Page 174 of The Single Dad

“So are we,” says another voice from behind her. Olivia stiffens for a moment, then releases me, turning to face Reed.

Declan stands at his shoulder. Both of them are smiling—a common enough expression on Reed, less so on Declan. Declan walks up to Cole and claps him on the shoulder.

“Knew you had it in you,” he says. “Congratulations.”

“Congrats,” Reed echoes. “Can’t wait for the wedding, man. It’s gonna be a huge party, right?”

Cole inclines his head. “Well, there’s no point getting ahead of ourselves. Riley and I have a lot of planning to do.”

He flashes me a wink, as if to say, The biggest party you can imagine.

Then he shrugs off Declan and Reed, coming back over to me and pulling me into his arms. For a moment, as he holds me, the entire world slides away. The sounds of the amusement park rides and the carnies yelling, the congratulations and chatter of our friends, and the noise of the children as Archie, the birthday boy, rejoins their group.

It’s just me and Cole. His face is the only thing I can see—his stormy blue eyes, and the pale sky behind him.

He kisses me, his hand on the back of my neck, fingers twining into my hair.

When he withdraws, he whispers, “For a long time, I thought I was doing right by Rebecca. Honoring her memory.”

I rest a hand on his chest, looking up at him as he smiles fondly down at me.

“In reality, though, it was like a part of me died the night she died,” he says quietly, his voice low enough that only I can hear.

He brushes his thumb across my face, wiping the tears away from my eyes.

“But you changed all of that, angel. You brought me back to life.”

Epilogue Two

Olivia

As soon as the metal ring leaves my hand, I know I’ve already missed. I groan as it clinks off the top of the glass bottle, bouncing onto the floor.

Stupid ring toss. That was my last throw.

“They rig these things so you can’t win,” I tell the carny, a kid no older than nineteen, who gives me a weary look and rolls his eyes. “It’s true.”

“You think so?” says a familiar voice from beside me. At once, my heart skips a beat, and my fingers clench into fists.

It’s Reed. He steps up beside me, his perfect hair tousled by the warm breeze, and gives a friendly nod to the bored teenager behind the counter.

“Are you gonna keep sneaking up on me?” I ask, turning to face Reed. “This is, like, the second time today.”

“Sorry,” Reed says, a lopsided smile on his face that makes me grit my teeth in frustration. Does he ever take himself seriously? “I didn’t think of it as sneaking up on you. Promise. I was just... approaching.”

“Well, approach from a different direction, then.” I sniff, turning back to the ring toss, and hand the carny another dollar bill. “Rack ’em, please.”

The carny clicks his tongue and grimaces, which doesn’t exactly boost my self-confidence, and hands me three more rings.

“Let me get in on this,” Reed says, digging in his pocket for some cash. He produces a handful of quarters, presenting them to the teenager with a flourish.

I do my best to ignore Reed as I size up the bottles for my first throw, but it’s difficult. He has a magnetic presence. His is one of those faces that seems designed to draw every eye, and my heart is beating faster than usual just from his proximity.

I still don’t know if he remembers who I am, and quite frankly, I hope he doesn’t.

“So,” Reed says, leaning against the booth’s counter beside me. The three rings hang from his index finger, and he swirls them around nonchalantly. “Happy day, huh?”

“Yep,” I reply, popping the “p” with my lips. I still don’t look at him.

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