Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Lincoln

A Year Later

The grand opening of Jolly Sugar Bakery has been in the making for the past eight months. Neither Lyla nor I were sure it would ever come to fruition. It took us a lot to get this going. Many long nights, a bunch of sacrifice, and more love than either of us knows what to do with.

"It looks amazing." Lyla beams as she comes over to stand next to me.

Tucking her into my side, I hold her close. It's freezing out here, but the amount of people who have shown up to the grand opening of our new bakery makes me so proud. We chose to have a nighttime event so we could decorate with lights and everyone could see the happiness of the Christmas season. "It sure does, and your table of treats hasn't been empty since we opened the doors."

We're standing outside, looking in, like the Parker family gazed at their leg lamp from the street. It's packed, and although we're giving out a lot of stuff for free, the cash registers are ringing, and our behind the case staff are working nonstop.

"We should go in and help them." She sighs, lifting her hand up to mine, where I have it wrapped around her neck. Our fingers twist together, and although there's work to do, I'm going to take this moment and enjoy it with her.

"We'll go in, in a minute. I'm still enjoying the lights and the smiles on the faces of everyone inside."

I hope I appear calm to her, because my stomach is flipping like it's on a rollercoaster. I didn't intend to do this when we decided to open our new bakery during the first week of December. It had been on my radar for a while, but I wasn't sure if I could make it happen in between everything else.

"It is amazing, isn't it?" She smiles over at me. "Everyone is having a great time at our bakery. The one we've opened together. It's a good omen for what we can look forward to in the future."

A group of people come out of the bakery. It's a group who means a lot to us. Kayla's there, along with Landon, and some of the same people we've worked with since the beginning. She turns to face me, so she doesn't see the group.

I can, though, and they know exactly what's going to happen right now. I asked a few of them to record this so she can watch it back later. "It is a good omen. In fact, I think maybe we should do one more thing to make sure we've got all the luck on our side."

"Oh, yeah?" She grins. "What's that?"

Sighing, I throw my head back, looking up at the night sky. Snow is slowly falling, and it looks like a freaking made for TV movie. "I've been thinking." I reach out, cupping her cheeks with the palms of my hands. "How hard we've worked to get this place up and running. We've really put our relationship on the back burner. When was the last time we went out on a date?"

She tilts her head to the side. "At least two months ago. We've been going almost twenty-four hours a day for the last three weeks. Right now, a date where we sleep sounds like the best thing ever."

I can't argue with her. We'd be out for a few weeks if no one needed us. "That sounds great, doesn't it?"

"Yes. Is that what you've got planned for us?"

Pulling her into me, I kiss the back of her hand. "I've got so much planned for us, but in order for that to work, we've gotta do this first?"

"Do what?" She grins.

Knowing her, she thinks it's going to be going to the next town over and getting dinner at an expensive restaurant. She has no idea what's about to go down, and I can't wait to see her reaction. "There are a lot of things I've got planned for us, and I know we're going to have a great life. But first..."

"We are going to have a great life," she agrees.

"I need to do this," I finish. Before I lose my nerve. "I need you to know how important you are to me. I've made all these plans with the bakery and whatever else is going to come at us. We're going to do it together, and we're going to rock at it. But what I want more than anything..." I drop down into the snow on my knee.

Her mouth opens in surprise, eyes widen, and a couple tears are already streaming down her face. "Linc..." she breathes.

"A year ago, I didn't realize I was missing you." I grasp her hand in mine. "The only thoughts I had were what I was doing with the bakery. Everything was about the bakery. I'd put my entire life into it, every cent, all my hopes, all my dreams. What I didn't realize was you were all of that. The hopes, the dreams, I wasn't able to realize them until you were a daily part of my life. Thank you for that," I whisper, blowing out a breath. It gets some nerves out of my stomach. "So now that I understand you're the reason I can finally visualize all my dreams, I'd like to make you a permanent part of my life. We co-signed on Jolly Sugar. Let's co-sign on the rest of our lives. Lyla, will you marry me?"

A large smile spreads across her face, and she nods enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, I'll marry you."

Around us, everyone claps and whistles. I stand up, and she jumps into my arms, hooking her legs around my waist. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. "I love you," I whisper.

"I love you, too, Linc. Always and forever."