Epilogue One

Ten Months Later

"I don"t think we"re ever going to get to see our kid again," I whisper to Daisy as we sit on the couch at Boone"s. The guys, along with Alexis and Kara, are passing Tessa Mae back and forth. We haven"t held her since we sat down.

She giggles, all deep and throaty. "It"s fine, hopefully it"ll wear her out and we won"t be up until two in the morning again." My dark circles, have dark circles.

I glance over at her, before pulling her in close by the arm I have wrapped around her neck. "You"re beautiful. You always are, have been, and will be." I drop a kiss onto her forehead and close my eyes, sighing contentedly.

"Pretty sure she just smiled at me." Barrett points down at the baby in his arms.

"She knows you better than anyone else," Abel argues. "You live next door to her, and I"m sure you"re constantly there and up in their business, stealing her all the time."

"Hey, I am a help to them." He"s offended by what Abel just accused him of.

"He is," Daisy confirms from where we"re sitting. "Even if he never wants to go home. If we can"t get her to sleep, usually he can."

"See..." He raises an eyebrow at Abel.

There"s a knock on the door, and Boone, who"s at the stove finishing up our meal, yells back toward it. "C"mon in."

Gabby arrives, carrying what appears to be sweets in her hands. From beside me, Daisy gets up and quickly goes to greet her friend. "Hey!"

They envelope each other in a tight hug. When Gabby pulls away, she gives a little wave to the group. "I brought dessert."

"Then you are definitely welcome." Abel rushes over and takes the container from her hands.

Nobody, including me, misses the way Barrett and Gabby stare at one another. It"s almost as if we"re all collectively holding our breath. Witnessing a showdown between the two of them that none of us can seem to understand. We all thought that by now they"d be telling the town about how in love they are, how they met on a dating app, and how they"re falling in love. That isn"t happening, and none of us know how to help them.

Tessa starts crying, causing Daisy to rush over. "She"s hungry. I"m going to go feed her."

"I can help," Barrett offers.

"The fuck you can. She"s breastfeeding. Keep your ass in that chair." I point to him.

"Well, excuse me for trying to be helpful."

There are snickers around the room, but I can"t deal with any of them. Instead of sticking around to listen, I head to the guest room, where I know Daisy"s gone to nurse our daughter. I knock lightly before going in. "Wanted to come and make sure you didn"t need help."

"I"m good, but I"ll never say no to your company."

I have a seat beside her, knocking her knee with mine. "How how life has changed. Remember when you couldn"t stand me?" I reach out to brush Tessa Mae"s hair off her forehead.

"Oh, I still can"t stand you." She lets out a giggle, deep in her throat. "The difference is now I love you more than you piss me off."

I smile sheepishly. "Thank God for that. Thank you," I whisper.

"For what?"

I look over at her. "For giving me everything I always wanted, but never thought I"d be able to have."