When I finally stopped talking, he pulled back enough to kiss me. His lips were warm, his beard so rough and familiar.
“Are you calm now?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.
“Yes. But there’s one thing I don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“You really did save my life, and now you’re giving me everything I’ve ever wanted. Better than everything I’ve ever wanted. How can I ever repay you?”
His brow furrowed, like I’d asked a silly question. “That’s easy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a simple man, Audrey. I just need one thing from you.”
“What’s that?”
“Just love me.”
I placed my hands alongside his face and looked into his eyes. “I will always love you.”
He pulled me close and kissed me again, slow and deep. I would always love him. There was no question. I’d wondered if I’d ever meet the love of my life. If things like marriage and a home and one day a family were in my future, or if I’d missed the boat.
I certainly hadn’t imagined I’d find everything I’d been looking for in a little town in the mountains. But here he was, kissing me, loving me. Ready to start a life with me.
My life hadn’t followed the path I’d expected. But I’d landed exactly where I was meant to be.
With him. Forever.
Epilogue
JOSIAH
Here’s the weird thing. I didn’t hate wedding planning.
There were parts of it that didn’t require my participation or opinion. The flowers, for example. Audrey could have whatever flowers she wanted. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, I just didn’t have a preference. They all looked the same to me, so whatever made Audrey happy was fine.
But the day we spent at Salishan Cellars winery, touring the facility and listening to the wedding planner’s ideas? It was actually kind of fun. Mostly because Audrey was as excited as a puppy. I couldn’t get enough of her big, bright eyes and her smile. It was like she was happy enough for both of us. And anything that made her happy was worth it.
So I went along with her when she asked me to, and stayed home when she didn’t. Thankfully, my presence wasn’t required for the choosing of bridesmaid dresses, and she’d gone with Sandra, Marigold, and her mom to try on wedding dresses. Apparently I wasn’t allowed to see that one until the big day, so whatever. I worked on my old house. I needed to get it ready to put on the market as another rental.
Plus, she had Marigold, who was, in Audrey’s words, a wedding expert. Which didn’t make sense to me, considering Marigold had never been married, but what did I know? Maybe it just meant Mari liked weddings. And when I thought about it, she had helped plan my sister’s wedding, so apparently it was just her thing.
Too bad she’d never been married, though. She was a nice girl. Seemed like there ought to be a nice guy out there for her.
When it came to cake tasting, though, that was a given. I was going. It wasn’t that I had strong opinions about cake flavors. She could have whatever she wanted. But it was cake, and they’d let us sample them? Count me in.
I was meeting her at the bakery at five-thirty. I checked the time. A little after five. Zachary and Luke had come over to the house—the one I’d been living in before—to help me install new kitchen cabinets. Zachary was usually down for an extra paycheck, especially if he was free, and Luke had been at my parents’ house when I’d asked Zachary. He helped out on my remodels once in a while and he’d offered to lend a hand. I appreciated it. Things would go quicker with three, especially since Dad was busy.
We’d decided on white cabinets, since the kitchen was small and anything else would be too dark. The house already looked considerably better than when I’d been living in it, which was slightly embarrassing. To be fair, I hadn’t cared all that much. But now that I lived in a house that was actually finished, the contrast was clear.
Luke and I brought one of the lower cabinets in from the garage and set it down.
He brushed his hands together. “Almost done.”
“I need to call it a day,” I said. “I have somewhere to be.”
“Sounds good. I can come back tomorrow if you need more help. At least for a few hours.”
“Thanks. Z, what about you?”
Zachary chewed a piece of gum. “Sorry, can’t. I have a job.”
“I thought you were bitching that your client canceled on you,” Luke said.