33. Epilogue

Epilogue

Nova

1 Year Later

“ C ome on, come on, time’s almost up,” I said urgently.

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Grant growled. “Do you want me to break it?”

“Here, let me help,” Linc offered as he reached out his hands.

“Don’t touch my fucking roof!” Grant barked, making me giggle. I watched anxiously as he slowly lowered the final piece into place.

“Watch my walls!” Ben said in a panic.

“I’m fucking watching them,” Grant replied.

I moved around him to pipe a little more icing onto said walls, and he carefully dropped the roof into place as the buzzer signaling the end of the competition sounded.

“That was intense,” Ben stated as he bent over, bracing his hands on his knees.

Grant glared at him. “You thought it was intense?! How do you think I felt?”

We stepped aside to wait for the judges to go to each table. I looked around the room and couldn’t help but grin. We totally won. Everyone else had houses, many of which were quite good. We had Main Street. It was totally in the bag.

“Stop gloating before they’ve even looked at it,” Lincoln whispered, nipping my ear.

“I can’t help it,” I whispered back.

The Mayor and the other judges finally reached our table, and I watched their faces closely. They nodded to each other a lot as they pointed different things out to each other, and I could tell they were impressed with our work. I felt confident that we won when their impressed looks changed to confusion.

“Oh no,” I said under my breath as I tensed in Linc’s arms. “Something must have broken.”

The mayor looks up and waves me over. As I approach, the guys follow behind me, expecting to see that half the buildings have caved in. “Miss Lane, there is an element here that is confusing us. Perhaps you could explain it?”

I glance at the guys, who have mixed looks on their faces. What could be confusing them? I stand next to the mayor as he points out a small blue box in front of the gingerbread version of my shop. What? I look at the mayor and the other judges in confusion as they smile at me. I pick up the box and open it, but it takes me a few seconds to comprehend what I’m looking at. Sitting inside the box is a massive diamond ring. I gasp as it finally clicks in my head, and I spin around to see my men down on one knee.

Ben takes the box from me and removes the ring. “Nova Lane, you fell off a ladder a year ago and into our lives. While we had no way of knowing then how important you would become to us, we knew you were special.”

He handed the ring to Grant, who continued speaking. “You showed us how to live with joy in our hearts. How to slow down once in a while and appreciate the little moments.”

The ring passed to Linc next. “You taught us how to live a life worth living, and it’s a life we can’t imagine living without you. Will you do us the absolute honor of becoming our wife?”

By now, tears of joy were streaming down my face. “Yes! Not just yes, fuck yes!” I shouted. The crowd around us laughed and cheered as Lincoln slipped the ring on my finger, and they surrounded me, peppering kisses all over my face. There was only one thing that could make this moment sweeter.

I turned to face the Mayor. “Did we win?” He laughed as he handed the trophy to me.

This one’s for you, Dad.