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“But none of this would have even happened if I hadn’t come here,” I whispered against his skin.
Oz forced my head back from his neck and locked eyes with me.
“If you hadn’t come here, we wouldn’t have met. The next time you say anything implying you wish you hadn’t come here, I will take it as you saying you wish we’d never met. Do you understand?”
He was so strong, so fucking capable.
“I will love you for the rest of my life,” I choked out. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m so sorry I almost let that man take you from me.”
Zach knelt down and grabbed the back of my neck to force me to look at him. “If this hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have gotten you back. Oz wouldn’t have gotten a chance to be with you forever. It’s over, Jake. It’s all over now.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath and looked at my brother crouched next to me rubbing his sore wrists, my best friend, whose arms were around his husband and child, and the man huddled in my arms, the absolute love of my life.
Was it possible?
Could I really, finally, have everything I ever wanted and be safe to enjoy it?
As the sound of sirens cut through the cold mountain air outside the shed, I thought maybe, just maybe, I could.
Epilogue
Six months later
OZ
I’d just finished the interior re-design consultation at the Haven Inn when I decided to duck into the supermarket to pick up some flowers for Jake. He and Xander would be leaving in a couple of days for their first week-long youth expedition trip of the summer, and I wanted him to know how much I was going to miss him.
On my way to the front register, I passed a display of various squeeze bottles of hot fudge for ice cream sundaes.
Hmm, maybe Jake and I could have fun with this. How many calories are in a Jake-sized portion of squeezy chocolate?
I laughed to myself as I reminded myself for the millionth time I no longer had to be so worried about every little thing I put into my mouth.
Squeezy chocolate it is, then. Maybe I should look for a tarp too, for easy cleanup…
“Oh my god, Oz! Have you seen it?”
I glanced around and recognized my friend Frieda and her eight-month-old daughter.
“Annie-belle,” I cooed at the fat-cheeked princess in the cart. “Look at you sitting up in the cart like a big girl.”
Frieda waved a magazine in my face. “Oz, since when is Anna Kendrick wearing your freaking designs? I thought you said since you missed Fashion Week, they wouldn’t be produced until next year?”
I tried to see what she was pointing at and finally had to grab her wrist to steady the magazine. “What? I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
A cashier named Nina hurried around her station to join us. “Oh! I’ve been dying to ask him about it. Oz, it’s the actress from Pitch Perfect! She’s wearing a gown you designed. The one that looks like a killer version of an Armani suit crossed with a sexy-as-heck ball gown!”
I found the page and, sure enough, there on the red carpet was Anna Kendrick wearing my suiting gown.
“Huh. I didn’t think Trina had shown anyone yet,” I muttered, flipping through to see another shot of it on the next page. “A movie premiere. Not bad. Aiden was right about that woman having connections in the business.”
I shrugged and handed it back to Frieda before making faces at the baby again.
“Who’s a chipmunk-cheeked cutie-pie?” I teased, reaching out to touch the tip of her nose with my finger. Both women continued to titter with each other about being friends with a celebrity fashion designer. There was no use in reminding them that I was just the guy with the sketchpad. My business partner, Trina, was the one who made shit happen in New York and around the world. Once Aiden had asked for her help finding me a partner, she’d flipped out and signed on with me immediately. Thankfully, Aiden and his team were managing most of the details of my side of the business.
I accepted both ladies’ words of congratulations and then shot Nina a wink. “Hey, can you check me out, please? I have a hot doctor waiting for me up the mountain.”
Right before taking the last curve to the cabin, I realized the road was blocked by a large pickup truck. I stopped my Jaguar and looked closer.
The hottest, sexiest, smartest man on the planet was standing with his back to the truck and his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Car trouble, mister?” I drawled, stepping out of my car.
“I seem to have forgotten how to work my vehicle. Someone suggested I needed to have my winter air changed out for summer air in the tires.”
