Epilogue - Ember
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
The scissors made a satisfying shhink noise as they sliced through the red ribbon in front of the glass door of my new shop. The cut edges of the ribbon fluttered down to the sidewalk, and applause echoed off the buildings on Main Street.
It was June, and the leaves on the trees were a vivid green, the ocean the same blue as Jack’s eyes. We’d survived the winter.
The Gilded Teapot was officially open to the public.
A golden teapot poured out gold liquid that dripped into the lettering of the sign above the door.
I’d planned on calling this place something bland and descriptive, like “Marswood Harbor Tea Shop,” but Darby had grabbed my little yellow teapot and come up with the name on the spot. She’d beamed at me, and that was that.
My heart fluttered as I turned to face the small crowd assembled on the sidewalk. My eyes immediately found Jack’s. He had his arm around Darby, who was bouncing around with a big grin on her face. She let out a loud whoop, and a smile burst over my face.
I hadn’t planned on starting a business in Marswood Harbor, but Etta Mars had other ideas.
When I moved back to Marswood Harbor with Jack, she gifted us this small space just a block up from the seaside and told us we’d figure out what we wanted to do with it.
Then, over the weeks, on Thanksgiving and during the Christmas break and into the New Year, she dropped hints about my interest in tea and how good it would be to have something available in town for everyone to expand their palates.
I resisted. I really did. I had a good job. I was a great actuary. I made good money. I knew the risks of starting a small business, and I wasn’t interested.
But then I got my father’s money, and everything changed. I could invest part of it, save part of it, and still have a lot left over.
Maybe part of me wanted to use the money for something my father would have found frivolous.
I really did want to give him that final middle finger.
But a bigger part of me wanted to give back to this town that had given me everything: husband, family, home, community, and happiness.
Marswood Harbor needed people who cared about keeping it going, and I had enough money to be one of them.
So I started researching. I looked up tea wholesalers and interior designers and got quotes from various tradespeople.
At one Sunday lunch, Jack’s cousin Fletcher, a talented woodworker, offered to make custom tables for a hugely reduced price.
Then Darby dragged us to another estate sale where we found half a dozen tea-related artworks and about a gazillion cups and saucers.
After that, I stopped resisting.
Now I stepped inside and propped the door open for all the curious townspeople who had come out for the grand opening.
I inhaled the earthy, floral scent of nearly a hundred different tea varieties.
The townspeople milled around and sniffed teas and looked at the mugs and teapots and tea balls and all the other small goods I had to offer.
I watched them, feeling like my heart was on display for anyone to see.
Then Jack was there, shielding me from it all. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the side of my head. “So proud of you,” he murmured. “It looks amazing.”
“You’ve already seen it a million times,” I reminded him.
He pulled back and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Yeah, but it’s different with people in it.”
My heart was jammed up near my throat. Ida Gretzinger was looking at one of the handmade clay teapots I’d sourced from a local artisan.
Betsy (who was Etta’s sister, I’d discovered) was sniffing one of my chai teas.
Caroline was here, studiously ignoring Knox, who watched her every move.
Darby was with Vikki, and they were sitting at one of the banquettes in the corner by the window.
“The website guy said he’d have the next revision over to me by the end of the week,” I babbled to Jack. “So I should be able to take online orders soon. Shipping is still really expensive from here, but I’ve found a company that—”
“Ember.” He held my cheeks and smiled at me, his face so full of love it made my chest ache.
“Yes?”
“Take a deep breath.”
I inhaled.
His smile widened. “Now look around and take a second to enjoy this. It’s beautiful, and it’s all yours. You did this.”
My next breath was shaky. I leaned into him, watching people study my wares, and let the truth of his statement settle into my bones.
I’d made a monumental change in my life. I’d taken a risk—multiple risks, so many risks—to end up right here, in Jack’s arms. I had a business and a family and a new home. I had a shop. I had more money than I knew what to do with.
I was rich, and not because of my father’s money. I was rich in relationships and community and love.
Wiping dampness from my eye, I nodded. “I did this,” I whispered.
“I’m fourteen now,” Darby announced, popping up out of nowhere to look at me expectantly. “That means I can legally work. Can I work here?”
I blinked. “You’d want that?”
She nodded. “It smells good in here.”
Jack laughed and ruffled her hair. “We’ll see,” he said, then looked at me. “A summer job isn’t a bad idea.”
Darby took one look at my smile and knew she’d won.
She bounced back to the banquette and threw herself into it next to her best friend.
I leaned my head into Jack’s chest for one last moment, then pulled away to go stand at the cash register.
Judging by the way she stood expectantly by the till, Ida Gretzinger was about to be my very first paying customer.
Jack caught my fingers and kissed them. “Love you,” he murmured.
“Love you too,” I replied, smiling. He let me go, and I went to help Mrs. Gretzinger.
Later, when the people were gone and I was finished closing up, I looked up to see Jack’s car parked outside.
He leaned against the hood, waiting for me.
I locked the shop’s front door and collapsed into his chest, inhaling the scent of him.
He held me, and when I tilted my head up to look at him, he pressed a kiss to my lips.
It was soft and tender and exactly what I needed.
Kissing him always felt like coming home.
Then, with his blue eyes intent, he said, “We should have a baby.”
I blinked. Opened my mouth. Closed it.
Jack softened, touching his nose to mine. “If you want,” he added.
“I…” My throat was tight. “Is that something you want?”
He nuzzled my cheek, kissed my jaw. “Yes,” he told me. “Been thinking about it a lot lately. You’re so good with Darby, and I just… I just love you, Ember.”
A denial was on the tip of my tongue. I wasn’t motherly. I wasn’t cut out for parenthood. I wasn’t nurturing, or kind, or compassionate.
But the words never made it out. I didn’t let them out, because that was the old me. Now I knew I could be motherly, in my own way. I could care deeply for others. I loved Darby.
My heart began to thump. I’d never let myself imagine a baby of my own. But now…
I looked into my husband’s eyes. The love of my life. The man who showed me I was so much more than what I’d previously thought.
And I smiled. “I could stop taking my birth control,” I whispered.
His grip on me tightened as his gaze darkened. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “We could try. See what happens.”
“Oh, we’ll try,” he confirmed, a wicked smirk curling his lips. “Trying’s the fun part.”
My laughter was swallowed by his kiss.
Then I was spinning around, and Jack’s voice was in my ear, his arm banded around my stomach as he marched me back toward The Gilded Teapot. “Unlock the door to the shop, Ember,” he said.
I unlocked the door. We stumbled inside, and Jack threw the lock behind us.
What we did next is a secret I’ll take to my grave. In the aftermath, we had to sanitize quite a few surfaces, but Jack was right. Trying was fun.
A couple of months later—after lots and lots of trying—I stared at two pink lines on a pregnancy test. A writhing ball of anxiety and excitement and fear and love twisted in my gut. This was the mother of all risks. Unquantifiable.
Over the past year, I’d taken a hatchet to my carefully crafted life—and this was the final blow. The old me was gone. I had to make space for something better. I touched my stomach, still holding that pregnancy test, overcome.
That’s how Jack found me. His eyes bounced from the hand on my belly to the pregnancy test to my face. His expression cracked open, and he dropped to his knees. We cried. We held each other.
“I love you so much,” he said, kissing me.
I let the words sink in, felt his arms tighten around me, angled my head to accept another kiss. I didn’t fight it or deny it or minimize it. He loved me, and I loved him, and we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Of that, I was sure.
Yes, the old me was gone.
But that was okay; I liked this version more.
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Jack and Ember celebrate their wedding properly…until an uninvited guest makes an appearance.