Page 82 of The Reality of Wanting Him

“Thanks, Andy.”

“Alright, final question. Now that we’ve confirmed you two are together again, can you tell us what that actually means? Are you two still planning to get married? Are you no longer engaged but dating? What did that conversation look like?”

“Oh, Liam is absolutely still my future husband,” I assure them, and Liam smiles indulgently at me.

“I agree. But we’ve also decided that rushing into a marriage didn’t make sense for us. We’ve had parents and producers telling us why we need to get married for so long, that we lost sight of why we’d want to be married in the first place. We’re in love, and I’m confident that Blake is my person, the one epic love I had always hoped to find.” Liam squeezes my hand as he brings it up to his mouth, leaving a kiss on the knuckle.

“We want to wait until getting married feels like something we’re doing only for us,” I add to clarify. “We’re committed to each other, which is all I need.” Liam leans in for a quick kiss, and the audience “awwws” along with Andy.

We might not have had the picture-book ending that the show planned for us, but I think what we have now is so much better.

EPILOGUE TWO

LIAM

October

Inever thought I’d be waking up to the sound of a goat screaming outside my window, but that’s my life now.

I groan, shoving my face into the pillow. Jolene, our chaotic little gremlin of a goat must be somewhere she’s not supposed to be.Again.“Jolene” is what I get for letting Blake name the animals. He gave them all pop star inspired names and hypes them up by following them around with a camera all day. Even though they are literal farm animals, they act like they’re the ones in charge here.

Beside me, Blake isdead asleep,with Lucky rolled on her back right next to Blake despite the fact that Jolene is begging for attention. I don’t know how he does it, but I decide to let him sleep, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead before climbing out of bed.

Today is the first morning of our Fall Festival, there’s no use in me staying in bed, I’m far too excited to go back to sleep.

Mom would be too.

This was always something she dreamed of—bringing moreof the community to our farm and making it a place people want to come rather than just a spot to pick up produce and leave. She wanted it to be a core memory for families, and I’m excited we’re finally able to make it happen.

Fall has always been my favorite in upstate New York, but now that Blake is here and we’re finally making this happen, it’s even better. We have a field full of pumpkins, games set up, a corn maze, a petting zoo that the animals are probably going to like more than the humans because Blake’s trained them to love attention, and even a live local band.

I grab a cup of coffee and step outside into the quiet, crisp October air. The farm looks like something out of a Hallmark movie, and honestly, that was kind of the point. There are pumpkins piled high in wooden crates for people who don’t want to go into the field, hay bales stacked up near the entrance, and a parking area we set up waiting to be filled.

The peace of taking in the view only lasts about thirty seconds before I see the chaos. The goats have already gotten out of their pen, Jolene standing on top of the shed.How does she even get up there?

“Don’t do it,” I warn, and she doesn’t listen.Of course she jumps.She’s fine, and I roll my eyes at the crazy animal. I sigh and walk over to the chickens who I know are eager to get out of their coop. I throw out some feed for them and collect their eggs.

Next, I move to the cows, filling their trough with fresh water and checking to make sure they still have enough hay, and they do. They’re far less excited than the chickens or goats to see me, but they’re so damn cute. I know they’re going to be a huge hit today at the petting zoo.

The goats on the other hand,they better behave.Blake has given them so much attention that they expect snacks every time they see a human, which I guess is good for a petting zoo, but it gets pretty annoying when it's just us here. I bring them alfalfa hay and check their water while they jump all over everythingthat isn’t nailed down. The goats are a handful, but I do love them.

Then there’s the alpacas, they just watch me with the most judgmental stares.It’s quite rude,but I ignore their attitude and make sure they have food and water too.

By the time I make it back to the house, Blake is at the kitchen table, scrolling through his phone.

“They love me,” he says dramatically, holding it up.

Bythey, I know he means the internet and his followers. Somehow, Blake has turned into a viral sensation. He started by posting silly farm updates, recording himself talking to the chickens like they were his coworkers or dressing up the goats, but people loved it. They still do.

He posts new videos almost every day and he’s been hyping up the Fall Festival for weeks now.

“I think today is going to be a hit,” I say, grabbing his coffee from his hand and taking a sip before handing it back.

“Obviously.” He grins. “The people are so excited for our opening and they all want updates.”

The farm was already growing in popularity from the show, but since Blake started making videos, we’ve been busier than ever. Our summer produce membership was completely sold out and we actually had to turn people away. We did build a roadside shop, though, and any extra produce we had, we were able to sell there. It turned out to be successful, and Blake absolutely loved being the one to run the store. Between the shop, the video content, and the animals, he really is living his best life, and it makes me so damn happy to see that this reallyishis dream too.

“Speaking of updates,” he continues, pulling out his phone and flipping the camera to selfie mode. “We’re live, babe!”

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