I turn to Jude. “Sorry. You’re probably going to be seeing a lot of that. Your sister is completely in love with me.”
Jude smiles at me. “You can do better.”
“Shut up!” Winnie throws her napkin at her brother. Jude, having the reflexes of a cat, catches it easily. Then, his face grows serious.
“You make her happy,” Jude says. “If that ever changes, I will destroy you.”
“As expected,” I reply.
He looks over at his sister. “Dad liked Holden. He’d be happy for you.”
The sadness that ravaged her is still there, but not consuming her. “He would be happy. And in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m staying in Maine. Indefinitely.”
I release a breath and everything in me relaxes. It’s like the last puzzle piece finally gets locked into place. I know it’s going to create a bunch more groans but I don’t care, I kiss her again.
Epilogue
Winnie
Ten months later
I turn at the knock on the bedroom door. My mom is standing there in a beautiful rose-colored dress. It was my dad’s favorite color on her. “Dad was right. That color brings out the pink in your cheeks.”
She smiles. “I’m so glad Dixie wasn’t serious when she kept saying she was going to make you and Sadie wear mustard taffeta and satin ball gowns as bridesmaids dresses.”
“With giant matching bows for our hair,” I add and then look down at my very classy, lacy blush-pink dress. “Thankfully she wasn’t willing to ruin her own wedding photos for the sake of a joke.”
“She’s almost ready,” Mom says about Dixie. “She’s just getting her makeup retouched because she had a bit of a cry. We both did, but it was a good cry.”
I cross the room and hug my mom. “Today is going to be full of good cries. It’s the only cry he’d want us to have.”
“He’d be blubbering worse than any of us,” Mom laughs as she lets go of me. “Not just for Dixie but for the joy he’d see in your face now too.”
My heart swells. “You’ve noticed.”
“Of course,” Mom says, her eyes sparkling. “I miss not having you in San Francisco, but I can tell, in your voice when we talk on the phone and seeing you on FaceTime calls, that this is where you need to be. That he’s who you need to be with.”
I bite my bottom lip and hesitate but then decide to let her in on our secret. “We bought the house next door.”
She blinks, her expression startled but not in a horrified way. “The two of you? Together? I didn’t know the neighbors were selling.”
“They asked Holden for a quote on renos and were so overwhelmed with the work that needed to be done they decided they were going to list it,” I explain. “Holden and I decided to make an offer. They accepted.”
She hugs me again, which is a clear sign she approves. “I’m so excited for you, Win! I love that you’ll be right next door,” she says. As she pulls back, her expression grows serious. “But renovating a house together can be stressful. Don’t let it create too much stress.”
“Are you kidding?” I say and wink. “We love living through renos together. If it weren’t for renos, we wouldn’t have found each other.”
She laughs and then I hear Holden clear his throat from the door. My mom immediately starts out of the room. “Meet me downstairs in a few minutes and you can help us get Dixie into her dress.” I nod and she turns to Holden with a friendly smile. “You look dashing.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Braddock.” He grins with pride and adjusts the bow tie on his tux. “You look lovely.”
“I do,” she agrees. “And it’s Enid to you. You’re family now.”
My heart skips happily at that comment. From the expression on Holden’s face I can tell his must have too. My mom disappears from view and as I hear her descend the stairs.
Holden walks into the bedroom we’ve been sharing for months and wraps his arms around my waist. “You’re stunning.”
I don’t have my heels on yet so I rock up on my tiptoes and kiss him. God, we’ve lived together in the cottage for ten months, and I still cannot get enough of this man. I hope that never changes. When he breaks the kiss, I glance at the clock on the bedside table. Damn. No time for a quickie. I sigh and check my reflection in the mirror again to make sure my lipstick doesn’t need a retouch.
