Page 47 of Falling for My Boss

“The same goes for me,” she said. “I don’t want you feeling any kind of guilt or anything about how things happened. It worked out. We are here, together, and that’s all that matters.”

“Absolutely,” Jack said. “No matter what, I have your back, sis. Mom and Dad are insane. I am on your side, one thousand percent.”

“Good,” she said. “I hope you know I have your back too. Always.”

“That’s certainly a relief,” he said. “I’m going to need you to provide an alibi for all those murders I committed.”

He winked, and we laughed.

“Maybe not quite that far,” Jodi said. “But I’d come visit you.”

“I appreciate that,” he said. “I definitely can understand your point of view there.”

“So, that’s done, right? No more worries about it. We move on and move on together. Family.”

“Family,” Jack said, raising his glass. I clinked it with mine.

“Family,” I said.

We spent the next few hours talking until we were much closer to the time we needed to be back at work than we were the time we left it. Jack went to the office to get a little nap before his plane took off, and we said our goodbyes before he did. Promises were made for constant visits from him to us and for road trip adventures as well. They both were determined to take me to Orlando, Florida, for theme park adventures, and I agreed.

When Jodi and I finally crawled into bed, we fell asleep almost instantly. My final thoughts before I drifted off to the land of dreams were that we both knew our life wasn’t going to be easy, but it wasn’t going to stop us. Her parents were certainly going to be a problem, and one we would have to take a crack at figuring out with a kid on the way. But at the end of the day, I would have her back, always.

Besides, there was much to be thankful for and excited about. We were starting out in a very good place, already living together and knowing we were extremely compatible in every respect. I still had my restaurant and my brothers at my side. The vineyard was doing better all the time, and the restaurant was starting to gain accolades which made me happy. Before long we would be the envy of the vineyard tours of California.

I woke up just before the alarm on my phone went off, and I silenced it, deciding to let Jodi sleep in a little longer while I made breakfast. When she finally got up, she was clearly sad her brother was gone but trying to work through it. She smiled weakly at me as she sat at the breakfast table.

“Thank you for letting me sleep in,” she said. “I’m surprised I didn’t wake up when you got out of bed.”

“You were really out of it,” I said. “I made extra eggs. For the baby.”

For a moment, she just looked at me, and then her bottom lip began to wobble, and tears filled the corners of her eyes.

I was going to have to get used to that.

I dropped Jodi off at the kitchen and went to the offices to see if I could find Cam. I had some things I wanted to order and needed to make sure the finances were there first. After I was done, I headed back to the kitchen and saw Jodi and Ally standing by the prep station. On one hand, Jodi had the winter menu and was talking in a low voice.

“But if you pair this with the shiraz that Alex was talking about, it would be really nice,” Jodi said.

“You have a mind for this, you know,” Ally said. “Seriously, I wouldn’t have thought about that shiraz. It would go so well with that Persian flavor of the dishes.”

“I thought so too,” Jodi said excitedly. “I don’t know. I feel like I know flavors, I just don’t know all the terminology, you know?”

“I can help you with that,” Ally said. “You help me come up with pairings, and I’ll make sure the menu has the right words.”

They both laughed, and I leaned against the wall watching them.

Ally might be my brother’s girl, but she was one of the biggest influences of my life. She was my best friend and my confidante, and for her and Jodi to be standing there together, working through the menu and doing it together, it was just magic to me. I loved watching them get excited and happily talk to each other, oblivious to me behind them.

After some time, it began to hit me just how amazing all this was. If it weren’t for one bad day, none of this would be happening. A very bad day had somehow led to the greatest life I could imagine.

EPILOGUE

JODI

“Are you okay?” Derek asked, coming into the living room where I was lying on the couch, curled on my side.

I pressed my hand to the side of my belly and drew in a breath to try to calm the sharp pain going through me. I shook my head.

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