Page 123 of Better Luck Next Time

“Addy. It’s your decision. Whatever you want to do. But there’s a reporter forTheNew York Timeswho’s interested in seeing these files. They wouldn’t need to mention your name. You can make sure he gets what he deserves without involving your family.”

Something rippled over her face. Then she steeled herself, and her expression shuttered. “You did this for me.”

There was no denying it, so he simply nodded.

“I’m not going to ask them to reveal themselves if I won’t do the same. I’ll tell my story. They can use my name too.”

“But your father—”

“Screw my father.” Her eyes went from fierce to regretful in an instant. “I’m sorry, Finn. I’m sorry I nearly ruined everything. You mean so much to me. I just needed some time to put this behind me. And I…I guess I was afraid. I worried that I wouldn’t be enough for you. That you’d want to move on from me like you did with Big Catch.”

He reached into his pocket, his hand wrapping around the small box, and lowered onto one knee, the escaped peas mushing under him.

He heard a gasp, but he didn’t look up as he took out the box and flipped it open. “Adalia Buchanan, ‘you have bewitched me, body and soul. I love, I love, I love you.’ Will you marry me?”

He finally looked up and saw the tears in her eyes. On her cheeks. She took his hand and pulled him up, then cradled his face and met his eyes.

“No,” she said, and for a moment, it felt like the sidewalk would crack open and the earth would swallow him whole, but she added, “not yet. But I love you, you big idiot, and I do want to be your girlfriend.” She motioned to the ring. “We’ll get there. I know we’ll get there.” She smiled up at him. “And not just because that’s the coolest ring I’ve ever seen in my life.” It was a large ruby with two smaller diamonds bracketing it, the design from another era.

“I can live with that,” he said, grinning back. He shut the ring box and pocketed it. She was right—he was nuttier than a Snickers bar for asking, but he’d needed to show her how much she meant to him. He’d needed her to know that he had no intention of moving on to someone else. Adalia was the one he wanted.

She kissed him this time, but it was a quick kiss, and she pulled back with shining eyes. “There’s something I need to show you. I’ve been working at Blue’s studio for weeks, but no one’s seen my sculptures. I want you to be the first.”

So shehadbeen working again. She’d reclaimed the part of herself she’d cast aside, and she wanted to be with him.

He’d never felt happier in his life.

“I would be honored.”

She gave him a playful nudge. “No need to sound like Mr. Darcy too. One person shouldn’t be allowed to have everything.”

“I know,” he said, nudging back. “That’s why I feel impossibly lucky right now.”

She glanced around. “Well, don’t feel too lucky. You must have left your car at my house, so we’re stuck taking Bessie. And to be honest, she’s not smelling so great now that I’ve taken to raiding dumpsters for sculpting materials. Plus, we should really do something about this mess.” There were peas and papers everywhere now. “You do have these electronically, I’m guessing?”

“Of course,” he said, then shrugged. “The papers felt like a more dramatic gesture.”

“Good call,” she said. “Give me a second.”

She headed toward Bessie, and Finn took the opportunity to pet Tyrion, who’d somehow known exactly where to bring him. Adalia returned with a plastic bag, and they hastily scooped the mess inside before tossing it in the trash bin.

Then Adalia took his elbow like she had that day at the Biltmore. “Let’s go, Mr. Darcy. Dire wolf, heel!”

Tyrion fell in behind them, and they set off toward Bessie. As Finn entered the passenger side of that ramshackle car, which did indeed smell, he knew this was only the beginning of something beautiful. And it was the kind of beautiful he wanted to last his whole life.

Epilogue

“This is amazing!” Georgie exclaimed as she pulled Adalia into a hug. “Nearly half of the pieces have sold, and it’s all gone so smoothly!”

Adalia grimaced. “I don’t know about smoothly.”

There’d been some last-minute glitches that had nearly made her pull her hair out. The pieces had been delivered a few days before the event, and a box of pottery had gone missing. The artist had been understandably agitated, but it was finally found in the brewery storage room two hours before opening night. It had been labeledY. East—the artist’s name—but one of the Buchanan employees had mistaken it for “yeast.” The caterer had also flaked two nights beforehand, but Finn had worked his magic and found one last minute. And lastly, the zipper of the new dress Adalia had bought for the event had broken, leaving her with nothing to wear but a sundress. Blue had found her nearly in tears an hour before the opening night festivities started, and she’d run home to bring her a gorgeous blue dress that was sophisticated and classy, yet not as severe as something Georgie would have lent her.

“You should be proud of yourself,” Georgie said. “You handled all the hiccups like a pro.” She cracked a grin. “You better watch out, or Jack might worry about his job.”

Adalia released a short laugh. “Uh.No.He can keep his job, thank you very much. I’ve agreed to co-chair the Art Display for the first year, but only because Blue is going to take over Finn’s co-chair spot.”

“Are you sure you’ll have time?” her sister asked with a worried look. “You still need to finish your pieces for your own show in February.”

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