Page 111 of Rosie and the Beast Next Door

When she pulled away, I tucked my hand behind her head. “Now that kiss was a ten.”

She tilted her head to the side and gave me a cheeky smile. “Eh. I’d give it a five.”

I grinned widely and pulled her even closer to me. “Well, then I guess we’d better keep practicing.”

And as the crowd cheered wildly around us, we did.

Epilogue

Rosie

8 months later

It was the Peaks’ first game of the season—and my first game as Dylan Savage’s fiancé. I had on his jersey, as did half the arena, but mine was the only one that was actuallyhis.

An entire section of people who loved Dylan surrounded me.

All three of my brothers had come to the game.

As did Hudson and his parents, along with Shiloh’s wife, Amelia, and their daughter. The team had honored Shiloh before the game, and there hadn’t been a dry eye in sight. They’d given out navy hats with Shiloh’s number on it, making the arena a sea of blue.

Charlie wore head-to-toe navy blue and held blue pom-poms. Her wedding was in three weeks, so I hadn’t expected for her to come with us, but I was glad she had. I hadn’t seen her in almost a month, and I’d missed her.

Sheriff and Mrs. Savage (or Ken and Bonnie as they insisted I call them) were there, along with a frowning Lily, who’d refused to wear the Peaks jersey, but did have the hat on.

Lily and I weren’t quite as frosty toward each other as before. We still didn’t talk or anything, but I’d stopped kicking her mailbox down, and she nodded her head in hello every once in a while when I was hanging out with Charlie. Baby steps, since she was going to be my sister-in-law after all.

The only downside to marrying Dylan, really.

Be nice, I told myself.

The team skated out of the locker room to their entrance music, and I was disappointed to hear that they had not taken my advice and rocked out to Natalie Cole.

Instead, it was all bass guitar and drums as an announcer yelled, “Everyone on your feet!”

We jumped to our feet and screamed, and I forgave Dylan the instant that I saw him. He’d grown his hair out longer for the season, so he had it pulled back into an elastic band, and he’d informed me this morning that he wasn’t going to shave until the Peaks’ won the championship. I had no doubt that they’d win. Of course they would. They had Dylan, who was playing better than ever.

As the teams got into position, my brothers leaned close to the barrier separating us from the players. The crowd was chanting, “Let’s go, Dylan!” while my brothers had modified it to, “Go home, Dylan.”

I gave them some serious side eye but was distracted from asking them what in the world they were doing by my phone buzzing.

It was Max.

Max: Sold the seascape and the cat-mermaid painting today (the one with the silvery tail.)

Rosie: Oh, yay! Thank you.

Max: We’re down to about ten stickers total. Will you have a chance to order more? The new octopus wearing a bowtie is completely gone.

Rosie: I ordered more last night. I have a new design I just finished and included it as well. You should get the shipment by Tuesday.

Max: Perfect. Enjoy the game! We’re all at the Icy Asps. Everyone screams when we see one of you on screen.

A few months ago, I’d decided to get rid of my store front and sell my paintings exclusively in Max’s bookstore and online. We’d started out with a small corner, but now my paintings were hung throughout the store, and we’d added stickers, small prints, and bookmarks.

And a wild thing happened. People loved my sillier paintings just as much as my serious ones. A magazine even featured my Whimsical Delights collection, and sales had been steady ever since.

Partnering with Max not only freed me up to paint more, but it allowed me to be flexible with my location. This way I could spend the hockey season in Montana with Dylan, and the off-season in Winterhaven.

---