AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wow,” she says.
“That was interesting,” I agree. “Almost as interesting as the flavor of shake I’m about to order for you.”
Sophie laughs and presses a kiss to my cheek. “You love my weirdness,” she says before kissing me again.
“I do. I love everything about you, Sophie.” Now I kiss her cheek, right below her eye.
She tilts her head to meet my gaze, her beautiful brown eyes searching mine.
And at this moment, a truth hits my gut. Home isn’t a place at all. My home, in the truest sense of the word, is Sophie Lawson.
Epilogue
Sophie
The third Saturday of August, Present Day
“I’m sure you’re right about that,” I say to a member of the library board over the phone.
That’s right. I said library board. Because now, it’s not just little ol’ me who’s on it. We now have six members, one from each of the towns in Marshall County. Losing Scott in the late spring lit a fire under me. I took matters into my own hands and didn’t need to wait for the board to get around to making a decision. I’d had enough of the crappy conditions, enough of the council’s dismissal, enough of everything. I went back to fundraising, and this time, instead of earning enough money for an old, broken-down bus, I got enough money over a two-month-long campaign online to finance the purchase and renovation of two buildings, on opposite ends of the county, that can house the libraries.
Scott, may he rest in peace, was the first and hopefully the last of his kind here in Marshall County.
So now, the board meets once a month, and I’m plugging along with the project. We’re hoping to open the Longdale location in less than a year, and the Fairhill location on the other side of the county a few months after that.
I end the call and turn to much more enjoyable matters: my boyfriend. I glance over at Oliver, eating his peach pie shake, looking like he’s on top of the world.
“You look far too happy for your own good,” I chide.
We finish our closing night milkshakes, seal our date with a kiss, and climb in his Mercedes. Before I sit down, I gingerly pick a tuft of Wilford hair off my seat and hide it in my hand. My glance darts to him as I roll the window down to be rid of it in the night air.
“I saw that,” he says, his eyes still on the road.
I can’t help the laughter that rises up, and he joins in. “I’m sorry,” I say. “Wilford’s sorry, too! I thought I was being so sneaky.”
He only shakes his head as we begin to drive to my house. I don’t want this date to end. Because for the first time, he’s not leaving town right after our closing night date.
I revel in the thought. I’m in love with this man. And he lives here in Longdale with Alec in that little house on the resort property. We’ve promised each other that when things at the resort calm down a little, which should be in a month, we’ll travel. I’ll need to get back eventually to get the libraries ready. That’s plural, baby.Libraries.
But we can take our time and I can’t wait.
He starts to slow to turn onto my street, and I cluck my tongue. “How about we don’t go back to my house? Let’s just keep driving for a little while.”
“Okay?” He glances at me once before returning his gaze on the road. His brow furrows.
My heart starts to pound.
Except for giving him directions on where to turn next, I stay quiet the rest of the way, which is harder than when I had to climb the rope in junior high P.E.
I have so many things to say!
But I refrain from saying a single one of them. He’s smiling broadly by the time we pull into the resort, and he parks in the private garage for management. I take his hand, and we walk through the garage to the resort and ride the elevator to the fourth floor.
We say nothing as we walk along the corridor to his office—well, former office. I know he knows by now what this is. Ever since he gave me free reign over turning the office into the resort library, I’ve had a strict policy: Oliver is not welcome in that room.
It’s felt harsh at times, but I’ve been obsessing over surprising him. These last couple of weeks, I’ve made a huge push to be done in time for our big, significant date to the shake shop. And with the help of Claire, Alec, Sebastian, and Milo, we did it.
We reach the door, the back of my neck prickling with anticipation. I pull him to a stop, unable to contain my smile.
