EPILOGUE
Wes
By the timethe last of the frost burned off the fields at Star Harbor Family Farm, Clara’s name was splashed across a Main Street window.
Painted in looping gold script across the glass wasDarling Studio. In smaller block letters underneath:Lifestyle & Event Design.
I stood on the sidewalk across from it, hands in my pockets like I was just another guy killing time, and tried not to stare like a creep. Fresh paint framed the glass, clean and bright where that god-awful green carpet used to glare through like mold. Now the floor inside was hardwood, soft and warm, catching the light from the big front window.
She’d filled it with her: white walls, trailing plants in mismatched pots, a garment rack with dresses and veils, a little sitting area with two cream chairs and a tiny brass table that looked like it had come from some fancy antique place instead of a Star Harbor yard sale. Framed photos from the farm shoot lined one wall—snow and twinkle lights, Levi and a group of hisfriends laughing by a bonfire—and right in the middle, in pride of place, there we were under the oak. Her in lace, me in a tux, mid-kiss while snow fell around us.
Cars were jammed into every spot up and down Main. Kids ran past with ice cream from the shop on the corner, sugar high and wild. Someone had tied balloons to the lamppost, yellow and white, bumping together in the breeze. A chalkboard leaned against the brick under her window:
GRAND OPENING! COME IN & LET’S PLAN SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. — CD
It hit me, fast and hard, that six months ago all of this had been ugly carpet and dusty walls and aFOR LEASEsign nobody looked twice at. That six months before that, I’d been barely scraping by, convinced winter was the only season left for me.
I just hadn’t had the sense to recognize what was standing in front of me with bright eyes and a messy bun.
The glass door swung open, and Clara stepped out, ponytail high today, sundress brushing her thighs, a little gold name tag pinned above her heart. She was already talking to Elodie, laughing, cheeks flushed. She looked happy.
I was never going to get used to that—seeing her happy and knowing I hadn’t just survived long enough to witness it, but had actually helped build the space that held it.
“Stop lurking and get your ass inside,” Hayes muttered over my shoulder.
I snorted and bumped him with my elbow. “You’re late,” I said.
He huffed out an annoyed laugh and held up a yellow piece of paper. “Parking ticket. Can you believe that shit?”
Inside, the place hummed. Bodies everywhere. Somebody had dragged the door open and propped it so the warm air could roll in, bringing the smell of pavement and distant lake water. Soft music played from a speaker hidden somewhere, the kind of acoustic playlist Clara liked that made everything feel like the montage part of a movie.
Elodie and Cal were front and center by the little refreshment table, Elodie fixing a tray of Cal’s freshly baked tarts. When she was satisfied, she stepped back with her hands on her hips. “Perfect.” She turned toward her little sister. “Consider this your welcome to the Star Harbor business-owner coven.”
Clara laughed, eyes bright. “Amazing, I hope I’m qualified.”
Cal set a big mason jar of flowers—peonies and whatever else Elodie had cut from the farm that morning—on the counter I’d built. He caught my eye and tipped his chin in a quiet, approving nod. I didn’t need the words. The look was enough.
“Uncle Wes!” Winnie barreled into my side, almost taking me out at the knee. She latched onto my leg like a koala. “You came! Aunt Clara’s place looks like a princess house.”
“Good thing she’s the princess and not me,” I said, prying her off before she did actual damage to my hamstring. “I don’t have a single dress for it.”
Selene smiled and mouthedsorryover Winnie’s shoulder. I simply smiled and shook my head.
“Congrats,” she said, pulling Clara into a hug. “Now I get to say I knew you before you were the most in-demand planner in the county.”
“Please start that rumor,” Clara said, crossing her fingers and holding them in the air. “Manifest that shit.”
When Winnie’s eyes went wide and flashed to her mom, it was Clara’s turn to look sheepish.
Hayes slid by me to wrap an arm around Clara’s shoulders, squeezing like he might never stop. “Always knew you’d find your way.”
She blinked hard and smiled up at him, and the knot in my chest loosened at the sight of them. I’d spent a lot of years trying to pretend I wasn’t part of this family. As it turned out, all I’d been doing was making it harder on myself.
Somebody I didn’t know ran a hand along the custom counter, whistling low. “This thing is gorgeous. Where’d you get it?”
Clara pointed straight at me. “Ask him. He’s the reason the whole place didn’t collapse when I ripped out that nightmare carpet.”
A little heat crawled up the back of my neck. Compliments still sat weird on my skin, but they didn’t itch quite as much as they used to.