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And with the help of everybody Oliver and I hold dear, I bought his family’s restaurant back.

The trickiest part was getting Rob to agree to give up his multimillion-dollar deal with Oscar. It took more than just me barging into his office that day. Dozens of people showed up at the mayor’s office after I dropped old-school flyers in their mailboxes, all of them with a story of how Oliver helped them renovate their roof, brought food for them after a hospital visit, or took care of their kids for a few hours.

“It’s the least we can do,” they said when I asked if they’d be willing to help me close the sale. “We miss the place as much as we miss Jerry.”

Truth is, Rob wasn’t indifferent to this turn of events either. All he wanted was for Pine Falls to stop footing the bill for the building. And when Riley hooked him up with one of her land development contacts to assess expansion options for the existing hotel, it sealed the deal. He even agreed to play along when Oliver kept on calling him to get updates on the sale and almost blew up our plan. Fortunately, Rob stayed tight-lipped, and Oliver’s expectations remained low but not crushed.

It really did take a village.

I wailed the whole drive back after I left Rob’s office with his signature on the sales contract, and when Oliver jogged to my car to greet me, I jumped his bones right there in the back seat, no explanation needed.

I fasten the last buttons on my dress, my skin heating at the memory.

Every day spent by his side has been like that: always wanting him closer, craving him, never having enough. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and find him asleep next to me, softly breathing, and wonder what I did right in a past life to deserve a second chance at loving this man—and to have my love returned tenfold.

In all my years of scouring the world in search of the rarest beauty, never would I have imagined that I’d find something far more precious here in Pine Falls, in the arms of the man who wrote to me for five years, never giving up on us. Never would I have thought that this town would become my sanctuary.

And today, Oliver gets his back.

Oliver

still don’t understand why I need to wear a tie for tonight,” I say as I tighten the knot at the collar of my cream-colored shirt.

“Because,” Matt says from his bathroom, “we’re finishing this boys’ weekend with a true gentlemen’s night out. And we’re doing it the proper way.”

James adjusts his cufflinks, casting a furtive glance in Matt’s direction before focusing back on his shaking fingers.

Weird.

Why does he look nervous? “You okay, man?”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah, just struggling with these.” James holds out his wrists. “Two days in the wild, and I’ve forgotten how to wear formal clothing.” He straightens the lapel of his suit jacket. “It’s so tight.”

I reach for James’s wrist and lock the cufflinks properly. “There you go.”

“Thanks, Oli.” James checks his watch. “Oh, we gotta go or we’ll be late for t—”

“Our reservation,” Matt cuts in, throwing James a warning glare.

I frown. “What is up with you two? Where are we going?”

“Just a nice restaurant, but we don’t want to arrive late, so if we’re all ready, let’s get this show on the road.”

I run my fingers through the waves atop my head, trying to put my hair into some semblance of order. “I hope you’re not dragging us to another ‘adult’ club. I still have awful nightmares.”

James shudders. “Me too.”

“It’s not my fault. I was told it would be a tasteful experience,” Matt retorts, tying his hair in a neater-than-usual bun. “How could I have known it was a BDSM swingers’ club?”

“The name, maybe?” I suggest.

Mistress Munch, in neon-pink letters. Five minutes in, James and I had sprinted out of there.

“I don’t want to get back home too late,” I add. I check to see if Charlee texted again, but I’ve only received one message from her since I got my signal back.

Charlee

I can’t wait to see you tonight.