon, I hope.”
Wells looked at him appraisingly, like a shark, but his eyes softened as he saw Olivia dancing with AB inside.
But maybe one who’s on my side?
“Good,” Wells said definitively. “She’s never been happier.
She’s had a rough go. There were a lot of tears in our house when we were kids.
And then”—he whistled to emphasize how terrible it had been—“she spent two years living with our dad. He’s an excellent lawyer, and a terrible father,” he said with a humorless laugh. “And yet? Still, she’s Olivia.”
Luca nodded. “She’s the best.”
Wells nodded and sighed as he looked at Olivia and Annabelle playing. “This dad thing,” he said wistfully. “You recommend it?”
Luca couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so he just decided to be honest. “Best thing that’s ever happened to me. Easy.”
Wells scrunched his brows together and nodded to himself. He patted Luca’s shoulder a little too hard as he walked away. “Welcome to the family. Hope you like festivals.”