I take the elevator up to the apartment, even though I swear I could float there without it. He loves me. And I love him. And even if this world gets harder…somehow it’ll always be easier because of that simple truth.
Epilogue
Sadie
Three months later
Aweek ago, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call. The best type of phone call: Dixie crying tears of joy because Eli had asked her to marry him. And now, tonight, Dixie and Eli’s engagement party is in full swing. Half the Thunder team is here, my entire family and even Eli’s parents came, and they actually look happy. Jude insisted on hosting it at his place. And Winnie insisted on cooking for it. I sip my wine and glance around the room. Life is good.
“Winnie wants to know if you can help her in the kitchen,” Ty says. I hadn’t realized he had walked up beside me. “Something about how only you can help her with the secret wing sauce.”
I smile at him. “Okay. How are you, Ty?”
“Good.” He nods. “Happy to be here.”
He smiles at me and wanders off toward the back of the room where Jude is standing with Levi and some of their teammates. Ty’s been in town for two weeks, and I haven’t caught Winnie and him fighting once. Hopefully this means they’re back on track.
I head to the kitchen, where I find Winnie pulling a tray of wings out of the oven. She glances at me. “Oh, good! Can you grab the special sauce?”
I nod and grab the mason jar of sauce she mixed back home this morning. It was on the counter beside the stove and Ty could have easily done it, but she clearly wants me here for something else. I hand her the jar as she carefully slides the wings into a big metal bowl. As she takes it she smiles at me. “Sorry to pull you away from Griffin.”
“He’s on the front porch with Dad,” I explain, and Winnie’s head flips up and she looks at me in shock. “I know. Dad said he needed some air and asked Griffin to wheel him out there.”
“What do you think that’s about?” Winnie asks. “Think he’s asking for your hand in marriage like Eli did?”
“God, no,” I reply firmly. “It’s only been three months. Relax there, Win.”
She winks. “Crazier things can happen.”
“If you can wait over a decade, I can wait at least a couple of years,” I say without thinking. Oh, fuck, I hope this doesn’t set her off again with Ty. Luckily, she just shrugs, so I dare to keep going on the subject. “Things are good with you and Ty right now, huh?”
“Yeah.” Winnie nods as she tosses the wings in the sauce. “I guess I just…I’m tired of feeling hurt.”
I don’t know exactly what that means, but I don’t have time to ask because Dixie comes bursting into the kitchen. “Why is your boyfriend in a deep conversation with Dad?”
She heads straight for a bottle of red on the counter and refills her glass before turning to me for an answer.
“No idea,” I reply. “Mom and Dad met Charlie last week, so maybe it’s about that.”
“How did that go?” Dixie asks, but Winnie answers before I can.
She turns to Dixie with a big smile on her face. “It was the cutest. Charlie and Griffin came over for dinner, and Charlie was so polite and sweet. Mom and Dad were in love with her and so was I. She wants a skateboard and a dog for her birthday, which is an archery-themed party.”
“She sounds fun. When do I get to meet your stepdaughter?” Dixie asks, and my head spins to stare at her, my hair slipping around my face. “Relax. I know I’m jumping the gun. I won’t say it in front of Griffin or anything.”
“I just want to be careful with this situation,” I say quietly. “I mean, you know, Charlie seems to like me, and Lauren and I are civil, but, well, baby steps.”
I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of white out of the door and refill my own glass. “Anyway, I think I’ve convinced Griffin it’s okay to get her a dog. We’ve been scouring rescue sites. He really wants one for her, but he’s worried about his schedule. I talked to Mom and Dad, and they said they’d be fine if I helped out with the dog and brought him to our place when Griffin’s away with the team.”
No one is speaking, so I glance up and stare at them staring at me. They’ve both got goofy grins on their faces. “What?”
“I just fucking love that you are in love,” Dixie exclaims.
I blink. “Guess what, weirdo? I love that you’re in love too.”
“Aww…I feel a group hug coming on!” Winnie turns away from the bowl of wings and opens her arms. Dixie and I walk into them.
“Dixie’s right, though, Sadie,” Winnie adds as we hug. “You’ve always been everyone’s rock, and it’s just nice to know you have a rock now too. You deserve it.”
