Epilogue

It was another surprise party.

These were becoming kind of a Jolly Java trademark. Rocco had thrown five of them in the last four months, and during that time period he’d been gone for three weeks, in Indigo Bay, to help Luca and Oliver with their Sweethearts Festival. He and Joel were even discussing putting together a special menu and price list just for these parties.

But this surprise party wasn’t for a birthday or an engagement or an anniversary.

It was something a lot more special. And a lot more intimate.

Rocco checked the candles he’d scattered across the empty room, in nooks and on tables, making sure they were all still lit. Walked over to the panel that controlled the lights and sound, turned the overheads down to only a faint glow, letting the candlelight flicker across the walls.

He’d picked out a slow, soft romantic playlist and it echoed through the room, making it even cozier.

Ten minutes ago, Joel had dropped off a little six-inch cake, with Congrats, Taylor , written across the top. Chocolate with chocolate ganache, his favorite.

Rocco had baked a batch of Taylor’s mom’s almond cookies, and there was also a plate of ham and cheese pastry swirls, just in case they went into sugar overload. Next to the pastries, he’d tucked a bottle of Taylor’s favorite prosecco, a perfect reminder of their first date, into a makeshift ice bucket.

He checked his watch and everything was ready, with at least five minutes to spare.

His phone dinged and it was Mona, letting him know that the council meeting had just broken up and Taylor was heading in Rocco’s direction.

That meant Rocco had ten minutes to obsess about whether this was the right move.

Of course it is.

Even if this meeting had been merely a formality, it was still a very big deal.

His phone dinged again. It was the mayor again.

And don’t worry about Walter. I’m taking him to an early dinner at Rudolph’s : )

Walter moving to Christmas Falls had been so good for Taylor. At first Walter stayed with Taylor, but the first time he’d walked out of his bedroom in the morning to find the mayor there, hair mussed and a bright smile on her face, with his dad, he’d suggested that maybe until Walter found a place of his own, he could stay in Rocco’s apartment over the coffee shop.

Since Rocco was barely there anymore, it had been easy enough to move the rest of his belongings to Taylor’s house and let Walter stay here.

There’d been a lot of changes in the last four months, but this might have been one of the biggest.

Still, Rocco found himself excited for the future and all the new challenges it would bring.

He texted Mona back. We still don’t want to know what you’re doing after. She sent a laughing emoji, and he’d just slipped his phone back into his pocket when the front door opened and Taylor strode in, the biggest grin on his face.

He practically ran over to Rocco and hugged him so tight.

“I got it! I can’t believe I got it.”

Rocco couldn’t help his smile. “Of course you got it. You were the only qualified applicant. This meeting was barely a formality.”

“I know, but I was still nervous. And they did grill me a bit, about some of my older projects and being new to the town—”

“You’ve lived here over four years,” Rocco interrupted, frowning. How could anyone not see how much Taylor loved Christmas Falls? How much he belonged here?

“I know, I know, but they see that as a blip of time. But one of the council members—that old grumpy guy, you know the one, he actually spoke up and said that I’d been doing more forward-facing outreach lately, and he was glad to see it. That it had swayed him and I’d gotten his vote because of it.”

“Mr. Richardson, who looks like he yells get off my lawn at every kid who walks by?”

Taylor laughed again. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “That’s the guy. Of course he said something disparaging about my youth, but then Mona reminded them that young blood who care about this town is what’ll keep it going, and they all seemed to agree with that.”

Taylor let out a breath. Like he was diffusing all the pressure that had built inside him. And Rocco had felt it, these last two months. Even though they’d been admittedly incredibly happy, he knew Taylor had worried about this meeting. Had worried that somehow the worst might come to pass and they wouldn’t vote to give him the city manager job.

But they had.

It was over.

And it was just beginning, too.

“Come on, let’s celebrate.” Rocco pulled him over to the table .

It was only then that Taylor seemed to look around and take in all the decorations and the cake and the pastries and the bottle of sparkling wine, chilling in its bucket of ice.

“You did all this . . .for me ?” Taylor gazed at him with awe and love.

Rocco didn’t think Taylor looking at him like that would ever get old. Like he was a magical miracle that he couldn’t quite believe really existed. He’d worried that eventually that look would fade from Taylor’s face. That they’d get used to each other, that the honeymoon period would end, but the truth was, Taylor gave him that look more now than he had when they’d first met.

“Of course I did. It’s not every day my man gets a seriously awesome new promotion,” Rocco said, lifting the prosecco from its bucket, wrapping a towel around the neck and ripping the foil off. Popping the cork, he asked, “Now, what should we toast to?”

Taylor helped him by picking up the two champagne flutes, holding them out for him to fill. “Oh, that’s easy enough.” He paused. Lifted the glass to his nose, enjoying the smell of the wine as Rocco set the bottle back into the ice. “Goat cheese.”

Rocco nearly choked on his own saliva.

“ What ,” he said, laughing. “I meant a serious toast, Taylor.”

But Taylor’s gaze was serious, his blue eyes intent on Rocco’s face. “If you hadn’t had the intrepid idea to make goat cheese and turmeric scones and remove pumpkin spice lattes from the menu here, you never would’ve gotten worried about your business and never would have suggested to me that we fake date to fix it.” He paused, his smile turning intimate, his eyes full of adoration. “And we never would’ve ended up here. Me with my dream job and you with your dream business. And us, together, madly, completely, totally in love.”

“You think goat cheese was responsible for all that?”

The corner of Taylor’s mouth tilted up as he lifted his glass. “It’s a lot to put on a dairy product, but I think it can handle it. What do you think?”

It was easy to answer. Rocco lifted his glass and tipped it against Taylor’s. “I think I love you. To goat cheese!”

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To read a sexy short about Taylor and Rocco flipping the script , click here .

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To grab a copy of Teresa Hall's Almond Cookie recipe, click here .

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Interested in the Morettis? These are all standalones, but don't miss a single entry about this entertaining, interfering, and much-beloved Italian family:

On a Roll, Gabe & Sean's book

Ride or Die , Ren & Seth's boo k

Sweet as Pie , Luca & Oliver's book

Cherry on Top , Enzo & Will's book