Page 93 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

“You’re banned from the kitchen,” she told me. “If you pick up a dirty dish at any point tonight, you have to leave immediately.”

Laughing, I nodded. “Deal.”

Her hand coasted over my cheek in a soft, motherly caress. When she did the same to Sean, I knew we were at the start of something wonderful.

EPILOGUE

LIZZIE

Ten and a half months later…

The best twentydollars I’d ever spent was the packing tape dispenser I bought on a whim when I went to pick up a bunch of Sharpies from the local office supply store. As I taped up the final box in my kitchen with one satisfying swipe across the top of it, I straightened up and let out a happy huff. Zach used his trusty Sharpie to write the word KITCHEN on top of the box, then capped the marker and grinned at me.

“Last one,” he said.

“Last one,” I confirmed.

The stomp of heavy footsteps made us both turn toward the hallway, where Sean appeared in a tan Carhartt jacket, black beanie, and faded jeans. He arched his brows. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Zach said.

“Let’s head on over with the first load, then,” Sean said, ruffling my son’s hair.

Zach took off at a dead sprint as Sean and I watched him go. Then Sean closed the distance between us and slid his hands over my hips.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Nervous. Excited.”

“Sad to be leaving this place?”

I glanced around the room at the old, orange-tinged cabinets and off-white tiles, at the stone hearth and old carpet. “A little,” I admitted, “but mostly it feels good.”

As his arms went around me, Sean bent down to press a kiss to my forehead. “I love you, Lizzie.”

He hadn’t stopped telling me exactly that in the past ten-plus months, and every time, my chest buzzed with happiness. “I love you too,” I replied as I tilted my face up to accept his kiss.

“Gross!” Zach called out from the mouth of the hallway, now dressed in his jacket and shoes. “Mom, ew!”

I pulled away from Sean and stuck my tongue out at my son, who stuck his tongue out right back. Then the three of us cackled, and Sean threaded his fingers through mine to tug me toward the front door.

He’d already loaded a few boxes into the bed of his truck, and the plan was for me to join Hazel, Mikey, and my mother at our new home to clean and unpack while Sean and my brothers did the bulk of the moving. I closed the door behind me and walked to the truck, then turned and took another glance at the house where I’d lived for the better part of two decades.

Sean’s arm went around my shoulders, and I leaned my head against his chest.

“Isaac and I bought this house together not long after we got married,” I told him. “It’s the only home the kids have ever known.”

“Full of memories,” Sean replied.

I nodded, then looked into his blue-green eyes and smiled tentatively. “But it’s too small to fit all of us.”

The soft, relieved sigh that left his lips told me that I’d just said exactly what he needed to hear. That I was ready to move onand excited to take this next step together. I got up on my tiptoes and pressed another kiss to his lips, then pulled away, took one more long look at my house, and then got in the passenger seat of the truck.

We were halfway to the new place when Zach asked, “Mom, can me and Mikey share a room?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “I thought you’d already picked out your rooms.”

“We want to get bunk beds in one room and then use the other one for computers and robots.”

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