EPILOGUE
“Surprise!”
The shout took Emma by surprise and had her sweeping Baxter up in her arms before he could pee excitedly all over the brewery floor.
There were people and balloons everywhere. Her team from the brewery, her family, the Pierces, it looked like half the town was here crowding around the bar.
“What is going on?” Emma asked, handing Baxter over to Niko.
“Happy anniversary,” Julio announced with a debonair bow.
Cheryl looped her arm through Emma’s. “One year ago today, you stepped up to lead our team. And look what’s happened in that year.” Cheryl held up Emma’s left hand letting the emerald cut diamond catch the light.
The crowd hooted. Jax handed her a glass of champagne. Joey wielding a knife, stood guard over a sheet cake decorated like the brewery and its surrounding pastures. Emma’s father was holding Lydia cozied up on a barstool with Phoebe, Gia, and Eva. Carter and Beckett stood side-by-side discussing the proper application of beard balm while Summer chased the twins.
“If I could have everyone’s attention,” Jax said. The crowd quieted. “Not so very long ago, my brothers and I were running ourselves ragged trying to get and keep the doors of John Pierce Brews open. And then along came Emma Merill, who replaced the three of us with style, with class, and with abilities that far outweighed our own. You saved us Emma, and we’ll be eternally grateful to you. To Emma.” He raised his glass.
“To Emma,” the crowd echoed. Under Caleb’s watchful eyes, Joey attacked the cake with a knife and a lot of enthusiasm.
She felt the tears threaten to spill and blinked them back. She’d already gotten into a screaming match with her lover at work once. She drew the line at crying in front of her team. “Did you know about this?” Emma demanded, poking Niko in the chest.
“Baby, there are no secrets in Blue Moon.” The puppy wriggled around so he could lick Niko’s chin, and Emma’s heart exploded just a little bit.
She laughed, well aware that Niko was right. The public spectacle she’d made of herself last week at the farmers market was still the hot topic around town and had indeed been live-streamed in the Blue Moon gossip group on Facebook. The Beautification Committee had immediately claimed victory and offered Emma and Niko best wishes for their “long and happy life together.”
Summer and Phoebe bustled up and grabbed her arms. “Girl talk,” Summer said, winking at Niko. “Go find the boys and the beers,” she suggested.
They dragged her to the bar where Gia, Eva, and Ellery waited.
“So now that you’ve had all of five seconds to settle into your new future,” Summer began, “what have you two decided?”
Emma couldn’t stop the smile if she wanted to. It was the kind of happiness she’d never known that could come from just letting go. “Well, I spoke to your husbands, and they’ve agreed to let me work four days a week. So we’ll be dividing our time between here and the city. Niko’s planning to be more selective about his projects because he wants to free up more of his time to be here. So far, no definitive wedding plans, but we do know where we’re going for our honeymoon.”
“Where is that, dear?” Phoebe asked.
“Paris.”
Joey walked up with cake in hand when Summer and Gia squealed. She rolled her eyes and walked away.
“Don’t get yourselves all worked up. Nothing’s written in stone. We’re just going to enjoy ourselves for a while,” Emma cautioned.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?” Eva demanded.
“It’s Blue Moon. There’s something in the water here. You might start noticing it soon,” Ellery said innocently.
“More like something in the Beautification Committee,” Emma said, poking a finger in Ellery’s shoulder. “Now can you explain how Mason showed up on my doorstep?” Emma demanded. “And why I think I saw him going into Righteous Subs yesterday?”
Ellery’s grin was contagious. “A brilliant, if perhaps dangerous, ploy to get you to finally realize what you really wanted in life.” She sighed with satisfaction. “It was my finest work yet.”
“How, Ellery? How did you get my ex-boyfriend to fly cross-country and ask me to marry him?”
“Well, I knew you were going to be a problem what with all the abandonment issues and the long-term habit of running away. So first, we decided to make it sticky here.”
“Sticky?”
“Yeah, make you love Blue Moon, love working and living here. Love being around your family. That was our subtle background work, which I’m guessing you didn’t even notice since it’s been going on the entire time you’ve lived here.”
“You mean Gordon and Anthony shoving Bruce’s real estate license down my throat was all part of the ploy?”
Ellery took a long sip of her diet soda through a pink curly straw. “It’s like I always say, we can’t keep pulling the same tricks. We have to evolve with the times. We saw the sparks flying between you two immediately and knew the hard part would be convincing both you and Niko separately that Blue Moon was the wonderful capital of the world. So we focused our efforts there.”
“So you didn’t think we were a terrible couple?” Emma pressed.
Ellery rolled her eyes. “Are you crazy? One look at you guys, and everyone knew!”
“Where does Mason fit in to all of this?” Gia asked in fascination and horror.
“Well, I knew we were still going to run into some old habit issues with you. So I started messaging Mason on Facebook. Super nice guy, by the way.” A dimple appeared in Ellery’s cheek.
“I know. I dated him.”
“Anyway, once I discerned that he wasn’t an insane person, we kept chatting, and I let him kinda sorta think that we were a dating service you’d hired.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Mason being the super nice, sweet guy that he is was happy to help if it was necessary. So I kept him as an ace up my sleeve just in case you were extra tricky. Which you were!”
“Yeah, yeah. Extra tricky.”
“When I witnessed your catastrophic fight with Niko at the brewery, I knew it was time for the ace. So I messaged Mason, and it turns out he was visiting family in Buffalo of all places.”
“So you talked him into driving out here and proposing to me?”
“Like I said, super nice guy. He cares about your happiness, even though you dumped him. That says a lot about a man.”
“I can’t believe you convinced him to come here and take part in this ridiculous, over-the-top, insane scheme! No wonder why he looked so relieved when I told him no the next day. What would you have done if I had said yes?” Emma asked.
“Crapped my pants and then locked Mason in my basement, making his disappearance look like he abandoned you,” Ellery said with a thoughtful frown.
Emma blinked slowly. “You’re insane.”
Ellery shook her head. “I’m committed to love. There’s a huge difference.”
“Okay, I can tell when an argument is going to go nowhere. So I’ll just say thank you for whatever bizarre role you played in getting me out of my own way.”
Ellery leaned in and surprised Emma with a kiss on her cheek. “You’re very welcome. Now, about Mason. How big of a deal would it be if I asked him out?”
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Emma rested her head on Niko’s bare chest, admiring the engagement ring he’d chosen for her. She stretched languidly. “I don’t know about you, but I think we keep getting better and better together.”
Niko’s soft laugh rumbled in his chest under her ear. “We have to dedicate ourselves to practice,” he said, running his fingertips down her arm. “Hone our craft.”
The bedroom door rattled against the frame, and Baxter let out a mournful whimper on the other side.
Niko sighed and climbed out of bed. Emma admired his fine naked form as he crossed to the door and scooped up the puppy.
Man and dog returned to the bed.
“Is it going to be a problem for you if my ex-boyfriend moves here to open an accounting practice and starts dating Ellery?” Emma asked, propping herself up on an elbow.
“Not if it won’t be a problem for you if my Dad, Greta, and the rest of them come out for the weekend. Apparently, they’re into this whole family thing and think they should come celebrate the engagement and new house and puppy.”
Emma laughed. “I think that sounds great.”
Niko dragged her over him. “I think so, too.”
She traced a finger over his mouth. “You look happy, Niko.”
“I don’t have the words for how happy you’ve made me, Emmaline. But I think I can show you.” His hands skimmed over her back to cup the curves of her ass.
“Niko,” she sighed his name and took his lips. This was love. This was the foundation of something real and beautiful. This was the beginning of a lifetime.