“I love you too, Mr. Mitchell.” I glanced toward Leo, who was currently helping Jack collect the fairy lights.
Just as Sam leaned in to kiss me again, a blur shot through the garden, followed immediately by Leo and Emma shrieking with laughter as they chased after Rocket, who had apparently stolen someone’s dinner roll and was making a break for freedom.
“Rocket! Come back!” Leo called, stumbling over his own feet in his little tuxedo.
“Get the bread!” Emma shouted, her flower girl dress hitched up as she ran.
Sam, Jack, Harper, and I all looked at each other in horror for exactly three seconds before we burst into laughter.
“Should we help?” Harper asked, wiping tears from her eyes as Rocket made another lap around the garden with his prize.
“Absolutely not,” Jack said, grinning as he watched Emma tackle Leo in a fit of giggles while Rocket triumphantly devoured his stolen roll under a nearby table. “This is the best entertainment we’ve had all night.”
“Welcome to life with kids and a dog,” Sam said, pulling me closer as Leo finally caught Rocket and tried to negotiate for what was left of the dinner roll.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, watching our son give Rocket a serious lecture about wedding etiquette while Emma dissolved into giggles beside them.
I leaned into Sam, thinking about the journey that had brought us here. The secrets and lies, the heartbreak and running away, the crisis that had nearly destroyed us but ultimately made us stronger.
Sometimes the best love stories weren’t the ones that went according to plan. Sometimes the best love stories were the ones that survived everything going wrong and came out stronger on the other side.
Sometimes the best love stories were exactly like ours.
Epilogue 3
Sam - Twenty-five Years Later
Istood in our kitchen, watching Chloe. She was plating the meat I’d grilled outside, her reading glasses perched on her head where she’d forgotten them again, wearing one of my old flannels over her jeans.
At fifty-three, she was more beautiful than the day I’d proposed to her in her clinic waiting room with wild daisies and a four-year-old accomplice.
“Stop staring and open the wine,” she said without looking up, a smile playing at her lips.
“I like staring at my wife.”
“You’re going to burn the corn.”
I rescued the corn from the grill just in time, bringing it inside to where she’d set our small kitchen table for two. No fancy restaurant tonight. No grand celebration marking twenty-five years of marriage. Just us, a home-cooked meal, and the two dogs currently sprawled on the floor, hoping for dropped food.
“The kids really outdid themselves this morning,” Chloe said as we sat down, glancing at the balloons still bobbing inthe corner and the anniversary cake on the counter. “Balloons, cards, wine, cake. They didn’t have to make such a fuss.”
“They wanted to.” I poured the wine they’d brought into both our glasses. “Monroe texted me again this afternoon – today’s lunchtime was a record. Apparently, the new menu is a hit.” I smiled. “And Declan sent a photo from the site where the Rosewood Inn used to be. They break ground on the new community center tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful.” Chloe’s face lit up with pride. “They’ve all found their own paths, haven’t they?” She paused, her smile turning wistful. “Even the one who’s currently on the other side of the country being humble about his success.”
As if summoned by her words, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call. Leo’s name flashed on the screen.
“Speak of the devil,” I said, answering and propping the phone against the wine bottle so Chloe and I were both in frame. “Hey, buddy.”
“Happy anniversary!” Leo’s face filled the screen, his smile so much like mine it still caught me off guard sometimes. At thirty, he had Jenna’s dark hair and eyes but my smile, my build, my tendency to deflect compliments. “Sorry, I’m calling during dinner. I know you two wanted it quiet.”
“It’s perfect timing,” Chloe said warmly. “How’s Seattle?”
“Rainy. Dog-filled. The usual.” Leo shifted the camera to show a large room with several dogs lounging on various beds and couches. “The Bellamy’s shepherd is finally letting me work with her without the muzzle. Took three weeks, but we’re getting there.”
“That’s the one who bit two previous trainers?” I asked.
“The same. But she’s not aggressive, she’s just scared. Someone hurt her badly before Bob and Sue Bellamy adopted her.” Leo’s face came back into view, his expression serious.“I’ve been doing groundwork, building trust. She’s starting to understand that not all humans are going to hurt her.”
