Epilogue – Summer
EPILOGUE
SUMMER
One Year Later
Slow Burn Books was officially thriving, and for the first time since I’d opened it, I wasn’t constantly checking our bank account or wondering how many bills I could push into the following month.
After breaking my old lease, I’d moved three blocks away and reopened in a space twice the size of the original. We had two reading rooms, a bigger coffee bar, and enough space to host smaller author events without forcing readers to stand outside in the rain.
I’d also hired six employees, and unlike before, I could actually afford to pay them without sacrificing my own paycheck.
Sinclair Street Books was thriving, too.
Unfortunately.
Adrian’s Brooklyn store had become the flagship signing and event space for authors and publishers, hosting everything from midnight releases to massive multi-author events.
Instead of trying to steal every reader within a ten-mile radius, Adrian now sent the smaller signings my way whenever an author wanted something more intimate, and whenever I had an event that had outgrown Slow Burn, I sent it across the street.
Well, three blocks away.
The distance had done wonders for our relationship and my blood pressure.
Adrian had even started considering publishing a few titles under a new Sinclair Street imprint, which meant he’d spent the past two months pretending he wasn’t constantly checking his email for submissions.
“I don’t constantly check anything,” he said.
I looked up from my laptop and caught him sitting on the opposite side of my desk, staring at his phone.
“I didn’t say that out loud.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Stop reading my mind.”
“Stop being so predictable.” He smiled. “Have you started the thriller I gave you last week?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t like thrillers.”
“You haven’t even tried it.”
“I know what I like.”
“I read all your recommendations.”
“Because they were good.”
“So is mine.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Summer.”
“Adrian.”
“Go open the damn book.”
I stared at him. “Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
“Why?”
“The engagement ring is in it.”
Silence.
For a few seconds, I could only stare at him as my heart pounded against my chest.
“Oh my God…”
I jumped out of my chair and rushed toward the bookshelf behind me, grabbing the thriller he’d been harassing me about for the past week.
When I flipped it open, I spotted a square carved through the center of the pages with a diamond ring nestled inside.
“Oh my God…” I looked up at him, and he strolled over to me.
“I had a speech prepared weeks ago.” He smiled, running his fingers through my hair. “Would you still like to hear it?”
“Yes.”
“Parts of it are inappropriate for other people,” he said. “Do you care?”
“No.” I blushed as he grabbed a glass of champagne from my desk. “Is there an apology in there for being my most vicious rival at one point?”
“Was it ever really a rivalry if we both ended up working on the same side?”
“Um, yes…”
“We never had a real rivalry, Summer.”
“Adrian, you nearly put me out of business.”
“Semantics.”
“That is not what semantics means.”
“It does today.”
I laughed as he took the book from my hands and removed the ring.
His smile slowly faded as he looked into my eyes. “You know, I spent most of my life thinking everything was something I had to win. Every deal, every store, every fight.”
My chest tightened. “And then you met me?”
“And then I met you.”
“You still tried to beat me.”
“Of course.” He smiled. “I didn’t know any better yet.”
“Yet?”
“Yet.”
He trailed a finger against my lips before getting down on one knee.
“You defeated me the moment I laid eyes on you…”
The End