Epilogue
“Aha, so this is the man who stole my granddaughter away, huh?” Pop says, reaching his hand out to Luke, who takes it and grips tightly. “Grip could be firmer.” Pop raises one bushy brow.
Luke’s mouth falls open, a small sound leaving his lips.
“Pop,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“I’m just messing around. Come in, come in!” He waves Luke, Josh, Viv, and me into the house and guides us toward the back.
“Everything sorted out with work?” Pop asks, gesturing to the outdoor table where he’s put out lunch for us.
“Sort of. We’re figuring it out.” Viv and Cori are running the office at the moment, and I work remotely, video calling in at least once a day. I think we’ve reached a semblance of a plan to make it all work.
“Don’t you worry, Pop. We've got it all covered!” Viv says brightly, clapping him on the back as she makes her way to a chair.
“How about the apartment?” he asks.
“I’m going to keep it for now. It’ll be nice to have somewhere to stay when I visit.”
Moving hours away to a place where the only option was to stay with Luke or in his mom’s house has pushed us to move through the dating motions a little faster than a typical relationship.
The last two weeks have been nothing short of incredible, aside from the ongoing disagreement about bringing my comfy chair back to Maple Cove.
Luke argues it doesn’t match the decor in his apartment—it does.
Mostly I think he just doesn’t want to figure out how to get it down five flights of stairs.
Either way, we agreed that it’s not a bad idea to keep my apartment for a while longer until we really get settled into this new normal.
Josh offered to pay a small amount to stay in my apartment whenever he visited the city to see Viv. Although he has a date tonight with Sharp Suit Guy—who we now know as Greg. Depending on how that goes, he may have more reason to visit the city than Viv.
“Have you guys gotten any backlash from the review that girl left?” Viv asks.
“Actually, it’s only made things better. Holly said she’s gotten multiple calls from people wanting to know if this is the bed-and-breakfast where the staff member fell in love.”
My hand finds its way into Luke’s, our fingers entwining. We haven’t said the L word yet, but we don’t mind the guests labeling it that way.
“I guess the romance of it has really put a mark on our little corner of Lover’s Lake,” Luke finishes for me.
“Well, that’s sweet! Hey, did you ask Holly?” Viv raises her eyebrows, sipping her iced tea.
“Ask Holly what?” Luke asks, face turning to me. I hadn’t told him yet what Viv and I had been brainstorming.
“We wanted to see if Holly was interested in interning with me part-time.”
“Yea? I bet she’d love that. Are you thinking of expanding your business into Maple Cove?” His eyes light up.
“I think we’d like to try, yeah.”
“Oh, Liv! I meant to tell you,” Viv pipes up. “The Hotel EdenReed pulled the plug on the sale.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I heard through my brother that the financial firm that was helping the investor manage his money dropped his account.
Supposedly, the investor then tried to move forward with the sale anyway, but his checks bounced.
So I don’t know, maybe some bad money management? It looks shady as hell though.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” Viv’s eyebrows meet her hairline. “We might have dodged a bullet with that account. I’ll keep tabs on EdenReed though. Maybe we still have a shot at their rebrand after all.”
The conversation around the table shifts to Josh and where his plans will take him tonight, but my eyes keep finding their way to the man next to me. I squeeze his hand gently, and he leans in, kissing me on the cheek before returning to the conversation around the table.
Pop, sitting in the chair next to me, pats my knee and nods his head. “I’m happy for you, kiddo,” he says so only I can hear.
A soft breeze pushes the loose strands of my ponytail, and for a moment the big fluffy white clouds part, allowing the sun to shine, warmth splashing against my skin. I close my eyes and soak it in.
A hug from above.
One month later
Luke
Liv sits wrapped in the blanket, resting between my legs on the lounge chair. The inky sky is crystal clear with stars spilled across like a thousand tiny diamonds. It’s another beautiful night, but all I see is Liv.
She sighs into me, laying her head on my shoulder. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this view. All these stars.”
I hug her a little tighter and look up just in time to see a star streak across the sky. “Make a wish.”
Liv smiles and closes her eyes.
When she opens them and looks at me, there’s a note of seriousness in them. “You know, the last time I made a wish on a shooting star, I wished for you.”
“You did?”
“I wished to keep your arms around me, and to stay right here under these stars.” She swallows, eyes closing as if she’s finding courage from some well deep inside herself.
“But I was afraid—I’m still afraid—you’ll decide I’m not…”
“Trip,” I say, shifting so I can stare into those beautiful hazel eyes. I’m about to utter the words that will take this thing between us to a new level, hoping desperately it’s not too soon. “I love you. I love you so damn much.”
Her eyes jump between mine. I hope she’s searching for any sign of doubt because I know she won’t find it.
“Every perfectly imperfect thing about you, I love. More than the stars that fill the sky,” I say.
The tension in my chest drains away the moment she smiles, eyes sparkling. I exhale, the last of my breath rushing from me as she plants soft kisses on the tip of my nose, my cheek, my lips. “I love you too, Romeo.”