As we left the park together, I glanced back once.
The booth lights were going dark. The space Graham had taken up was empty. Whatever power he’d thought he had here was gone, dissolved into the night like it had never mattered.
Ahead of us was the cleanup, the drive home, and plans. Plans for the evening, tomorrow, and into the future. And Eliza—right beside me, exactly where she belonged. I closed my hand around hers and didn’t let go.
Chapter 33
Eliza
The last box slid into the truck bed with a soft thump, and I turned to find Nate already watching me. His smile was soft—the kind that didn’t need a punchline to feel like joy. My heart was still racing from the win, the music, the laughing, the way Tilly had bounced in place when our names were called. I couldn’t stop smiling even if I wanted to.
We’d cleaned our booth in record time, thanks to my sisters, both sets of grandparents hovering nearby to help, and Piper’s efficient, mildly bossy energy as she darted back and forth between our booth and hers. The glow from the stage lights still shimmered across the park lawn, catching the strands of lights in the trees and the delicate glitter of night as it began to settle in.
Lois wagged her tail at the truck, already curled into her spot in the backseat like she was waiting for us to get our act together.
“You ready?” Nate asked, brushing his hands on his jeans as he looked between me and the truck like we were his two favorite things.
I nodded, feeling the weight of the night settle around my shoulders—but not in a heavy way. More like a blanket, soft and certain.
Tilly climbed into the back with Lois, chattering about the votes and how she’d told her grandma they were totally going to win. “And then Lucy brought Larry the llama, and I think he voted too, even though llamas probably like to eat grass more than pot pie,” she said as she buckled in, petting Lois behind the ears.
We pulled away from the park, the warm murmur of the crowd trailing behind us. Outside the window, Honeybrook Hollow glowed like a dream.
I exhaled. “This town, man. It’s ridiculous how perfect it looks tonight.”
“It does that on purpose,” Nate said, glancing at me. “Wants you to fall in love with it.”
“I already did,” I murmured. “A long time ago.”
His eyes softened. “Me too.”
Tilly leaned forward between the seats. “Hey. Are we celebrating at our house? Like with games, or a movie? Can Lois pick the movie again? She liked the one with the talking animals.”
I laughed. “She fell asleep ten minutes in.”
“She wasthinking,” Tilly insisted.
Nate chuckled, then turned down the radio and tapped the steering wheel gently.
“Actually, sweetheart,” he said. “We wanted to tell you something.”
She perked up, immediately suspicious and interested. “What is it?”
Nate looked at me. I nodded, heart pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with pot pies and small-town cooking competitions.
“We love each other,” Nate said simply. “Eliza and me. We’re together now.”
Tilly’s eyes went wide and shiny. “Forreal?”
I swallowed. “For real. Only if that’s okay with you.”
She let out a delighted squeal and reached forward to hug me over the seat. “You’re like boyfriend and girlfriend now, right? Like, you’ll come over and make spaghetti again and smell like coffee and hug Lois and?—”
“Yes,” I said, tears slipping down before I could stop them. “If you want me to.”
“Ido,” she whispered, beaming. “Thisis the sparkliest day ever, Daddy!”
My heart cracked wide open.
