“I’d better, but not that either.” He gives me a quizzical look. “It means you have to listen to true crime podcasts for the rest of your life. Especially the creepy, gory, unhing—”
He cuts me off with a kiss. “A win is a win,” he says with a wink and that lopsided grin that has had my attention since day one.
Epilogue
Theo
Three months later
“Can you grab the salsa?” Fable calls, stepping out the front door with one arm wrapped around a basket of chips and the other holding a platter of tortillas.
Balancing the salsa jar in my grip beside the fajitas, I follow her, stepping out into the warm summer evening. In the grass before the A-frame are three long tables Dave and I built, full of people we love. Our crew is too big to actually fit inside our finished cabin, but the weather’s perfect for an outdoor picnic.
Our parents are sitting together at one, quietly chatting (and probably scheming) about something. Finn and Millie are here, the latter sporting a shiny new rock on her finger that I got to see Finn give her in Italy last month.
Tessa, Mia, and Bree all flew in for the weekend, and even Maddox and Vivian and their boys have joined us. Layla is running circles around the house with Avery and Eloise and Millie’s dog, Pepper, while Mr. Maxwell lounges on a plush porch chair and Knocks keeps tabs on everyone from the A-frame window.
It’s a perfect night, and at the center of it all is the woman of my dreams. The woman who showed me I didn’t have to be fixedto be loved. That I’m as safe with her as she is with me. And that our love is as steadfast and sturdy as our friendship.
She’s glowing in an orange sundress that showcases the flowers on her arm and my freckle nestled in the swell of her breasts.
I’m obsessed with this dress. Ican’t wait to take it off her later.
After setting the salsa and fajitas down, I wrap my arms around her waist, lifting her into the air. “Hey, sweetheart.”
She grins, looping her arms around my neck. “Think we have everything?”
There’s an adoringawbeside us, and Mia says, “This is going in the group chat for sure.” I glance over to see her camera pointed in our direction.
“You know, we could beinthe group chat now,” Fable points out.
“Nah.” Tessa sighs. “It’s way more fun to talk about you without you there.”
“Hold on, though.” Maddox raises a hand. “Can I get an invite?”
“Oh, for sure.” Tessa nods. “You, too, Vivian?”
Fable shakes her head and murmurs against my lips, “Might as well give them something to talk about.” And she kisses me again, igniting a burst of rowdy cheers and applause beside us.
Fable
Three more months later
“Come on! We’re going to be late!” I shout up to the loft.
“We have an hour,” Theo calls back. A drawer slides shut, followed by several footsteps, a door closing, and then he appears at the top of the stairs, buttoning up—
“A flannel? Really?” I pretend to be unimpressed. Secretly, though, I didn’t know it was possible to love an article of clothing more. There’s something about that plaid pattern stretched over his broad shoulders that really does it for me.
I’ve been stealing them for myself since he moved in. I’m pretty sure he knows.
Theo struts down, smug as ever. “This is myniceflannel, thank you very much.”
“For a wedding though?”
Coming to a stop in front of me in the kitchen, he finishes the bottom button. “They’re getting married in the gazebo downtown. Logan told mehe’swearing a flannel, and if the groom can wear one, I can too.” He points to my outfit. “Besides, it matches you perfectly.”
I look down at my dress—dark green with gold, yellow, and orange flowers. It’ll fit right in for a fall wedding. Arching a brow, I point to his maroon-and-gray shirt. “Oh yeah? There’s no maroon in my dress.”
