EPILOGUE
1 YEAR LATER
Lily sat at the picnic table, typing away feverishly on her laptop. She was finally writing the third book of the camping series she had started the year before. The words had been flowing since she moved to Wintervale, and this newest series had become a fan favorite. The inspiration she found in the small town was exactly what she needed.
While she was bummed she no longer lived near Stacy, they agreed to hang out at least once a year in an agreed-upon place—specifically somewhere tropical. They took their first trip earlier that year in the Caribbean. It had been Lily’s first time away from Ethan since they had gotten together, and she had missed him fiercely the entire trip. Now Stacy and Daniel had flown up to Montana for the camping trip—a surprise orchestrated by Ethan.
“Lily, we agreed you were taking the weekend off from writing,” Ethan said.
“You can’t plan inspiration, Ethan.”
“Listen to the woman. We need the next book,” Mia said.
Ethan’s entire family, their significant others, plus Stacy and Daniel, were camping at the Wintervale campgrounds, the samecampgrounds where Lily and Ethan had had their first trip. Lily had been hesitant about going again, but Ethan had convinced her to join him in the fall after the marshmallow incident. No one was burned by marshmallows, and she actually slept in a tent for the first time. Since then, she had declared herself an avid camper despite this only being her second successful trip so far.
“Babe, come on. We’re about to roast marshmallows for s’mores,” Ethan said.
Lily sighed. Her battery was almost dead, and she hadn’t realized how cold she was getting sitting in the dark away from the fire. She saved her work and shut the laptop down.
“Okay, okay. ‘Mallow me.” She walked over to Ethan and took the roasting stick from him, which he had prepped with a marshmallow for her. Then she sat in the seat beside him and put her marshmallow over the campfire. The heat felt good against her cold hands. Everyone had marshmallows over the fire, and Lily immediately got an idea for another book, getting lost in the imaginary scene that played in her head.
“Babe. Your marshmallow is on fire,” Ethan said.
Lily snapped back to the present and immediately pulled her stick back to blow the flames out. Everyone dropped their sticks and screamed, dramatically covering their faces. She looked around at every single person, their marshmallows burning up in the fire or now covered in dirt near the fire pit, while they all took cover.
“Hilarious,” she said, blowing the flame out without flicking it at anyone.
They all burst into laughter and picked up their sticks, discarding their marshmallows and putting new ones on.
“I’m sorry, but we had to,” Karen said.
Lily rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. “But was it worth ruining your marshmallows?”
A chorus of yeses rang out throughout the group.
Lily slid her marshmallow off her stick and took a bite. The inside was gooey despite the outside being burnt. “Yum. Are you sure it was worth it?”
Emma stared at Lily and sighed dramatically. “No. Not at all. You all made me ruin my marshmallow.”
Everyone laughed. Miles added an extra piece of chocolate to Emma’s s’more to keep her happy.
Lily looked around at the group, completely content for the first time in her life. She had a wonderful man, the best of friends, and lived in a town she fell in love with. Nothing could be better than this.
