My shoulders shake with my laughter. I look across the table at Lennon. She rolls her eyes upward, but there’s a smile on her face.
“Uh, guys.” Brady looks around, then back to us. “I hate to break it to you, but I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
I peer around Brady. We’re the last table in the place, and our server is sitting at a booth, scrolling on her phone.
We stand up and walk out, exchanging hugs and goodbyes outside the door. When Lennon hugs me, I whisper, “Thanks for letting me into his room.”
“I’m just happy I thought to swipe his extra key card,” she responds, laughing quietly.
Brady wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him. “Alright, ladies, enough secrets. Rectangles don’t tell secrets.”
“Huh?” Finn, Lennon, and I all stare at Brady.
“Rectangle,” he repeats. “A shape with four sides. You know, because we used to be a triangle, but now Addison made us a rectangle.”
Lennon groans. Finn shakes his head and says, “I’ll be calling on you when I need some dorky dad jokes.”
Brady playfully punches Finn’s shoulder. “You sure you have to go home?” he asks.
Finn and Lennon are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning, but I wouldn’t mind if they accidentally-on-purpose missed their flight.
“You can come home anytime, Brady,” Finn responds.
Brady squeezes the arm he has wrapped around me. “I am home.”
We have another round of hugs, then part ways.
Brady drives us back to Sweet Escape. He parks the truck and we walk down to cabin seven.
Once we’re inside, he pulls me to him. “Thank you. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you get along with them.”
“You mean, with Lennon?” I’m pretty sure if I’d met Lennon on my own, she’d become my best friend. Anyone who jumps into a car with someone they don’t really know, just to help out a friend, is a person I want in my life.
Brady looks unsure of what to say next, so I help him out. “Don’t worry, Brady. We both came to Lonesome with baggage.” My baggage is probably back in Chicago by now.
Brady’s fingers slip into my hair, gripping either side of my head. His gaze grows soft, and it warms my chest, like he’s sending his love directly into my body.
“We’re not each other’s first loves, and that’s okay.” He leans in, rubbing the tip of his nose against mine. When he speaks again, I hear it, but I also feel it, his words against my skin and in my heart and zinging through every cell in my body. “Because we’re going to be each other’s last loves.”
And then he releases me, only to pick me up and carry me into his room.
30
Epilogue
Apparently I chosethe right profession. This handyman business is better suited for someone who knows what he’s doing.
When Louisa asked if I could install security lights on her house, I said yes. What I should’ve said wasno. Along with cooking and laundry, I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to minor home improvements or repairs.
I am, however, a smart enough guy that I can figure it out the way I figured out how to bake that cake for Addison.Internet tutorials.
I watch the video a handful of times, and once I’m confident I’ve got it down, I climb up the ladder and get to work.
It’s not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, now that I know what I’m doing. If anything, the challenging part is staying focused on the task when I can see Addison through the front window. She and Louisa stand in the living room, folding baskets of towels and sheets.
When I’m done installing the two new motion-activated security lights, I turn the electricity to the house back on and go inside in search of my girl.
I find her in the kitchen, dividing up baked goods into the brown wicker baskets Louisa leaves in each cabin as a welcome to the new guests. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’ve been around long enough now to understand that means it’s a big day for guest check-out and check-in.
