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“Hell yes. You too. Thanks for calling.” He paused while Seth spoke. “All good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Later.”
He ended the call and held his arms out. I was in them before he could say a word.
“Congratulations, Cash.” I kissed him, laughing. “You deserve it. I’m so happy for you!” I bounced on my feet and kissed him again, and then he picked me up and whirled me around.
“This is the best day of my life. A feather in my chef hat and the girl of my dreams by my side.” He whirled me around again with a bellow, and I held on for dear life, laughing with him, ecstatic for him.
For us.
“We need to get back home so you can get your butt in the kitchen,” I said once he’d set me down.
“Home,” he said. “I love the sound of that coming out of your mouth. When can we go home, Ava?”
“I was planning to leave tomorrow morning, but my packing was interrupted.” I couldn’t get the grin off my face if you paid me to.
“I know a guy who could help you pack and we’ll get it done in half the time.”
“That’s perfect.”
“The boxes are going to have to wait a little longer though because that guy has something more important to see to.”
“Yeah?” I asked as he inched his mouth closer to mine.
“Yeah. And it’s going to take a while. Probably most of the night.” He pulled me into him, pressing every inch of his hardness into me, making my body ache for him.
“Mmm. That so works for me.”
“Just one thing though,” he said. “Is there a bed in this joint? That couch is horrible.”
I laughed. “There is. Through the door that isn’t the bathroom.”
He took a step back and held out his hand. “Come with me, my love.”
I placed my hand in his and tugged until he paused and met my gaze so I could make my point. “I’ll follow you wherever you want to go, Cash Henry.”
Never had I ever thought I’d want to go back to Dragonfly Lake permanently, with Cash, but it turned out that was exactly where I was meant to be.
Epilogue
Cash
It was a Tuesday evening, and the beer patio at the Rusty Anchor was teeming with people. Anticipation buzzed through me more potently than the Kayak Smack Ale in my glass.
Ava and I had been home from LA for two and a half weeks after packing her California life and driving her car across the country. Though we weren’t officially cohabitating, we’d stayed together every single night, either at my place or the cottage. We’d talked about me moving into the cottage with her, and I couldn’t wait for that day, but I planned to make an even bigger move first.
Today, I’d taken Jake ring shopping with me. The little box with the oval-cut diamond ring was burning a hole in the pocket of my cargo shorts. I didn’t have specific plans for a proposal, but I wasn’t going to be able to wait long. I’d been thinking I’d do it later tonight, after we left the patio, but as I watched her, Everly, Hayden, and Chloe standing two tables over, saying hello to “the girls,” as Ava called her new group of friends that included Magnolia, Anna, Olivia, and a host of others, I didn’t know how I’d wait a couple more hours.
My whole family had taken over the biggest high-top table—Seth and Everly, Holden and Chloe, Hayden and Zane, and even our dad and Faye. The weather was about as perfect as an early-October evening could get, but tomorrow, a cold front was coming through. People had flocked to the beer patio for one last outdoor hurrah. When Hayden’s in-laws, Mason and Eliza, who—fun fact—were my stepbrother and stepsister-in-law as well, had volunteered to watch Harrison, Hayden had convinced Zane and our dad and his wife to drive in from the city to enjoy it.
The women returned, Ava sitting by my side, just as Chelsea arrived with our food. Zinnia was running the kitchen, and she’d ensured every dish looked exactly the way it should. I was confident it’d all taste right too. I’d come to trust Zinnia that much. I had to, because, as Seth had commented, I’d turned into something closer to a normal human and was learning to take a couple days off each week.
As soon as the food was served and Chelsea made sure we didn’t need anything else, Holden held up his beer glass. “We need a toast,” he said. “To a spur-of-the-moment end-of-the-season dinner on the beer patio with a pretty kick-ass fam. Glad you city people drove in tonight.”
We all raised our glasses, most of them filled with various beers brewed by Kemp, the brewmaster, and Ava and Chloe sticking to nonalcoholic drinks. With a chorus ofhear, hears, we clinked.
“And here’s to a full house at Rusty Anchor,” Hayden added, sweeping an arm out at the patio. “I hope this is exactly what you envisioned, Holden.”
“We’re proud of you, son,” our dad added.
