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Epilogue
Aria locked the door of Meow and Then and slipped her keys into her bag. A ribbon of sunset light streaked over the horizon, and the breeze carried the ocean’s scent. Across the street, Destiny stood outside Moonbeams, squinting up at the roof. A Metalworks Hardware truck was parked at the curb.
“What’s going on?” Aria approached her friend, who had forgone her suit and was wearing a bright, Indian-print caftan and gold jewelry. “Did the understated look work on Joe?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since the meeting, so I asked him to check on my roof.” Destiny fiddled with the chain at her neckline. “Hunter hired him to assess the structural stability of all the buildings before the surveyors and inspectors come in. He didn’t even seem to notice my sedate look. Joe, I mean. Not Hunter.”
“Destiny, you’d be the first to tell me that your One True Love should adore you exactly the way you are.”
Her friend arched a plucked eyebrow. “Who said anything about One True Love? I’m just hoping for a good boink.”
Aria laughed. “Itispossible to have both. Just saying.”
“Speaking of One True Loves and boinking, I saw Callie the other day.” Destiny clucked her tongue and shook her head. “That girls needs help in both departments. I’ll do a reading on her and see what the cards say.”
“Good luck with that.” Aria rolled her eyes in amusement.
Though her relationship with Callie had smoothed out, her sister still viewed the whole Mariposa situation—and Aria and Hunter’s relationship—with wary caution. Now that she no longer felt the need to prove herself, Aria was making an effort to accept her sister’s protectiveness and practicality.
Taking the red amethyst necklace out of her pocket, she extended it to Destiny. “I wanted to return this. It gave me all the courage I needed.”
“Oh, my little Dorothy.” Destiny held up the stone, turning it to capture the light. “You always had the courage. The necklace just reminded you of that.”
“Thanks, Glinda.” Aria hugged her friend. “Good luck with your man behind the curtain.”
With a wave, she headed to her van and drove to the Outside Inn, where Hunter had been staying for the past week until he found an apartment.
Both he and Aria had agreed that since things had happened so fast for them, it would be best if they didn’t try and find a place together right away. He wasn’t happy about her staying alone on Mariposa Street, but he was at the café and her apartment so often that he might as well have been living there.
After parking in the lot, she walked to the inn’s gate. Dressed in cargo shorts and a T-shirt streaked with dirt, his hair rumpled and his jaw unshaven, Hunter was crouched beside the front walkway with a trowel and a plastic flat that held several blooming plants.
In neat rows on either side of the flagstone path, he’d planted at least thirty zinnias. The flowers were bright bursts of purple, red, yellow, pink, and orange. Alongside the zinnias, he’d planted pansies, daisies, and petunias, creating cheerful rivers of color all the way to the porch.
“Hey.” He rose to his feet with a smile, his eyes sparking with appreciation at the sight of her.
“It’s lovely.” She indicated the flowers.
“Yes, it is.” He kept his gaze on her.
Aria smiled and moved in for an embrace.
Hunter hesitated and gestured to his shirt. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re perfect.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on tiptoe to kiss him, breathing in his scent of sunshine and clean sweat. “Has Mrs. Higgins seen this yet?”
“Nope.” He checked his watch. “She’s supposed to be back in about ten minutes or so. She said she had a few errands to run.”
“You did an incredible job.” She eased back to admire the flowers again.
“Good to know considering I’ve never planted a flower in my life.”
“First time for everything.”
An old Cadillac pulled into the inn’s driveway, and Mrs. Higgins got out of the driver’s seat, a red handbag looped around her arm and a straw hat perched on her head.
“Oh, Aria, I’m glad you’re here! What in the…” Her voice trailed off as she took in Hunter, the flowers, and the array of gardening equipment. Her eyes widened, and she pressed a hand to her chest.“Zinnias.”
“Three dozen.” Hunter proudly spread his hand toward the flower beds. “I know you said Hank used to line the front walk with zinnias for you, but I thought it would be nice to include flowers that represented all of the Outside Inn rooms. Except for roses because they seemed kind of complicated, but I’m going to do some research and find out where to plant—”
