Page 64 of Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall
Zach gazed down at her and felt a rush of love so strong and sweet it almost made him dizzy. She was everything he’d ever wanted—not the fairy-tale ending in itself, the way he’d once been looking for, but the life partner to walk by his side. How had he not realized that before? Never mind what they said in the movies, people didn’t complete you. Theyaccompaniedyou. They supported and strengthened, held and loved you, all along the way.
“Then you’d better keep up,” he murmured as he slid his hands up to cup her face. “Because I’m pretty sure IknowI’m already in love with you.”
And then he kissed her, slow and sweet and deep, the way he felt. The wayshefelt. Amazingly.
As they broke apart, Maggie smiled, looking dazed but also still a little worried. “I’m still so much older than you,” she blurted.
Zach laughed softly. “And, funny thing about age, you always will be.”
“Zach…” she pressed, “doesn’t that bother you? I mean, looking down the road… not to get all intense so soon or anything, but… I’m forty-one. If you want children… I know that’s a lot to think about now, but I’m…” She trailed off, nibbling her bottom lip.
He considered this, knowing she needed—and deserved—an honest answer. “Maggie, I don’t want to make any sweeping statements at this stage, except that I love you and want to be with you, and that is worth it to me. As for what the future holds… maybe we should just see what happens?” He pulled her back toward him. “Together.”
She stared up at him for a long moment, taking in his words, and as her expression softened, Zach hoped she was trusting them. Neither of them could know what the future held, only that they could choose to face it together, with joy as well as gratitude, with courage as well as hope.
“Okay,” she whispered, and he brushed a kiss across her lips just as they both heard the thundering of footsteps up the stairs. Before they could pull apart, Ben flung open the door, did a double take, and then fist-pumped the air as he crowed in delight, “Finally!”
EPILOGUE
TWO MONTHS LATER
“Settlers of Catan is a great game, but have you tried the expansion packs? The seafarers one takes a little getting used to, but I can walk you through it…”
Maggie smiled to hear Toby’s friendly yet officious tone. Her most recent hire and one of Ben’s best friends, he’d started working at Your Turn Next every Saturday, and would be upping his hours when school let out next week. And in September, Ben would be joining him at Torrington High School for tenth grade. Maggie was so grateful.
She was grateful for a lot of things—the success of the café, which had continued to serve as a community rallying point; the closeness of her friendships, especially with Laurie and Annie; how Ben was thriving, exceeding even her wildest expectations for what his life would look like in Starr’s Fall.
Most of all, though, she was grateful for Zach. The last two months had been both wonderful and challenging—more than a few people had looked at them askance when they’d gone public with their relationship. They’d provided grist for the gossip mill for a solid three weeks, at least, but they’d made it through, and now she hoped they were stronger than ever. Maggie still sometimes worried about their age difference, but Zach seemed unbothered and so she tried to trust what they had now rather than catastrophize into the future, which she knew she could still be prone to do.
Zach’s woodworking business was slowly but surely taking off; he’d renovated one of the old barns behind the store and set it up as a workshop and storefront. Maggie had been one of his first customers, buying a refurbished bookshelf to store yet more boardgames for the café.
It was all good, Maggie reflected, but that didn’t necessarily make it easy. Life could still be hard—Annie’s mom was now in a hospice, and when Laurie had gone to meet her biological mother, she hadn’t shown up. Laurie had put a brave face on it, but Maggie could tell she’d been hurt. Then, a month ago, Henrietta Starr had had a fall and broken her hip, spending three weeks in the hospital before she was released. She’d been walking with a Zimmer frame since and wasn’t able to come to the café. Every so often, Maggie went to her for a laborious but enjoyable game of Scrabble.
There was still her and Ben’s grief to deal with, an emotion that sometimes felt inconvenient and uncomfortable, but was still there, and maybe always would be. No matter how happy she was, the future would always be uncertain. But, Maggie had come to realize, that was the nature of life—always changing, always unknowable, with the pleasure and happiness to be found along the way. She was learning to roll with the punches a little more, but occasionally she still needed to hide under her duvet and watchIs It Cake?for an hour or so, and that was okay, too.
The door to the café opened, and Maggie smiled to see Zach walk in. He still held the power to make her heart soar and her stomach flip.
“Hey.” He gave her a deliberately sexy smile—something that had become a joke between them—as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Hey,” Maggie replied softly. She brushed her fingers through his tousled hair, smiling as she did so.
“You off duty soon?” Zach asked. “I thought we could take a walk up to the waterfall and see the sunset.”
“Now that sounds like a plan.” She had come to discover just what a romantic Zach was at heart, and she loved it. “Think I can probably leave Toby in charge—there’s only a few of our regulars booked for five.”
Since Your Turn Next had opened, a few different people had made weekly bookings—two elderly couples who played Mahjong together; a couple of moms and their little ones who cracked open the Candyland. Maggie loved welcoming them all every week.
“Okay, sounds good,” Zach said with a smile that made her stomach flip—again—just as his sister stormed into the café, looking thunderous. Zach’s eyebrows lifted as he shot Maggie a bemused glance.
He’d told her that since he’d started Miller’s Woodworking and Furniture Restoration, he and Jenna had been getting along better than ever. She listened to his ideas and even took his advice, more than she had been, at least, and they’d enjoyed each other’s company more, too. It had definitely been the right decision to branch out, he’d concluded, and Maggie had to agree. Everyone seemed happier… except right now Jenna did not seem happy at all.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked as Jenna blew out a frustrated breath, her eyes sparking with anger.
“I have just had the mostannoyingcustomer in the store,” she declared. “Right before closing, and demanding I stocksalmon, of all things! And then saying he’d never shop there again because it was such a waste of space. He’s just moved here, and honestly, I hope I never see him again.”
“Seems unlikely,” Zach murmured, and Jenna mock-glared at him. At least, Maggie thought it was mock.
“I know, I know, this is a small place, but that’s exactly my point. Where does he think he is? New York City? Honestly, he was soentitled, it just…” She trailed off, shaking her head, her face flushed, her eyes still sparkling.
