42. Epilogue
“ It’s so cute!” Veronica gushes from her seat next to me as we pull into the driveway of Blair and Ford’s new place.
“I don’t know,” I muse, setting the car into park. “It was kind of nice having them live above Bob’s Quick and Tasty Pizza. It was always so nice and convenient that whenever we left their last place we could stop in and grab a slice.”
She rolls her eyes. “We’re like, what, two blocks away? I’m pretty sure if we ever leave here hungry, we can still easily stop and grab something,” she assures me as she opens her door and climbs out, fully taking in the details of their new place. “If anything, we should just be happy Blair is finally settling in and putting down some roots.”
She’s not wrong. My sister had talked about escaping Evergreen Grove since we were little kids, and the second she turned eighteen, she had made that a reality, but after returning for what should have been Veronica’s wedding, and reuniting with Ford, all that changed.
As her big brother, it’s always been my job to support her as long as she was happy. If leaving this place was what it took, then I had to be okay with it. But now, seeing her genuinely happy here for the first time, it’s a relief.
Walking around the car, I reach for Veronica’s hand and link my fingers through hers.
“It’s kind of weird, though, right?” I ask. “I’m not sure I ever pictured Blair as the settling down and living in a cookie cutter house type.”
While the place isn’t huge, it matches many of the other houses here in Evergreen, with a nice white picket fence and flowers lining the small pathway toward the front door.
“Well, that’s only because she had other priorities. But now our girl has gone and found herself the love and her life, and that tends to change things. I mean, look at you,” she muses, waving toward me as we walk the cobblestone path toward the bright red front door.
“What about me?” I ask, straightening up, even though part of me already suspects I know the answer.
“You’re whipped,” she casually suggests, as if she didn’t just drop a bomb, and raises her hand to knock.
“Excuse me?” I ask with a small scoff. “I am not whipped.”
Before she can answer, the front door opens, and my younger sister beams at us, a giant smile plastered on her face. Not only did she and Ford just purchase their first home, but her business is thriving as well.
“Hey guys,” she practically squeals, leaning in to give us both a hug.
“So, sis, what’s new?” Blair asks, turning her attention toward Veronica as I try not to roll my eyes. They love that they get to call themselves sisters, especially since we’ve still done nothing to put an end to our marriage.
“Well, I was just telling your brother here that he is, in fact, pretty whipped,” Veronica casually states as she lets herself inside.
I let out a small grunt. “I am not.”
Blair looks toward me with knowing eyes. “I hate to say it, but my sister here has a point. You’re pretty fucking whipped.”
“Alright, whatever. You two keep living in this dreamworld of yours. I mean, what else is new?” I joke, taking a step forward to follow them, taking in the new digs. “This is nice,” I quickly add, ready for a change of subject.
“You think so?” Blair asks, a nervous lilt in her tone. Even with the nerves, it’s obvious she’s fully ready to happily show off her new place.
“It’s adorable,” my wife gushes, wrapping an arm around Blair’s waist and leaning in for another hug.
“It still needs some work, and we want to paint a few of the rooms. Obviously, I’m going to need your expertise on where to hang a few things, but we’re pretty happy with it.”
“And you should be. This is amazing,” I add, moving to the other side of my sister, draping an arm around her shoulder. “We’re so incredibly happy for you.”
“Thanks, guys.” Blair smiles, tilting to lean against both of us for a quick moment before finally pulling away. “So, Ford is out back grilling, and if I’m being honest, I’m a bit worried that he’s going to burn everything. So maybe you could do us all a favor and head out back and join him. I’m pretty sure we'd all be forever grateful,” she pleads, turning toward me, batting her signature puppy-dog eyes in my direction. “And while you do that, I can finish giving Ronnie the rest of the tour.”
“Oh, so I don’t get a tour?” I ask, crossing my arms.
She lets out a small huff. “You’ll get one eventually, and you’re always welcome to join, but that might also mean we end up with some extra well-done steaks.” She casually shrugs.
“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” I deadpan, resisting the urge to roll my eyes once again.
“Thank you, babe,” Veronica says, giving me an appeasing smile before leaning up to press a kiss to my lips. We both let it linger, likely for a bit too long as my hand snakes around her waist
Blair clears her throat. “Um, and you two thought Ford and I were bad?”
Veronica’s cheeks blossom into a beautiful rosy pink color. “Sorry.”
“I’m not,” I simply state, leaning in to press my lips to hers one more time before finally forcing myself back.
“Well, I guess I’m even more grateful that I’m choosing to separate the two of you. Geez, you’re like two dogs in heat,” she jokes, motioning her head toward the back of the house. “Just head out back that way. You’ll see the sliding glass door,” she explains.
I’m incredibly tempted to lean in for another kiss, but I resist, at least this time. There will be plenty of time for me to kiss and be near my wife later.
“See you soon,” Veronica says, her eyes staying locked with mine before Blair finally yanks her away.
“Oh my God, you two. Stop being so damn cute.” Blair laughs, shaking her head as she leads my wife in the opposite direction. My eyes follow them for as long as I can, especially with the great view I have of Veronica’s perfectly round ass, but as they walk into one of the bedrooms, I finally make my way toward the back door.
Ford has definitely grown on me, but I can’t say I’m thrilled about spending more one-on-one time with him. Maybe the women are right, and I truly am a bit whipped because I’d happily follow Veronica around like her own personal lap dog. Then again, I’d follow her anywhere. Still, I suppose it’s good for her to have some girl time with her best friend, especially since I’ve been monopolizing most of her free time as of late. I should feel guilty about that... but I don’t. Not even a little.
“Hey, Miles,” Ford greets me as I slide the door open, lifting a hand in greeting before adjusting his glasses.
“Hey.” I nod, shutting the door behind me before making my way toward the grill, where luckily, the steaks don’t appear to be on fire or even burning.
“You get the tour already?” he asks, flipping a steak.
“Actually, no. I got booted from the tour in favor of making sure you don’t burn or overcook anything.”
“Fair enough.” He chuckles, not taking offense. “Actually,” he starts again, his voice lowering, “I was hoping to get you alone today.”
My brows knit together. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. And I hope it’s okay that I’m coming to you about this, but I know how important you are to Blair, and this just felt like an important step, so I wanted to come to you before I moved forward with things,” he explains, setting the spatula down and turning to face me. “As you know, I love your sister, and while I don’t have a specific date planned yet, I know I want to marry her, and before I officially ask her to be my wife, I wanted to make sure I had your blessing.”
Ford may not be my favorite person, but it’s never been because I didn’t feel that he was worthy of my sister. If anything, I’ve always known he’s exactly the person she needs.
“Blair has never needed my blessing for anything she’s ever done in her life,” I start, noticing the obvious nervous beads of sweat dripping from Ford’s forehead as he nods, but I keep going. “But I really appreciate the gesture, and I know it will mean a lot to Blair as well. So, of course you have my blessing. Just keep doing what you’re doing, making her happy, and we’ll be good.” I nod, holding out my hand for him to shake.
Ford bypasses my hand and pulls me into a hug. I freeze, never having been a fan of physical affection, especially not from my sister’s nerdy boyfriend, but I decide to give this one to him as I loosely drape my arms around him as I give his back a small pat.
“Whoa,” Veronica’s voice calls out as the back door slides open. “Ford, you aren’t making a play for my husband, are you?”
“No,” Ford says, quickly jumping back. “Of course not. We were just, uh...” he rambles, clearly not great at hiding or keeping secrets.
“I was just telling him congrats on the new place,” I offer instead, as Veronica slides in next to me, her hand slipping around my waist while I drape mine over her shoulder.
“Aw, that’s so cute,” she gushes, beaming up at me with a giant smile.
“Well, I’m a cute guy, what can I say?” I shrug.
“Oh God, is this going to last all night, you two?” Blair teases, moving to stand next to Ford.
“Oh whatever, you two were just as bad,” she reminds my sister. While they may have chilled out a tiny bit with the public displays of affection, it’s clear the two still can’t take their hands or eyes off each other, especially as they stand in a stance similar to ours.
“Well, that’s only because we have a lot of time that we need to make up for,” Blair objects.
“And we don’t?” Veronica jokingly interrupts. “If anything, Miles here has a lot to make up for, especially since, for the longest time he was so mean to me,” she teases, looking up at me with a small pout.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, trying to brush it off, but she’s not wrong. Even more, it’s something I plan to do. I will spend every day for the rest of my life making sure she knows how much I love her and how big of an idiot I was for not seeing what was right in front of me all along.
“On that note,” Ford says, clearing his throat. “It’s looking like the steaks are ready,” he adds, sending me a nod. I have a feeling he did that on purpose, especially after I saved him not too long before. Okay, so maybe Ford isn’t actually that bad. Maybe I do need to cut him a little more slack.
“Alright, you two can head inside, and I’ll help Ford bring everything in,” Blair suggests, and we listen and follow her lead.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always figured that my little sister's friends weren't my people, and I’d constantly been annoyed by them, but as the night goes on, I can’t help but smile to myself. As a big brother, all one can ever want for their younger sibling is to find someone who will treat them right, and as I watch Ford and Blair interact, I know that’s exactly what she’s found.
As for Vee... God, I couldn’t have been more wrong about the woman she is. Then again, maybe I just wasn’t ready for her, but I sure as hell am now.
We’ve had long conversations about not getting divorced, and have both agreed that when the time is right, I’ll give her a real proposal along with a vow renewal ceremony—one where she can finally experience the wedding she’s always dreamed of and deserved.
I can’t say I’m a big wedding type of guy, but if that’s what Veronica wants, that’s exactly what she’ll get. In fact, my plan is to spend the rest of my life making sure she gets to live the happily-ever-after fairytale kind of love she’s always dreamed of.
It’s only fair, since as she smiles up at me from her seat beside me at the table, it’s clear she's already made all my dreams come true. Now, I get the privilege of spending the rest of our lives making sure I fulfill every one of hers too.