Epilogue
Layla
It’s springtime in Lake Tahoe. The trees are a lush green, the lake sparkles a beautiful, turquoise blue, and the air is warm. It’s been four months since I decided to stay for good—four amazing months filled with love and family.
Not only did Liam and Jackson embrace me with open arms, but so did Dex and Liam’s parents. I love our little family here. Even though Liam’s parents live in the city, they visit often, and so do we.
Daniela is here visiting for a couple days to help plan the wedding. We’re having lunch together, and it’s a particularly beautiful day. Perfectly warm, not too hot, and we’re eating outside on a patio overlooking the water at Dex’s restaurant. Daniela did give a half-assed protest about coming here, but I overruled her. She caved easily.
A few weeks ago, right after I turned twenty-six, on a beautiful April night outside by our firepit, Liam got down on one knee and proposed. It was just the two of us, at the spot where we had our very first kiss all those years ago—just two teenagers who were giddy for each other and with no idea what lay ahead. It was perfect. My lease had ended and I had officially moved in with Liam, Jackson, and Cocoa, although I had basically been living there much sooner.
“Are you two ever going to get over whatever problems you have with each other? You’re kind of stuck together now, by extension, you know.”
“Meh,” she replies.
“Oh please,” I say, “I’m not saying you have to date him or anything. But you might actually like each other as friends at least, if you stopped bickering all the time. Or even better, maybe a little one-night fling could get it out of your system.”
She makes a face.
“I’m just giving you the exact advice you would give me if the roles were reversed.”
“Well, the thing is…we’ve already done that.”
My best friend drops the bomb so casually.
My mouth falls open. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Oh yeah…I never told you?”
“No. Not that I can recall,” I say sarcastically, trying to hide a grin. Because this is hilarious. They already hooked up and didn’t tell Liam or me. At least, I’m assuming Liam doesn’t know. He would have told me.
“The night of Thanksgiving, when you snuck out to Liam’s bed after I fell asleep, I woke up at the sound of you leaving. You’re not very sneaky. Then I went out to the kitchen because I realized how starving I was, and, well, Dex found me there and we talked for a long time. And argued. And then he came back to the room with me. We hooked up.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, like she hasn’t been keeping this massive secret. I gape at her, but I’m smiling.
“Thanksgiving!” I laugh. “You’ve waited this long to tell me?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” she says, her green eyes full of mischief. “I still can’t stand him.”
**
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