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“What do you say, Lily? Do you forgive me for screwing up?”
“I understand why it happened and that you don’t want it to happen again.”
“I told you in the beginning, I don’t know how to be in a relationship. And that’s not an excuse. But I need to talk to you when these things come up. Not shut you out. We can get through things together.”
“Yes,” I said as I went up on tiptoes, gripping his shirt with one hand and pulling his head down so I could kiss him.
He deepened the kiss, making me forget about everything, where we were, the millions of flowers on the porch, and the car next to us.
Finally, he pulled back slightly with soft kisses. “You want to take her for a ride?”
Happiness filled me that Jake was here. He loved me. And anything was possible.
I squealed as I hurried around to open the driver’s side door. As I sat on the new leather seats, my hands curled around the steering wheel. “I still can’t believe you did this.”
“I wanted to make you happy. Prove to you that you come first.”
“Are you coming with me?” I asked him as I patted the passenger side seat.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Jake said, rounding the hood and climbing inside.
I turned the key in the ignition, and the powerful engine flared to life.
Jake ran his hand over the dashboard. “It was designed with a light body and a large engine. It was made for speed.”
“Let’s take it for a spin.” I was smiling so wide it felt like my cheeks would crack, and then I saw the stick shift.
“Can you drive a manual?”
Confidently, I placed my hand on the stick. “My grandfather taught me. He thought I needed to know.”
“Your grandfather was a smart man.”
I smiled at Jake. “He sure was.”
And he would have loved that his baby had been restored and that we were driving it now. I pushed the clutch and eased the car into first gear, then second as we slowly drove around the house. “Where did Ryan go?”
“He wanted to give us privacy. Hailey was behind him. She gave him a ride home.”
“That’s good.”
Ryan covered my hand with his and squeezed.
“Let’s go for a ride!” I said as I pulled out onto the street. The windows were already down, so the wind caught my hair and held. It was glorious driving this car. I felt carefree. Happy. I had Jake by my side, his love wrapped around my heart, and the memories of my grandparents’ love to see us through. I couldn’t be happier.
Epilogue
LILY
By the time the morning of Zoe and Max’s wedding arrived, we’d done a ton of work on the property. Harrison and Ethan built an arch that would be stored on the property for any weddings or events held at the farm. There was also a gazebo a quarter of the way around the lake for pictures and for couples who wanted a private moment during the ceremony and reception. It wasn’t visible from the house, barn, or wedding ceremony area.
We’d even cleared a path around the pond for couples to walk. It was lit with lanterns at night for a romantic setting.
The spring flowers were blooming just like I hoped they would be. I’d wanted bright colors, and I got it with white and yellow daffodils, blue delphiniums, purple larkspurs, and pink peonies and sweet peas. I wanted it to be known as the flower farm. Once people saw the pictures from this wedding, I hoped it would be.
A reporter from the paper had interviewed me and Jake about the repairs on Berta and the GTO. She loved hearing about how Grandpa won the GTO and how he met my grandmother. I even showed her the framed photographs in the barn. She took pictures of me in front of Berta and Jake in front of the GTO.
He was so proud of that car, and he looked good sitting on the GTO. I was pretty sure the reporter noticed how hot my face got when the photographer asked him to lean against the hood. Especially when Jake smiled and winked at me. There was no mistaking the naughty thoughts in his head.
