Page 177 of The Holiday Fakers
I leaf through the pages, my heart overflowing. Our relationship may have started as fake, but anyone looking at these photos would see two people deeply in love.
The last pages hold pictures from today’s elf treasure hunt. I wipe my eyes as I take them in.
“Thank you,” I say softly to Brody. “And thank you, Mia. This is incredible.”
“There’s one more picture,” Mia says.
I turn the final page to find a copy of the photo taken at Ethan, Olivia, and Brody’s graduation party. The one where I’m standing next to Brody, the backs of our hands touching.
But this copy isn’t scanned from the photo hanging in the dining room. Its edges are worn, and the colors are faded.
I glance at Mia, then Brody, my brows drawing together. “Why does it look like this?”
Brody shifts, pulling his wallet from his back pocket and opening it carefully to show me what’s inside.
My hand flies to my heart and my breath catches. “Have you …?” I look up at him. “How long have you had this?”
“Mia gave it to me the day before I left Hideaway,” he says quietly. “It’s been in my wallet ever since.”
My throat is too tight to speak, and my eyes flood with emotion.
Brody wipes my tears away with the pads of his thumbs, then gathers me into his arms. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he murmurs. “We’re together now.”
But everything is spilling out at once, and I can’t stop.
“Come on,” he says, helping me to my feet. “Let’s get some air.”
We leave the family room, and Brody helps me into my boots and coat, then leads me out onto the porch. It’s cold and still out here, snow falling gently and muffling every sound.
The peace and quiet settles over me, and I start to calm. I blow my nose, then snuggle into Brody’s side.
“I remember standing here when you left Hideaway,” I say softly. “The moment we almost kissed. And not knowing if I’d ever see you again.”
Brody lets out a sigh. “I thought I’d come back once I’d made it, but ‘making it’ kept turning into just one more job. And then I figured it was too late.”
He gently lifts my chin, and I lose myself in the liquid warmth of his eyes.
“I’ll never be able to thank Marv enough for his meddling,” he says, “because it brought me back to you. And now that I’ve got you, I’m never going to let you go.”
His lips find mine, and I kiss him with all of my heart. I kiss him for the woman I am now, and for the sixteen-year-old girl who loved him just as much then as I do today.
Breathless, I break the kiss just to gaze at him again, to remind myself this is real, and the start of the rest of our lives together.
“I love you,” I whisper.
He touches his forehead to mine. “I love you, too.”
In the distance, sleigh bells ring softly, reminding me that no matter the season, Hideaway Harbor is a magical place.
I smile. “Merry Christmas, Brody King.”
“Merry Christmas, Piper Locke,” he replies, love shining in his eyes. “And here’s to the happiest New Year ever.”
Then he kisses me again, and I melt in his arms, knowing our stars have finally aligned and will shine together on the same path forever.
EPILOGUE
PIPER
