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EPILOGUE
A month later…
Poppy opened the door to their home. The same apartment she’d worked on, and where she had moved to three weeks prior. They tried to take things slowly, but didn’t work out that way. And thank goodness, the kids loved the idea—they had been the ones who came up with it.
“Poppy, is that you?” Laurel called, from the living room. “You have a few voicemails in your inbox.”
Poppy tossed her bag on the couch and removed her shoes.
After Ethan left Kyle Entertainment, he offered Laurel a position and she came to be an assistant—to him and to her. Her podcast exploded overnight, thanks to her now-famous fiancé who had mentioned it during a business interview following the Roy scandal and his new career path.
Oh, yes, fiancé. He proposed to her when she moved in, and his kids and a colorful box of donuts were involved.
“Any of them from my cousin?” she asked. Billie had left for Australia, and Poppy couldn’t quit being worried about her cousin. She usually emailed quickly, minus time difference, of course, but still… she hoped Billie would be back in time for her wedding.
“Nope. Just collab opportunities, one of them super interesting,” Laurel said. “I’ll go grab some coffee for Ethan, he’s in the office. Would you like anything?”
“Coffee sounds great.”
“Iced?” Laurel asked, and winked at her. The inside joke about that one time she “accidentally” spilled coffee on Laurel, months ago. The reason why she’d been able to even meet Ethan. The reason her life had changed forever.
“Yes please,” she said, then walked to the office. The door was open, but she tapped it anyway, to get his attention.
Ethan lifted his gaze from his screen to her. One more month and he’d move into a space he rented for his consulting firm, though having him nearby all the time was the best.
A silly, fuzzy emotion wrapped in her stomach as she walked up to his desk. Ah, his desk… so many memories. “Busy?”
“Never too busy,” he said, then stood, and pulled her into his lap. They both sank down in his chair, and she chuckled into his neck. “By the way, Willow mentioned something about a play in a few weeks. She seems to be enjoying the drama club.”
“She’s a natural,” she said, affection dripping from her voice. Seeing how excited Willow was to have joined the drama club at school and being more social with her friends was truly a joy. And as for Archie, he’d gotten a slot in a new school and was thriving. Hardly any notes from teachers. Not bad ones, anyway.
She glanced at him, her chest filled with pride. Then, she ran her fingers through his hair. She’d picked a good one, hadn’t she? His gaze held hers, and a warm glow flowed through her, along with that powerful sensation that embraced her every time he was close. “You know how I know you’re the man for me?”
“How?”
“Because if every day is like today, I’m happy.”
He squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of her words. “But there isn’t anything special about today, is there? You’re working, we’ll have lunch together, then I’ll be working, pick up the kids, and—”
Smiling, she encircled her arms around him. “That’s exactly what I mean. I want every single non-eventful day with you,” she said. Good days or bad days—Ethan made the difference in all of them. When she’d moved to NYC, she considered herself a bit brave for leaving Hope Springs behind. For trying a new life. And now, she was still brave, but in a different way… she took on life with him, life together, the biggest adventure she’d yet lived. “I want it all with you.”
“Me too, Poppy. Always and forever.” A spark flickered in the depths of his dreamy blue eyes. He pointed his head in the direction of the door, still opened. “Is Laurel gone?”
Little thrills of excitement ran down her spine. “Yes.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m about to do it all with you too. Or at least, some of it. The rest will have to wait until tonight,” he said, then kissed her, with the urgency and passion of a man who hadn’t seen his lover for ages.
She melted into his lap, tingles running up and down her body. She could settle for some of it now. She knew they had their whole lives to do it all…
