“I’m gonna go call Roma’s,” Mr. LeRoux said, leaving them alone in the entryway.
“Hey, Clem. Hello, Mr. Pleasant,” she said, waggling her right eyebrow. “Hiya doing? You should kiss me.”
Jesse didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms. He tipped back his hat, and leaned down to kiss her long and hard. It had only been half a day, but he started to miss her whenever she wasn’t around. From the way she was kissing him back, he knew she felt the same way too.
“I talked to my dad,” he blurted out.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, about everything. It went really well. My parents are going to move back to Charming.”
“Babe, that’s great. Like, damn. It’s hard to have those kinds of talks with people, especially our parents. I’m really happy for you.”
“Thank you. How was your day?” he asked quietly before he kissed her again. Finally she stepped back a bit, but not too much. She was still close, her hands splayed on his pecs, awakening every inch of his body. It was gonna be a special kind of torture making it through PG movie night with a chaperone.
“You know, I told my father everything. Finally. Cried most of the afternoon. Contacted my lawyer, see how to handle this situation, cried some more, but I feel better now. I thought about everything I could do to make Dane’s life a living hell, but I’d rather focus on you. On us.”
“Well that’s good, ’cause you’re my woman now, and if he has a problem with it, he’s going to have to deal with me.”
“Ugh, why is it so hot when you say it?”
“It might have something to do with my rugged good looks and said sick dance moves, but it might be because I love you.”
“I’m gonna say it back soon, okay?” she replied quietly, her gaze drifting over every feature of his face. “I just—I want there to be no ex-related static in my head when I do. I want it to just be me and you up in my brain. I want my mind to be clear so I can process this good thing the right way. And maybe we’re in like a really nice hotel in Greece. We bring the dogs, of course.”
“I’ll wait as long as you need.”
Jesse reached up and stroked his thumb over her soft cheek. He remembered all the times in middle school he thought about getting up the courage to talk to her, what it would be like to hold her hand, and now she was in his arms. Lily-Grace had opened his eyes to what it could be like to be with someone who respected him and cared for him. He’d give her anything and everything she wanted, and Jesse knew he would get that kind of love right back.
Epilogue
“Miss Leona. Please. Go sit,” Lily-Grace pled. The woman had been running around nonstop since October. All the presents had been opened, everyone had been fed, and Miss Leona had been the most gracious of hosts throughout. She deserved at least five seconds of rest before they moved on to the next Christmas Day activity.
“Girl, don’t tell me what to do in my own kitchen. That dish goes right down there.” The mac and cheese Jesse had made didn’t stand a chance. She smiled to herself as she scrubbed the hand-painted baking pan, thinking about how Sam and Zach had had a standoff over the last helping; the last helping that had eventually gone to Evie. She was breast-feeding times two these days. She deserved all the mac and cheese she could handle.
“Leona, where would you like this?” Mrs. McQueen asked. Lily-Grace glanced over and caught sight of the crystal pitcher Amanda’s mom was holding.
“Just leave it right there on the counter. Thank you, sweetie.”
Every woman in the general orbit of the Pleasant family was buzzing around Miss Leona’s house, helping with cleanup. This division of labor of the sexes was not commonplace, and hadn’t been nearly an hour ago, but all of the menfolk had gone up to the ranch to help Jesse prepare for his final part of Lily-Grace’s gift. It wasn’t a surprise. He’d spent months and months working with Zach and Senior, learning how to ride Bam Bam, and today was the big unveiling of his skills in the saddle.
Lily-Grace looked around the kitchen, trying to see what else needed to be wrapped up and put away, and what else needed to be scrubbed. Christmas brunch for fourteen was no small undertaking, and neither was the cleanup. But they were actually close to finished. Teamwork makes the dream work.
She genuinely didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. The last eight months had been more than she could imagine. The plans she’d made for herself were going off without a hitch. Especially after the Royal Fuckface Whose Name She No Longer Mentioned had been dealt with. She hadn’t taken out a hit on him or anything, but she had filed a proper restraining order, and while that was being processed, someone involved in his none-too-bright scheme took issue with a missing payment and paid a visit to Dane outside of his office.
He’d walked away with just a broken wrist, but that brush with actual violence seemed to put some things in perspective for him. He’d emailed her eventually to apologize, and though she ignored it, she had a feeling he’d finally figured out it was time to let her go and leave her alone. She hadn’t heard from him since, and she knew she wouldn’t ever again.
Which suited her just fine. She was too busy living her best life.
Two months after she’d settled things up in the Bay Area, she’d moved in with Jesse. She’d looked for her own place, but nothing seemed to fit, mostly because she knew in her heart where she belonged. They’d spent so much time driving back and forth from Pleasant Lane, it just made more sense for them to wake up next to each other every morning. Over the summer she found the perfect farm to serve as the spot for her animal sanctuary. The Rollins family was retiring and moving to Lake Tahoe. They loved the idea of a hometown girl like Lily-Grace giving their farm a second life that would help so many animals in need.
After a few long talks with Evie and Jesse, she realized she didn’t want to run it herself full time, but she wanted to be the money behind it all, and thanks to her and all the Pleasants’ connections drumming up support and publicity, she knew Sunshine Animal Sanctuary would be a success. They were still hiring staff and completing renovations on the barn and the main house, but they were on track to receive two cows and three elderly horses who’d arrive the first of March.
There had still been the matter of Ulway and what to do about Aaron Genicks. She’d talked to Jesse and her father, and decided to link up with her own therapist. Dr. Lydia was amazing and she’d given Lily-Grace all the time and space she needed to work through her lingering feelings about the harassment and what she needed for herself moving forward. Thinking back on all the hard work she’d put in and all the young women who’d come behind her and were still to walk through Ulway’s doors looking to build their career, she wanted to do something. In the summer, after she got the sanctuary up and running, she was going to go public with her story and let as many people as would listen know exactly what Aaron had done.
Lily-Grace knew at best, Aaron might lose his job, but at least there would be something on record. Something out in the world that might protect the next woman who came in contact with him. She knew there would be fall out, but she’d do her best to take it day by day. She had a plan. She had good people around her, and a soft place to land.
For years, she’d convinced herself Charming was just too dull for her, but maybe she needed the chance to see what else was out there. To see what she needed for herself, what she really wanted, and the classic saying turned out to be true. There was no place like home. There was always something to do and also someone to spend her time with, now twin babies to help out with. Lily-Grace never thought she would enjoy babysitting this much, but she loved any time she got to spend time with little Seraphina and her brother Justice, younger by exactly three minutes.
