Page 104 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

Clad in a dark grey suit adorned with a pale blue pocket square and wearing a warm and reassuring smile, he steps closer, offering me his arm with the certainty of a father who’s been waiting a long time to do this.

“Maybe we’ll get it right this time,” he says.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I whisper.

“Love is love, Elise. That’s the one thing I know not to mess with. You are lucky to be able to feel this, to live this, and it would be my pleasure, and my honor, if you would let me give you away as my daughter.”

“You were the best father you could’ve possibly been under those circumstances,” I tell him. “For what it’s worth, I do forgive you, and I do love you, Papa.”

Tears form in his eyes. “Will you let me give you away, then?”

“I would be honored.”

As he walks me down the aisle and surrounded by those I love the most, I see a future I’ve always dreamed about.

It cannot get any better than this.

Epilogue II

Elise

They say time flies when you’re having fun.

“Order up for table four!” Hayley calls out from the kitchen as she brings two plates out. One of our waitresses immediately picks them up and takes them over to table four. The food smells amazing.

Kara and Michael sit in the booth with me, making sure Jonas and Leo eat all their veggies. They are here visiting for the holidays.

“It’s going great, isn’t it?” Michael asks, looking around.

I laugh lightly. “I didn’t think it would do this well, to be honest.”

“You did a wonderful job with the renovations,” Kara says, one eye always on her nephews. “Dudes, the broccoli, too.”

Jonas and Leo are now feisty and opinionated four-year-olds, and they give her a tough guy look. “I hate broccoli,” they say in unison.

“You love broccoli,” I reply with an eye roll. “You’re just being fussy, misters.”

“I want a burger and fries,” my lovely, blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel Jonas sighs. “Me too,” his equally towheaded twin agrees. We’re pretty sure Oliver contributed the genetic material for these two, but we agreed not to do any DNA testing unless it’s medically required. “And pecan pie.”

“You’ll get the pecan pie if you finish all your veggies,” I insist, letting them fiddle around with the rest of their food while I shift my focus back to Kara and Michael. “Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without you two.”

Kara shakes her head. “All we did was send you money.”

“A lot of money,” I reply. “Way too much money.”

“Shush. Good interior decorators are hard to find,” Kara says. “Besides, the family owed you much more than that.”

The diner now resembles one of those sleek and fancy places from the late fifties, with black-and-white floor tiles and lacquered-red accent walls. Everything else is white, except the comfy furniture, which is done in a plush palette of soft greys.

It carries that Rockabilly vibe I love, and the jukebox that Michael sent from Chicago has become my favorite piece.

The best part—it’s packed.

Every day, we are filled and busy, and it’s going to get even busier as Christmas approaches. There’s a number of holiday fairs in the district that tend to draw a lot of people from the city, especially Boulder.

“I still can’t believe James and the guys actually bought the place for me,” I say with a big smile. “When Janice mentioned it was for sale, I figured it was nothing more than a pipe dream. I never imagined they’d just—”

“Go ahead and buy it?” Kara cuts in with a smirk. “Provide for the woman of their dreams? Frankly, I am not surprised at all. I’m just glad they proved themselves worthy of a Konstantinova princess.”

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