“Sorry about Sunny. Once he figured out where we were, trying to keep him in the carrier was nearly impossible. I was afraid he’d break through the netting if I didn’t let him out.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Seeing him wander through my door was a surprise. All of this… is a surprise.” My hand pushes through my hair again. Liv nods, eyes turning back to the sky one more time. A pink hue in the distance has taken hold, pushing away the darkness, minute by minute.
“I will never tire of seeing the stars.” She sighs and then drops her gaze back to me. “Luke, I?—”
“Did you see the review and my… my reply?” I suppress the urge to palm my face.Idiot.
She sucks air in through her teeth. “Really? That’s what you’re leading with?”
I laugh, shrugging. “Well, to be fair, I thought I had seven hours to come up with something really smooth, but you kindatook the wind out of my sails here. I was coming to New York. Bags are packed, coffee poured. Really going for that grand gesture that I hear the ladies love.”
Surprise sneaks across her face, but she pushes it away quickly.
“I can go…” She hikes a thumb over her shoulder.
“No! No.” I step into her space, wrapping my arms around her waist. Her hands find their way around my shoulders, fingers playing with the hair at the base of my neck. Nothing has ever felt so right.
“Don’t go. Don’t leave me again.” I run my nose along hers, kissing the tip while my heart thrashes in my chest. “Please… please stay.”
Her whole body relaxes into me, eyes softening, and she whispers against my lips, “I really hoped you’d say that.”
EPILOGUE
“Aha, so this is the man who stole my granddaughter away, huh?” Pop says, reaching his hand out to Luke, who takes it and grips tightly. “Grip could be firmer.” Pop raises one bushy brow.
Luke’s mouth falls open, a small sound leaving his lips.
“Pop,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“I’m just messing around. Come in, come in!” He waves Luke, Josh, Viv, and me into the house and guides us toward the back.
“Everything sorted out with work?” Pop asks, gesturing to the outdoor table where he’s put out lunch for us.
“Sort of. We’re figuring it out.” Viv and Cori are running the office at the moment, and I work remotely, video calling in at least once a day. I think we’ve reached a semblance of a plan to make it all work.
“Don’t you worry, Pop. We've got it all covered!” Viv says brightly, clapping him on the back as she makes her way to a chair.
“How about the apartment?” he asks.
“I’m going to keep it for now. It’ll be nice to have somewhere to stay when I visit.”
Moving hours away to a place where the only option was to stay with Luke or in his mom’s house has pushed us to move through the dating motions a little faster than a typical relationship.
The last two weeks have been nothing short of incredible, aside from the ongoing disagreement about bringing my comfy chair back to Maple Cove. Luke argues it doesn’t match the decor in his apartment—it does. Mostly I think he just doesn’t want to figure out how to get it down five flights of stairs. Either way, we agreed that it’s not a bad idea to keep my apartment for a while longer until we really get settled into this new normal.
Josh offered to pay a small amount to stay in my apartment whenever he visited the city to see Viv. Although he has a date tonight with Sharp Suit Guy—who we now know as Greg. Depending on how that goes, he may have more reason to visit the city than Viv.
“Have you guys gotten any backlash from the review that girl left?” Viv asks.
“Actually, it’s only made things better. Holly said she’s gotten multiple calls from people wanting to know if this is the bed-and-breakfast where the staff member fell in love.”
My hand finds its way into Luke’s, our fingers entwining. We haven’t said the L word yet, but we don’t mind the guests labeling it that way.
“I guess the romance of it has really put a mark on our little corner of Lover’s Lake,” Luke finishes for me.
“Well, that’s sweet! Hey, did you ask Holly?” Viv raises her eyebrows, sipping her iced tea.
“Ask Holly what?” Luke asks, face turning to me. I hadn’t told him yet what Viv and I had been brainstorming.
