Epilogue

epilogue

Addie

One month later

"Where should we start?" Grant's best friend Reese asks as he reaches up and turns the baseball hat around on his head, glancing around the kitchen. "I am at your service, milady."

It's taken a month to get the official approval from NOFD and city inspectors to begin working on debris removal and repairs at the bakery. Time that seemed to drag and fly by all at once. With school and coordinating with the insurance company to get everything needed to start the renovations, it's been a whirlwind. If it wasn't for Grant, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with half of it.

He's been the most attentive, patient, understanding man on the planet, and even though it feels impossible, I love him even more with each passing day. He keeps me grounded and gives me a safe space to land.

How he manages to help with the bakery, spend every night exhausting me until I can't move, play baseball, do a hundred different things for his sponsorship, and still manage to be the most incredible husband and loyal friend is truly beyond me.

In the past month, I've mourned the loss of the place I once knew and worked on accepting that changes had to happen if it meant keeping the place my mother poured all of her love into.

And as I stand in the middle of the kitchen, walls still blackened with smoke damage and charred drywall, another wave of emotion hits me so fiercely that my chest aches.

"I think Grant and the guys from the team got most of the charred drywall and some of the broken wood out this morning, so maybe we can start removing the damaged tables and equipment? I think the restoration company will be here later today to set up the ozone generators to help get the smoke odor out." I plant my hands on my hips.

Reese smirks, giving me a dramatic salute that makes me laugh. Grant and I were not expecting his friends to show up today, flying in from opposite sides of the country to come and help us with the bakery.

Especially because they're technically Grant's friends, and Ever After is my responsibility.

The thought that Grant's friends flew here at the drop of a hat to be here for us and help when they have their own lives made me emotional in a way that I didn't expect.

"Lane, get your ass over here and help me move these tables. They're heavy as shit, and you're not helping by standing there looking cute," Reese yells to the tall, dark blond guy with unruly hair—Hallie's boyfriend. He's talking with Earl near the back door, and he turns to Reese, giving him the finger, but then strides over to him.

As I watch the guys attempting to move the furniture, Grant's hands bracket my hips before he tugs me back against him. "Hi, ArtGirl."

Just the sound of his voice makes me feel more at ease. Renovating a bakery is stressful in itself without everything else, but as always, my husband has the ability to calm me like nothing else in the world. "Hi," I respond with a smile. "I can't believe that everyone flew here just to help us. It was so nice of them."

Grant's lips press along the back of my neck, and I feel him nodding against my skin. "It is. They drive me nuts sometimes, but they're honestly the best people I know. And you already know Reese will use any excuse he can to use the jet."

His laugh vibrates my skin as his head shakes. He's teasing, but I know how much it really means to him to have them here. Not only did his friends drop everything to come when he needed them, but his mom also came to help without even being asked.

And, unsurprisingly, she and Amos hit it off from the moment they met, and it made my heart squeeze to see them together, laughing like they've known each other forever.

"It's just… amazing to see everyone be so supportive and kind. I wasn't expecting it, and I'm already just so emotional about everything that I keep crying. I'm not sad—I'm actually really, really happy. Overwhelmingly happy. Thankful. It's ju—" I realize that I'm rambling, so I halt, my mouth snapping shut as I inhale. "I'm grateful. For you and that you have an amazing support system."

"Addie, they're not just here for me. They're here for you too. They're our friends and family, and that's what people do when they love each other. They show up."

Once again, fresh tears well in my eyes, and I sniffle, quickly brushing them away before turning to face my husband, wrapping my arms around his neck. "This is the life I always hoped for, and I'm so happy that I get to do it with you."

"Me too, baby. Can I… steal you away for a second?" His lip curves slightly with a grin. "I have something I want to show you."

I nod. I have absolutely no idea what it could even be, but truthfully, I could use a second to just breathe.

He reaches for my hand, sliding his fingers into mine, and then leads me toward the exit at the back of the kitchen. We both laugh when we see Reese and Lane arguing near the stand mixer. Grant just shakes his head and tugs me forward out of the bakery and onto the sidewalk behind it.

I'm completely confused as he guides me to the front of Ever After and comes to a stop in front of the building next door. It's seen much better days. The paint is chipped along the front doors, curling and warping from the heat, the uneven brick front slightly crumbling with old age, and the mailbox next to the door is hanging on by a singular screw. Despite the years of neglect, it's still breathtakingly beautiful. The front windows have always been my favorite part of this place since I was a kid. They're nearly to the ground, covered in a layer of dirt and dust, but I always imagined that they'd let in an abundance of natural light.

"One sec," he murmurs, dropping my hand and reaching into his pocket. When he pulls out a set of keys, my mouth falls open in shock.

Why… Why would Grant have keys to this place? It's been empty for years.

Before I can even ask that question, he leads us up to the peeling black front door and unlocks it, pushing it open.

The stale, musty air hits us the moment we walk over the threshold, and I turn to look at him. "Okay, what's going on? Why would you hav?—"

My question dies on my tongue when Grant drops to one knee in front of me, holding a dark blue box in his hand as he peers up at me with stormy eyes that nearly match.

Oh my god.

Shaky fingers fly to my mouth, covering it, as a new onslaught of tears well in my eyes, blurring my vision. I blink rapidly, attempting to breathe even as the lump of emotion forms in my throat, making it tight.

I try to speak, but my voice catches, and a breathless laugh escapes from my lips instead.

Grant's mouth tilts into a smile that makes my heart stutter wildly in my chest. "I love you, Addie. I wish that I could've proposed to you this way the first time instead of with a paper ring on my kitchen floor. Because you deserve that. You deserve a wedding surrounded by people who love you and your happily ever after just the way that you imagined it. I want to give it to you. I want to give you everything you've ever wanted, ArtGirl. I want to be your muse, your best friend, and your biggest fan. I want to support you and love you without condition. Our love was always more than an arrangement—it's a testament to souls being tethered by fate. Because I loved you before I ever even saw you.

I'm sobbing as he continues, my entire body shaking with emotion.

"You're the love of my life. In any universe, it will always be you. In any lifetime, you will always be the marrow of my bones. A love that transcends time—that's the way I was made to love you, Addie Bergeron. Will you stay my wife? Until the stars call us home?"

I fall to my knees in front of him, throwing myself into his arms so hard that he nearly topples over, burying my face into his neck as my wet tears coat his skin.

"Y-yes, ye-s-s, yes," I chant, over and over, as his arms wrap around my waist and hold me tightly to his body.

He pulls back, tears shining in his own stormy eyes as he kisses me. His lips press against mine in a series of quick, breathless movements, and I laugh against his mouth.

"I have something else to show you, baby."

I look up at him, blinking away the wetness from my eyes watching as he lifts the blue box for me to see. When he flips it open, it's not a ring inside of it… it's a key, slotted into the spot where a ring would fit.

My gaze darts from the key to him, and he smirks. "I'm going to get you a new ring, but I want it to be one that you pick out so it's exactly what you want." He pauses, slipping the key out of the box and holding it out for me. "You always said that you wanted to have the bakery and display your art for the world to see one day. So, I bought this place for you. And it's in your name only, so no one can ever try and take it away from you. My promise to you that I will never stop trying to make your dreams come true, Addie."

"I love you so much," I sob, crushing my lips to his. I never knew it was possible to love anyone so all-consumingly and wholly.

Nothing in the world has ever felt as right as it does when I'm with him. Like we're two halves of one soul that only feel complete when we're together.

He's the kind of fairy tale that I once thought only existed in books and movies.

Grant Bergeron is my happily ever after, and once upon a time… it all started with ArtGirl and Jockboy.

The Orleans University series is complete!