1 year later …

“Take a deep breath. Everything will be fine.” Scarlett chuckled, wondering why she was always the one having to calm Harper down.

Harper growled, balling her fists. “How can you say that? What if we run out of food? Can we trust the new staff to handle this? There are people lined up around the block, waiting to get in.”

Scarlett’s heart fluttered as she rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants. “We have to trust that we’ve done all the necessary prep,” she whispered through gritted teeth, pasting on a smile for the reporters. “It will have to be enough.”

“How do you feel about the grand opening of your new restaurant?” a peppy reporter with short hair asked.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Scarlett said.

“That’s a dumb question,” Harper quipped in her ear so that only she could hear. “How else are you supposed to feel?”

Scarlett elbowed Harper, trying to get her to stop talking.

“Ouch,” she yelped, rubbing her arm.

“Will you continue living part of the year in Tampa and part of the year in Clementine, or will you move here to Dunedin?” a male reporter asked.

“We have no plans to relocate at present,” Scarlett said. “Dunedin’s a short drive from Tampa.” She’d learned that vague answers were always best in these circumstances. It was crazy how quickly her life had changed over the past year. Shortly after the monumental, town hall press conference, Rigby left for Tampa to finish his season. He came back fighting hard and set a record for the number of completed passes. Scarlett teased him, saying it was because he’d finally learned how to throw the perfect catch. With her, he had, and she’d finally learned to catch it. She went back and forth between Tampa and Clementine for the next couple of months, then Rigby came back to Clementine during his offseason. Her grandpa insisted they rebuild the house, even though it would’ve been more cost-effective to buy a new one. Scarlett suspected her grandpa’s primary reason for doing so was so he could continue to be next door to Coralee. The two were still sweet on each other, but were taking things slow. Rigby often joked that if they took things any slower at their ages they might end up under the dirt before they actually got together. Either way, at least they were happy. Her grandpa was slowly warming up to Rigby. During their most recent visit to Clementine, Scarlett walked into the living room and caught the two of them watching football together, which was a miracle in and of itself.

Shortly after the press conference, Vernon left Clementine to take a job in Atlanta, and Scarlett hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. Good riddance was all she had to say about that!

Six months ago, Scarlett’s childhood dream finally came true when she married Rigby in a quiet ceremony at the little white church in Clementine. Two months after that, she took the plunge and moved to Tampa with the understanding they would live in Clementine during Rigby’s offseason. Now that the new restaurant was opening, Scarlett had a feeling she’d be spending even more time here than originally planned. Rigby was the financial backer for the new restaurant. At first, Scarlett balked at the idea of Rigby putting money in it, but he insisted his money was her money and that he needed to put their money into an investment, so why not the restaurant?

Scarlett looked out at the tight cluster of reporters clamoring for her attention. Anything Rigby was involved in drew attention, and Harper was determined to capitalize on the publicity. Scarlett had to hand it to her, Harper was dang good at marketing. It was unheard of for a new restaurant to get this much publicity on the day of its grand opening. Scarlett held up a hand. “I’ve asked my business partner and cousin Harper to say a few short words before the ribbon cutting ceremony.”

Harper stepped forward. “Thank you all for coming today. Scarlett and I are thrilled to be opening a second location of The Magnolia restaurant.”

“Will Rocket be here for the ribbon cutting?” a reporter asked.

“The Titans are at the top of their game. Do you think he’ll be able to lead them to the Championship this year?” another asked.

Harper scowled. “As I was saying,” she continued loudly, talking over the reporters, “we feel that Dunedin is the perfect location for us. We’re all about offering the most delicious food on the planet, served with a smile.” This brought a few chuckles from the reporters. Harper lifted her arm, motioning at the brick facade behind them. “So, without further ado, I give you The Magnolia, home of the ten-thousand-dollar sweet potato pie. Y’all should check it out. I know y’all will love it.”

A rustle went through the reporters as they turned. For a split second, Scarlett wasn’t sure what had caught their attention, then she saw him striding toward her. Her heart flipped as she took in his lean, muscular frame, wavy hair, chiseled jaw, and piercing blue eyes. As usual, he was the one commanding the attention, much to Harper’s chagrin. And the funny part was, he didn’t even care about all the attention. He only had eyes for her. The reporters peppered him with questions, which he ignored as he pushed his way to her side. For a moment it was just the two of them as he gave her an intimate smile, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. He leaned in, giving her a peck on the lips. “Sorry, I’m late. Practice ran over and then I had to do a blasted interview.”

“No worries. Harper just finished her speech, and now we’re doing the ribbon cutting.”

He put an arm around her, pulling her close, his warm breath tickling her ear. “You look fabulous, by the way. You know how much I love you in red.”

She smiled as the warmth of his compliment settled over her. “Thank you.”

“I’m so proud of you, Lettie. You did it.”

The enthusiasm in his voice soaked into her heart. She’d never believed such wonderful things could happen to her.

“So, Rocket, tell us the truth,” a reporter said slyly, “is the sweet potato pie really worth ten thousand dollars?”

This elicited a few snarky chuckles, and Scarlett could’ve sworn she saw steam coming out of Harper’s ears.

Rigby turned to Scarlett, and she caught that certain look in his eye that let her know he was up to something. “Oh, yeah, that and so much more,” he drawled. He winked at the reporters like they were old friends. “Folks, let me go on the record saying, ‘No price is too much to pay for the real deal.’” Right then and there he encircled her waist, dipped her back, and gave her a long, slow kiss.

A few wolf calls sounded through the group, as the reporters happily snapped their pictures, which Scarlett was sure would pop up on every media outlet known to man before the first plate of dinner was served in the restaurant this evening.

One thing was certain, life with Rigby Breeland was a fast, thrilling ride and she was enjoying every minute of it.