Epilogue

EPILOGUE

LILA

Six months later

I hated setting an alarm on a Saturday morning.

I rolled over and buried my head into Mike's pillow. He'd gone to work early this morning, but I could still smell him enough on my sheets to not want to get up.

I had no idea why he still wasted money on an apartment he only used to get mail at this point. Keely had even started staying here one Saturday a month instead of at her brother's apartment.

She'd told me during her last sleepover that she didn't understand why Mike didn't just move in here since everything was so much better and bigger at my apartment.

I'd smiled and nodded, not knowing what else to say.

We hadn't even been together for a year, but life without Mike was a fuzzy and unpleasant memory.

There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that he loved me, but whenever I dreamed about a future, it would dawn on me how much younger Mike was than me.

He might have been wise beyond his years, but he was still a man in his midtwenties. Marriage and babies were probably far enough into a distant future for him not to be on his radar now.

I understood and tried to have patience. Although asking Mike to just move in with me had been on the tip of my tongue for weeks.

All the bad that had happened to us had become rearview, as Mike had once promised. Amber had been deemed sane enough to be tried and convicted, and she had been sentenced to the maximum allowed by law.

I still believed she needed help, but a judge had ruled she was more cruel than troubled, and if that kept her away from us for longer, I didn't care about semantics.

I'd come to know Keith as a kind and wonderful man who treated Mike like a doting uncle when he wasn't in uniform. I'd learned soon after Amber's arrest that he was also a well-connected man, and he used those connections to make sure anyone who'd hurt his family would receive the highest punishment possible.

Claudia had asked me to meet her at the bar this morning to help decorate for Valentine's Day. I hadn't heard of a festival for this holiday yet, but the Christmas one had been big enough to be borderline ridiculous but so much fun.

I'd trudged through the snow on my boyfriend's arm, smiling instead of shying away from residents who had become friends, and I had loved every second of it.

Not only was Amber gone from our lives, but I'd heard Ted had finally moved on. The last time I'd spoken to my mother, she'd made it a point to tell me how she'd met Ted's new girlfriend and how happy he seemed with her, followed by an invitation to come to visit.

I said I'd see, and I did want to go back and visit Ally, but I wasn't rushing out there. After starting over in a place all on my own, I didn't need to include anyone in my life just because we shared the same DNA.

Claudia, Jude, and all the Russos felt more like family than my parents and brother ever had. Even my landladies treated me more like a relative than a renter.

Found family was an unexpected but wonderful perk in small-town life. While I'd always miss Philly, Kelly Lakes was home.

I pulled up in front of The Pour House, shivering in my down jacket and heavy gloves as I knocked on the door. Claudia's car was in her usual spot, so she had to be in there somewhere. I tried to peek through the tinted glass when the door opened.

"Steven?" I squealed and clobbered him with a hug. We spoke all the time, but I hadn't seen him in almost a year. His laugh rumbled against me as I cried into his shoulder.

"Stop it, cuz." He pulled back, a smile, as always, spread on his bearded mouth. "You're not supposed to cry at a good surprise."

"So this is why Claudia had me up so early." I sniffled.

"Partly," Steven said. "You look amazing. I told you this could be a good thing if you opened your mind."

"You did," I said, still clutching on to Steven's arms.

"Love looks good on you."

"Feels pretty good too. Is Eric inside? You can finally meet Mike when he gets out of work. You're staying for at least a couple of days, right?"

"I am, but I already met Mike. Sort of. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago."

"Wait, you spoke to Mike? Why?"

Steven's lips twitched as he lifted a shoulder.

"He wanted to ask me something. I'll wait for you inside."

"Steven, what's going on?

"Are you okay, miss?"

"Miss?" I turned toward Mike's voice. "Since when do you call me?—"

My gloved hands flew to my mouth when I found him on one knee.

"Claudia gave me Steven's number. Your father didn't seem like the right one to ask for a blessing."

"So this was all staged?" I glanced at the door. I was sure lots of eyes I couldn't see were on us from the inside.

"Pretty much." He laughed and held out his hand. "Come closer before my knee freezes to the concrete."

I sputtered out a laugh through my tears and took his hand, crying so hard I couldn't see anything but my boyfriend's crystal-blue eyes. The same ones that had trapped me in this very spot and hadn't let me go since.

"I love you. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. You're it for me. I knew it that day, even if it both scared and confused the hell out of me."

"Me too," I croaked out, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

"I've always belonged to you, but I need you to be mine for the rest of my life."

"I already am, but…are you sure you're ready now?"

He gripped my hand tighter.

"What's there to be ready for?"

"You're young. And yes, it doesn't matter?—"

"It never mattered. You should know that."

Mike's narrowed eyes bored into mine.

"I love you. You're it for me—today and fifty years from now. So what is there to wait for? It wouldn't have mattered when I met you. You'd always be the one."

"So would you." I bent to grab his face, stifling a laugh at the clench of his jaw. "Yes."

He quirked a brow. "I didn't get to ask you yet."

I shrugged. "You don't have to. Because it's a yes. Always yes."

He stood, grabbing my face and crushing his lips to mine. It was cold enough to see our breath as we panted between kisses.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again," he said, pulling my glove off to slide the ring on my finger. "I didn't think you'd say no, but you had me nervous for a minute."

I stared down at the perfect round diamond on a platinum band, as timeless as we were.

"It's beautiful," I said, taking his face in my hands.

I'd come here for a new start and a break from the chaos and fear that had ruined my life.

I'd found home instead.

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