Epilogue

Theo

Two Months Later

Skye and Holly chased each other around the empty living room in a never-ending loop. I could already tell we were in for a long week watching Skye while Cal and Rowan were on their honeymoon.

“Can’t you lock them up until we get the furniture in?”

Aiden whined.

“Maybe we should lock you up,”

Lauren snapped and then looked at me and blushed. “Please ignore me, Theo. I haven’t been myself lately.”

She set down the floor lamp in her hands and pulled me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you both.”

“Thanks, Lauren,”

I said, giving her a tight squeeze. She had seemed off since the bachelor/bachelorette trip last month. It couldn’t be easy watching Rowan and Poppy both move on to the next phase of life without her. We did our best to include everyone, but inevitably Cal, Rowan, Poppy, and I ended up spending extra time together. I made a note to suggest Poppy plan a girl’s night out with Lauren while Rowan and Cal were on their honeymoon.

“Come on, Stud Man,”

Poppy said, slapping Aiden’s back. “The dogs are fine where they are. Besides, we both know I’m the scariest bitch here.”

The first time Poppy used Aiden’s nickname in front of me, I spit out the water I was drinking. Apparently, it had something to do with an argument they had while hanging floating shelves at Red Blossoms Bakery. I’d gotten used to it. Scratch that. I secretly loved it. Poppy and I had blended our lives so easily, it felt like we’d been together years, not months. Which was why I’d already bought a black diamond and set it in a band I designed and made myself. Poppy and I left for Greece right after Cal and Rowan returned, and I planned to propose our first night there.

“Want me to pick up the couch from the furniture store?”

Aiden asked, pressing himself against the wall as the dogs zoomed past.

“Take me with you,”

Chris said, sticking his head out of the kitchen where he was setting up a table and chair set with Rose.

“Mom hugging you too much?”

Poppy asked with a laugh.

He pointed at her. “It’s your fault, you know. Mom had just gotten comfortable with the idea of Ann moving down the street when you announced you were moving out.”

“At least I waited until after the wedding to actually do it.”

“One day, Pop. One stinking day.”

“I can hear y’all,”

Rose said, storming out of the kitchen. “And for the record, I’m thrilled Poppy is moving in with Theo.”

“I’d find that easier to believe if you hadn’t been crying into a dish towel for the past ten minutes,”

Chris said.

My stomach sank. It was understandable Rose would have reservations about me. I was five years older than Poppy with a truckload of baggage and a panic disorder. Rose must have seen the worry on my face because she hurried over and grabbed my hands. “I couldn’t be happier for Poppy,”

she said, giving my hands a squeeze. “And you.”

My relationship with Rose was an unexpected bonus. I hadn’t realized how much I missed Mana until Poppy’s mom started treating me like one of her kids. It was Rose who convinced me not to let my father’s rejection keep me from visiting the country I loved or from reaching out to Mana. Turns out, Rose had started texting my mother with updates of my life soon after Cal got with Rowan. Which went a long way to explain the change in frequency and tone of Mana’s texts around the time I was evicted.

I wasn’t sure what I expected when I told Mana about my trip to Greece, but her excited response healed something that, despite hours of therapy, I hadn’t been able to work through. We agreed to meet up in a little village about an hour from where she and Patera live. Poppy and I applied for expedited passports that same day.

Since Poppy had never been abroad, I wanted her first trip to Greece to be one she’d never forget. I only hoped I could keep the ring a secret until then. As far as Poppy knew, the trip was to celebrate Everly having the charges against me dropped.

We still had a long road ahead to try to get my prior conviction reduced and expunged, but whether the law still considered me a felon, I’d started to let go of the shame that came with the label.

Working on Logan’s memorial had helped. It’d been difficult at first, and more than one work session had already ended in a panic attack, but Poppy had been with me every time. She’d even joined me for a few therapy sessions to learn ways to help me ground myself. Little by little, I found my mental health improving. We were on track to install the sculpture this summer once Aiden and his crew completed work on the tree house.

“Don’t forget the rug and the recliner,”

Poppy called after Aiden and Chris as they bolted for the door.

“I was trying to organize your clothes, but how do you separate things when they’re all the same color,”

Lauren said, coming out of the bedroom with a pair of black pants and a black dress in her hands. “At least your underwear is colorful.”

“Paws off my panties,”

Poppy huffed, grabbing the clothes from Lauren. “Go help my mom in the kitchen if you want to be useful.”

As soon as Poppy headed down the hall toward the bedroom, Lauren gripped my arm and pulled me out the front door.

“You cannot keep an engagement ring in your sock drawer, Theo,”

she whispered, pulling the ring from her bra and handing it to me. “Now that you’re living together, Poppy’s bound to do your laundry sometime, and she’s going to snoop when she’s putting away your clothes. It’s only natural.”

Her checks tinted and she broke eye contact.

I was too worried to ask Lauren why she was in my underwear drawer. “Do you think Poppy already saw it?”

Lauren shrugged, recovering quickly from her embarrassment. “Maybe. Maybe not. I give it 50/50. But she has been pretty busy with Maid of Honor duties, so maybe 60/40 in your favor. Regardless, you should keep that somewhere else.”

“I know just the place,”

I said and shoved the ring in my pocket.

Later that night, after every box had been unpacked and every piece of furniture placed, Poppy and I flopped onto our bed. Usually, we’d be fighting for space with Holly, but she and Skye were sleeping curled together in the living room. The day had been long and tiring for everyone, yet I couldn’t remember a time I’d been this happy.

“Welcome home, kardoula mou,” I said.

She rolled toward me and grabbed my face with both her hands. “What should we do to celebrate?”

I had an intense urge to pull the ring from its new hiding place behind the canvas we’d made together. But I stopped myself. Poppy was a romantic in her soul. She deserved a breathtaking proposal she could share with our children and grandchildren. I just had to be patient a little longer.

“We could practice your Greek,” I said.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind. I do want to learn, but I doubt I’ll get very far in a week.”

She wrapped her small frame around me and dug her heels into my ass to pull me closer. I groaned when she slid her hand between us and cupped me. “At least parts of you understand the word celebrate,”

she said as I hardened beneath her talented fingers.

I brushed the hair from her face and looked deep into her eyes. “No matter what we’re doing, every moment I spend with you is worth celebrating.”

Poppy’s eyes got a little misty, and I smiled. Despite all the twists and turns of my life, we’d somehow ended up together. “Thank you for never giving up on me, on us,” I said.

“Will you hurry up and fuck me already,”

she sniffed. “I’d rather have an orgasm than an ugly cry, and we’re close to the point of no return.”

I wasted no time chucking our clothes and sinking into her. I’d denied us both too much already. I planned to spend the rest of my life trying to bring her as much joy as she’s brought me, even if I knew we’d never be even. Nowhere close. Even if it meant letting go of my guilt. I’d love her with everything I had because she’d loved me when I couldn’t love myself, and a love like that was worth healing for.