41. Epilogue
A year and a half later…
“Order up, Mabel!” I call out to a packed Grind Time.
Willow slides behind me, grabbing my ass as she walks over to the pastry counter and wraps up a croissant for a customer.
“Watch it, Trouble,” I warn.
She winks at me as she passes by, and I shake my head, knowing I’ll tie her up later for playing grab-ass at work.
“You two are just the sweetest. When are you getting married?” Mabel says as she grabs her coffee.
“Why thank you, Miss Mabel, but nothing on the schedule yet,” Willow says sugar sweet. She meets my eyes and gives the look I know all too well means she’s about to kill off Mabel in her next book. I have to turn around to hide my laughter.
We talked about the possibility of getting married, but both of us felt it wasn’t something we needed or wanted to be together. The gossips in town can’t figure us out and frequently bug Willow about it, hence she kills them off all the time.
“Why don’t they pester you about this shit?” she grumbles as she stands next to me.
“Because they know I’ll withhold paninis if they do.”
“How is that fair? I run this damn place with you now. How do they just ignore me when I throw threats like that out?” She throws her hands up in exasperation.
“Because, deep down, they know you’re a softie who would never withhold food.” I press a kiss to her temple, smiling as she huffs in annoyance.
“You’re a softie too. They just don’t ever see it.”
“And they never will. That is saved for you, Will, and only you.”
She looks up at me with nothing but love in her eyes. It’s been like this since we finally caved on our attraction to each other, and it’s only grown since. Every single day, I think it’s impossible to love her more, and I’m proved wrong every single time.
Her fingers intertwine with mine, squeezing my hand in hers.
“I really don’t want to leave when you’re being so adorable, but I need to get this chapter done.” She sighs.
Oh yeah, the apartment upstairs got a complete overhaul. We tore down all the walls, added an area for all of her stock and swag—as she calls it—and made her dream office a reality. She alternates between writing and working at Grind Time with me. When inspiration hits her, she goes upstairs and writes until she can’t anymore. It’s the perfect setup really, and it’s helped her finish four more bestsellers.
That’s right, my woman is officially on the bestseller list without an end in sight. The book she wrote during the whole Tennison ordeal bumped her to a level of success I think neither of us were prepared for. It’s been a damn whirlwind, but I’m so damn proud of her.
“I’ll bring you up a latte once the crowd dies down a little more.”
“Add an extra shot please. I’m dragging ass today.”
I don’t even try to hide my smirk. She’s dragging ass because I edged her for over an hour before taking her nice and slow, drawing some intense orgasms out of her.
I subtly reach down and adjust myself in my jeans. Her eyes follow my hand, and a mischievous grin lights up her face.
“I’m game for a repeat after I finish this chapter, greedy man.”
“Done. I’ll have your latte ready in a few.” I pull her to me, kissing her in what many would consider inappropriate for the workplace.
She pulls back, patting my chest with a slight blush permeating her cheeks, and heads to the stairs.
God, I love that woman.
The bell above the door dings, pulling my attention away from the sexy-as-sin woman I get to call mine walking up the stairs.
Arlo walks up to the counter with a look on his face I haven’t seen in a while.
“Morning, Sheriff,” I drawl. I will still call him Sheriff on occasion just to piss him off a little.
“You busy after you close up?”
I straighten my back, going into business mode. “I can be free. What’s up?”
“Lost hiker in the park. We have a search party on it but aren’t getting anywhere fast. Their family is at the station, and we aren’t getting a ton of information out of them, so I was hoping you could stop by and talk to them.”
“Yeah. I’ll head over when I close down.”
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.” He doesn’t even ask for a coffee or food, just turns around and heads right back out.
That’s been a pleasant surprise as well. I didn’t really know what to expect when I told him I would help out on occasion, but it filled a part of my soul I didn’t realize I was missing. After many therapy sessions, I came to realize completely shutting off that side of my life was doing more harm than good. Tennison was the exception to every rule, and I still missed the problem-solving, the look on loved ones faces when we got them answers. Arlo has allowed me to keep that, and although the cases have been pretty straightforward, it’s still nice to help out where I can.
Willow helped push me a lot with that, allowing me to see that it’s still possible to be fulfilled, even if it’s only a few times a year.
Latte delivered and interview conducted, which actually led to recovering the lost hiker, I’m now on my way back to Grind Time to check on Willow.
If you would have told me five years ago that I would be loving the slower pace of life, I think I would have died from laughing too hard. But here I am, walking to check on my amazing woman and loving every single second of it.
I hear soft music as I walk up the stairs to the converted apartment, which is unusual. If Willow listens to music, she usually puts on her headphones and immerses herself in it. Instantly, worry hits my chest. This isn’t her norm, so could this be a writer’s block? Is she stuck, and she’s trying something to unblock herself? Did something happen?
Yeah, the overthinking hasn’t gone away in the year and a half since we’ve been together. If anything, it’s worse when it comes to her. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll always worry about her, no matter the situation, even if she is fully capable of taking care of herself.
“Will?” I call out as I hit the top step and turn the doorknob.
The sight that greets me is nothing short of perfection.
Willow in a little slip of a black dress, candles lit and twinkle lights shining through the whole office.
“What…” I trail off because I don’t have words.
“I missed you while you were out saving the world.” She walks up to me, wrapping her hands around my neck as best as she can with the height difference.
“I was hardly saving the world, just getting a sketchy family their kid back.”
“Well, regardless of how you interpret it, I missed you.” She lifts up on her toes to press a kiss to my jaw.
“I missed you too,” I murmur. “Did you get your chapter done?”
“I got three chapters done.”
“Overachiever.”
“You were gone a while.”
“And yet you still had time to set this all up.” I smile into her temple.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Mission complete, then.”
We start swaying to the soft music in the background, holding each other and being completely in the moment.
“I can’t believe this is my life some days,” she says.
“Me either, but I’ve stopped questioning it.”
I circle her around the open space in the office, slow-dancing and pressing kisses to every inch of skin I can reach.
A moan reaches my ears, and I groan in her ear. “Make sounds like that, and I’ll take you over your desk.”
“I’m good with that plan.” She nips my shoulder.
I haul her up into my arms, walking toward the desk that is conveniently already cleared off.
“You plan for this, Trouble?”
“I may have been hopeful.”
“It’s good to be hopeful.” I set her down on the desktop, pressing on her chest so she lies flat. I drop to my knees, groaning as they crack. Willow’s laughter permeates the air, and I bite her thigh as I laugh.
“I’ll still show you a good time,” I tell her after I soothe the bite.
“Don’t I know it. Maybe I should have a little padded mat for our knees next time.” She bursts out laughing, and all I can think is how much I love this woman. There’s never a boring day. There’s never a day where we don’t have fun together.
“I’ll order one later. Now, hush, so I can get you off properly.”
“You like it when I’m loud.” Her loud shriek hit my ears as I shove her panties to the side and show her just how loud I can make her.
I lean back, letting her head lift up to see what I’m doing.
“I love you, Will. So damn much.”
“I love you too, James. Now, make me come, so you can take me home and really fuck me properly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I show her smart mouth exactly why she keeps me around and then take her home and love her all night long.
This life of ours is something special, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.