What a journey it had been—through grief, hesitation, and hard choices—all leading here… a new chapter in a new corner of New York.
Her children were happy.
Xander was too, as he so deserved.
And Rylee… she was finally beginning to see this place as her sanctuary.
She wasn’t just surviving anymore.
She was living.
Greene Gardens wasn’t just a fresh start. It was their home now.
Nova already had a favorite reading nook by the window, and LJ had claimed the garage for his science projects.
They had found comfort in the new and were evolving. Healing.
Rylee hadn’t forgotten Lennox, like she feared.
And she never would.
This new life didn’t feel like it was erasing him…
It felt like it was honoring what he’d taught her about love.
And Xander… he had made a home in Rylee’s world. Not as a replacement for Lennox, but as something new.
Something that was hers.
Her peace.
Her partner.
Her next chapter.
One she was finally ready to step into, fearlessly.
epilogue
XANDER
“Xander,”the officiant, Reverend Kareem Holden, said to Xander with a grin. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Xander nodded his understanding, his eyes returning to Rylee.
The two stood out in their backyard in Greene Gardens beneath a beautiful arching arbor formed by red and white roses. He held her hand in his, his grip tight but loving.
She stood on sparkling silver heels wearing a cream A-line dress that highlighted her curves and accentuated her shoulders in lace sleeves. Her hair, styled by her mother, was cornrowed in the front, her long curls loose and flowing along her shoulders.
Xander had found it hard to keep his eyes off her since she made it down the aisle to him.
It was their wedding day… one Xander imagined the moment he slid that diamond ring onto her finger, now winking in the late afternoon sun.
“Rylee,” he started, needing to clear his throat to clear it of the heavy emotions that weighed it down. “Not long ago, we moved into this house and I thought that the moment was ourversion of complete. But it’s here, right now, standing in front of you that feels more like the perfect completion and a beginning I can’t wait to be fully inside of.”
They’d only given themselves six months to plan. It was after a night out in Manhattan with no kids and hours to enjoy alone, just the two of them. They had just hit up their favorite taco truck and were making their way down the city blocks, headed for Xander’s truck, when Rylee blurted, “Let’s just get married later this year.”
The two had been going back and forth with ideas on the idea of a small versus big wedding. Neither of them wanted the fanfare. They wanted something simple. An event where they could invite only the people they loved and truly knew.
