“Men,” Stacy muttered.
At that moment, the elevator dinged and Stacy’s eyes shot over Ethan’s shoulder. Her eyes widened, causing Ethan to look why, only to find Lily getting off the elevator with Scott. Stacy stomped toward them.
“Oh, hell no!” Stacy yelled.
Lily looked up in surprise. “Stace? What are you doing here?”
“I’m preventing you from making the biggest mistake of your life by being with this fuddy-duddy.” She waved her hand toward Scott, whose eyebrows raised.
“I’m not a fuddy-duddy,” he protested.
Stacy waved her hand in the air, dismissing him. “How could you evenconsidergetting back with him when you have hot-guy Ethan?”
“Sta—”
“Uh, uh, uh. I’m not done yet. Scott dumped you and then picked up another woman immediately. His co-worker, who he insisted was a friend. You’ve been permanently grumpy for several yearsuntilyou met Ethan. He is the one you want. Every time you talk about him, I can hear the affection in your voice. You were never like that with Scott. Scott doesn’t deserve you.”
“Um, rude,” Scott said.
“Don’t care, Scott.” Stacy waved her hand, dismissing him again. “And here, this hot guy wants to be with you, and you are now considering letting an amazing man go forhim?” She gestured wildly at Scott. “Um, no. No. He isn’t worth it.”
Ethan looked at the group of people in front of him, his head pinging around like he was watching a tennis match. In the end, if he didn’t end up with Lily, at least he got an entertaining show out of it.
Which wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as getting the girl, but her best friend was rooting for him.
The man who came with Stacy stepped up beside Ethan.
“I’m Daniel, by the way. I’m married to the spitfire,” he said.
Ethan shook his hand as they both watched the debacle in front of them. “Ethan. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Do you know if you have a vacancy? We left the house in a hurry. Didn’t really plan anything.”
Ethan looked toward Annie. “I believe we do. You can ask the front desk.”
Daniel nodded his thanks and walked the few steps over to the desk.
Stacy was still on a rant, and finally Lily stepped forward and covered Stacy’s mouth.
“Can you let me talk now?” Lily asked.
When Stacy nodded, Lily dropped her hand and stepped back. Through everything, Ethan noticed that Lily and Scott had never touched each other. He took that as a good sign for himself, but he waited patiently. He needed to hear it from her.
“Scott and I aren’t getting back together.”
“Thank fuck,” Stacy said, exasperated. “Why didn’t you start with that?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I tried to. You wouldn’t let me.”
Stacy waved a hand in the air again, something Ethan noticed she did a lot.
“Okay, whatever. Continue.”
Lily took a deep breath and looked at Scott. “He apologized for how he treated me, and we both acknowledged that our relationship with one another wasn’t the greatest. We were together for so long that it felt natural to gravitate back to each other, but we are remaining friends. That’s it.” Then Lily’s eyes found Ethan’s. “I’ve realized my heart belongs in Wintervale… with Ethan. If he’ll have me.”
Ethan’s heart soared, and he took several quick steps toward Lily, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up, spinning her. Everything he ever wanted was within reach. He had the woman of his dreams and she wanted him, too.
She giggled. When he set her down, he looked into her eyes.
“I will always have you, Lily. You’re my person. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
A sob erupted from Stacy, causing both of them to look at her with concern. “I’ve been so emotionally piqued since I found out Scott was heading here. I was worried you’d make a mistake, and I’d need to help you find your way. This makes me so happy.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around both of them, sobbing. “This is the best day ever.”
