Page 37 of The Grinch and His Curvy Christmas Miracle
"You’re best man," I add. "And transfer her rental payment back. All of it."
"Seriously? No tip for your genius brother?"
"Evan."
"Alright, alright. Money’s going back. But you owe me. Big time. I better get to meet this future sister-in-law soon."
"You will."
He softens. "I’m happy for you, man. Honestly. You deserve this. And if she said yes knowing how grumpy you are before coffee, then yeah… she’s a keeper."
I hang up before he can get more sentimental.
When I look up, Nikki’s already standing there, arms crossed, giving me the squint.
"Don’t tell me your brother set this up."
I sigh. "Didn’t know until now. I swear."
She leans closer, one brow raised. "So I was part of some mountain matchmaking experiment?"
"Apparently."
"And you didn’t even screen me first?"
"Wouldn’t have mattered."
She plants both hands on my chest. "You really mean that, don’t you?"
"Every damn word."
She steps in and kisses me. Slow, sure, like we’ve got all the time in the world.
And maybe we do.
Because this? This is the start of forever.
Epilogue
Nikki
FIVEYEARSLATER
The cabin smells like cinnamon, pine, and cookies—our official holiday scent—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The place has changed since that first Christmas. It’s bigger now, thanks to the extension Ryder built the year I was pregnant with our first.
A bedroom, because my mountain man only had a bed in the living room-slash-kitchen.
Then a second bedroom that turned into a nursery. And another wing for the chaos that followed: two more babies.
A studio space for me, and an actual mudroom because Ryder insisted kids come with a ridiculous amount of snow-drenched gear.
He wasn’t wrong.
The cabin is fully decorated now, every window lined with warm lights, every corner bursting with color.
The tree in the living room is tall and wide, covered in handmade ornaments, paper stars, glittery pinecones, and a hundred tiny fingerprints.
