Epilogue
FOUR MONTHS LATER.
Griffin
“I know I say this every week, but this is my favorite night at the bar.” Tucker beams, his body bouncing to the music.
Biting back a smile, I nod. “Mine too.”
“Who would have thought,” Tucker starts, nudging me with his elbow. “Griffin Barlow would permanently put karaoke night on the schedule and actually enjoy it. I’m digging this new version of you, boss.”
Averting my gaze from the bar to Blair, the smile comes naturally. I watch as she helps Nan with getting people listed and what song they plan to sing. There isn’t a soul in Bluestone Lakes that can carry a tune, but the laughs that echo through these walls tells me that this was the right move. People love this night and look forward to it.
Blair has changed me in more ways than one.
She’s opened up a piece of me that I kept stuffed down away from the world.
As if she can sense me staring, she turns to face me. The twinkle in her eyes, mixed with the crinkle from her smile only makes my heart race. A feeling I will never get used to. I truly lose my breath every time .
“I’m taking five,” I tell Tucker, not bothering to look at him.
“Take ten, boss.” And I hear him laugh as I round the bar to make my way to Blair.
Her face morphs into a come get me smirk, and I shake my head because there’s no doubt that this woman owns me.
My heart.
My soul.
Without wasting a minute, I wrap both arms around her waist, pulling her into me. I let my face fall into the crook of her neck and inhale the sweet honeysuckle scent as if I haven’t seen or felt her in days.
“It’s been all of twenty minutes, Griffin,” She giggles against me.
“Twenty minutes too long,” I say, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes.
There it goes again, completely losing my breath .
Her arms snake around my neck before she pulls off my baseball cap with one hand and intertwines her fingers through my hair with the other.
“I missed you too.” She grins, pressing on her toes to bring her lips to mine.
I kiss her as if there’s no one else in the bar.
I wish there wasn’t because every kiss with Blair is like coming home.
“Blair is supposed to be working,” Nan mutters off to my side.
We both pull apart, laughing against each other’s lips before turning to face her.
“I’m sorry, Nan,” Blair says to her. “This neanderthal can’t go more than twenty minutes without having his lips on me.”
“I don’t need to know all the details about where Griffin puts his lip.” She wrinkles her face in disgust.
“Nan!” Blair feigns embarrassment and her cheeks flame to a rosy, pink shade.
I lean down, letting my lips graze the shell of her ear. “I’d love to put my lips all over you, sweetheart. Every square inch of this body is mine, and when the night is over I plan to do just that.”
She pulls back, the corner of her lips twist and she raises a brow. “Is that so?”
“Every.” I press a kiss to her lips. “Square.” Another kiss. “Inch.”
Her body shivers, and she steps out of my hold. “Not here,” she whispers through gritted teeth. “You know how turned on I get when you talk like that.”
“I don’t see the issue.” I smirk.
She swats my chest playfully. “Get back to the bar. Tucker needs you.”
“Tucker doesn’t need me.” I laugh. “But I’ll get back to work. If you insist.”
“I do.” She presses both palms to my chest, lifting up to give me one more parting kiss.
As I walk back toward the bar, her words ring in my ear.
I do .
After my first real relationship went down the drain, I swore I would never think of hearing those words from anyone else. I felt as if I was destined to be the grumpy bar owner in Bluestone Lakes for the rest of my life. Waking up to tend to the ranch, working my lunch shift, and then going back to the ranch. I poured my life and soul into both of those things because I never believed I was worthy enough for another chance with someone.
Blair saved me from myself.
She saved me from ruining every relationship I had with my friends and family by bringing me out of the phase of life I felt stuck in. Looking back, I’m shocked that my sisters and Tucker didn’t give up on me and cut me from their lives for being as angry as I was for no damn reason.
It’s only been four months, but I see the future with her more than just her living with me the way she has been. Despite her not wanting to sell the tiny home yet, I don’t get the feeling she’s going to run off on me.
I fully trust Blair with my heart.
It’s a wild and freeing feeling because I never thought I’d be able to trust this way again.
Stepping behind the bar, I find Blair staring at me again. I shoot her a wink and smile, and she does the same before getting back to work with Nan.
I love her.
I love Blair with my entire existence and will make her my wife one day.
That much I know is true.
Wiping the counter, a man I don’t recognize sits down in front of me.
“What can I get you?” I ask.
He looks around quickly. “What’s all this about tonight?”
“This is karaoke night.” I point toward Nan. “See that woman over there? She organized this whole thing a few months ago so we made it a weekly thing here.”
“Nan,” he says.
I raise a brow and turns back in his stool to face me. “You know her?”
He nods. “She’s the one who gave me the keys to my new place.”
“Ahhh.” I grin.
The old me would have been annoyed as shit at someone new moving here yet again. The man sitting in front of me is dressed in jeans and a polo T-shirt. But looks to be hiding his face under the baseball cap sitting low over his eyes. I’ve learned to read people through this job, and he’s without a doubt from some big hub city.
“Guess I should introduce myself then, huh?” I extend my hand across the table. “I’m Griffin.”
“Dallas.” He returns my handshake .
“Oh my god,” Tucker says to my side, covering his mouth with his hand.
“Don’t say it,” the man warns Tucker.
I look between the two of them, confusion likely stretched across my face. “What am I missing?”
Tucker leans in, keeping his stare on the bar, but whispering behind his hand. “That’s the head coach for the San Francisco Stags major league baseball team.”
“Was,” the man cuts in with a whisper. “ Was the head coach.”
“Nooo.” Tucker winces as if hearing the news is painful.
I give Tucker a questioning glare. “Since when are you a baseball fan?”
“I root for the underdogs,” he says, lifting his chin into the air. “And the Stags were…” He pauses to look at the man, before leaning in again to whisper in my ear. “They suck.”
The man nods, lips forming a straight line.
“So, what brings you to Bluestone Lakes?” I ask, trying to change the sore subject.
“Your website is very welcoming,” he says.
Tucker barks out a laugh, and I laugh under my breath because that’s a far cry from the truth. There’s like one photo on the website.
Before I can even respond, Nan and Blair make their way to the bar next to where this man sits.
“Ah, Dallas,” Nan says, throwing an arm around his shoulders as if their old friends. “You found the best bar in town. Have you gotten settled in nicely?”
He nods but remains silent.
“Dallas?” Blair says loud enough for everyone around us to hear. “You’re…you’re the head coach for the Staghorns. I’m from San Francisco too. What brings you all the way out here?”
“Hell if I know,” he answers, keeping his head down toward the bar.
Moving to grab my bottle of Foxx Bourbon off the top corner shelf, I pour him a glass. “On the house,” I say, sliding it across the bar to him.
“Thank you.” He nods.
“You got it,” I say. “And, hey, for what it’s worth… Welcome to Bluestone Lakes.”