Page 97 of (Un)Expected

“Not as much as I love you.”

EPILOGUE

Six Months Later…

“And you’re sure the plumbing is functional?” I sighed, checking out the shower for the fifth time. “I don’t want them to stop working on our first night.”

Cole shook his head, laughing at my incessant line of questions. “Yes, sweetheart. Steve checked over everything.Again. He said we’re good to go.”

“What about the stove?” I said, toying with the end of my braid. “One of the maintenance guys swore he smelled gas.”

“Crossed that off the list too. There’s no problem. If the pilot light gives us any trouble, I know a guy who can come check it out.” He fixed me with a knowing smirk. “Breathe, Alex. We’ve got everything covered. Tonight’s going to be amazing. Please try to enjoy all your hard work.”

Six months ago, I would have never thought we’d be here. Within the next couple of hours, all our friends and family would be joining us for the soft opening of the Fox Creek Lodge.

Cole and I had debated changing the name, but it feltwrong. This place was a part of the landscape of Saint Stephen’s Lake, and we wanted to honor that tradition.

We’d poured our blood, sweat, and tears into getting the lodge ready for guests. Cole had brought an entire crew to help gut the cabins, all of whom were willing to donate their time in exchange for a stay when we opened. We were more than happy to oblige. It seemed like the whole town had a hand in us getting to this moment.

I couldn’t lie and say it was easy. We’d hit a ton of roadblocks along the way, especially once we realized how much damage the lodge had incurred when it sat vacant for years. There were nights I wanted to give up, take a nice, safe job downtown, but Cole kept me going, showing me see how much progress we were making. That wasn’t to say we didn’t fight—sharing a home and a business would be stressful for any couple. Somehow, though, we managed to work through the problems together.

Every day, I fell a little more in love with Cole. Seeing all sides of him, watching him become a part of this community—it was more than I ever expected. Finally having a partner who loved me so fiercely gave me an incredible amount of strength.

I scanned through the checklist one more time, much to Cole’s annoyance as he crossed his arms around his chest. “There’s nothing left, Alex. We’re ready.”

“What about–”

He pulled me into his chest, his familiar scent calming my rapidly fraying nerves. “It’s a soft opening. This is to work out any of the kinks before we have paying guests. Say it with me: it’s going to be great.”

“It’s going to be great,” I mumbled against him, not really feeling the words. I pulled out of his embrace, heading toward the door before he could catch me again. “I’m going to call Marta to check on the food.”

“Woman, get your ass into the office and get ready.” He slapped my ass as I hustled past him. “And if I catch you checking on one more thing, I’m locking you in the office until everyone shows up.”

I stuckmy tongue out at him as I walked out of the cabin, heading straight for the office like he instructed. As much as I loathed to admit it, Cole was right. We’d been planning this night for weeks, months, even. Everything was as ready as it could be. The only thing we needed now was our friends to show up.

Walking into the office, I didn’t even look up from my notes, too focused to notice the person sitting on top of my desk. When I finally looked up, I shrieked, not expecting someone in my office.

“Surprise!” Calla called out, throwing her hands in the air.

“What are you doing here?” I cried out, wrapping her in a tight hug. “I thought you were in California.”

It had been almost four months since I’d seen Calla. Fourlongmonths. When she moved to Manhattan in the spring, I knew she’d be busy with her new job, but I had no idea how much I would miss her. Even though we talked daily, it wasn’t the same as having her with me.

“Please,” she teased. “There was no way I was going to miss this. I even convinced Mr. Sunshine to come tonight.”

“How’s that going?” I asked, laughing at the nickname Calla had christened Theo on her first day as his new assistant. Things had started out rocky between them, with Theo threatening to fire her on a daily basis, but they seemed to be getting along better. At least, I wasn’t getting daily texts with the ways Calla was imagining murdering him.

“Eh,” Calla shrugged. “It’s been...different than I expected. Theo is...” Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at her shoes. “He’sdifferentthan I expected.”

“In a good way?”

“Time will tell.” Calla laughed, hopping off my desk and moving to the attached bathroom. “Now, I have five outfits for you to choose from.” She held her hand up to stop my protests. “Yes, you have to wear one of them. This is a big night, Alex, and you deserve to be spoiled after all your hard work.”

I shook my head, walking into the room without further protest. That was a battle I’d never win. My eye was instantly drawn to thefirst dress on the pile. Made from a navy blue, breezy material, it reminded me of the sky above the lake on fall nights, the kind I loved the most with Cole. Nights when it was just the two of us sitting by the fire, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.

I pulled it over my head, knowing it was the one without having to look at the others. Glancing in the mirror, I straightened my compass necklace, the one Cole had given me when we first started. It never left my neck, a constant reminder of our ties to each other, that we would always help the other find their way home.

Calla’s hand flew in front of her face when she saw me, and she nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s it. It’s perfect!”

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