Page 103 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell (Rock Canyon, Idaho 7)

“I can lock the door and use nine minutes to make up.”

The corner of her mouth cur

ved. “You’ve got six.”

“I can make that work.”

Epilogue

“Guess who’s back? Back again.” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.

Two months after the best six minutes of her life, Gracie couldn’t believe how much her life had changed. Eric had gone ahead with the book at her insistence. She’d grudgingly admitted she might have overreacted, to which he’d generously not made a big deal about.

Then, two weeks ago, they’d tied the knot on a secret trip to Tahoe. Things between them would never be calm and quiet; their love would always be a little stormy. But it was real, and neither one of them had wanted to wait.

And finally, yesterday, they’d officially adopted Pip. She’d had no idea what was happening, except that Gracie was laughing and kissing her, before handing her over to Eric, who had managed to win Pip’s heart with a little help from Fuzz. As he’d tossed her up in the air, and caught her to his chest, Gracie had decided that it was the most perfect, wonderful moment she’d ever experienced.

Their life had pretty much been a whirlwind, but Gracie couldn’t imagine it any other way.

It was Saturday morning, and as Gracie waited for the bagels to finish toasting, she’d gone outside to get the newspaper. Spring was finally coming back to Idaho, but still, the wind brought along a chill that had her rushing back inside.

Gracie opened the Rock Canyon Press, and for a second, she thought she’d read the headline wrong. Frantically turning to page six, she screamed.

“What in the holy hell?”

Eric came racing down the hall in a pair of sweatpants, shirtless, with a baseball bat in hand.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“This! I thought you were done with this!” Gracie said, waving the paper around.

Eric took it from her, and his jaw dropped. “Well, I’ll be damned!”

“You seriously didn’t know about this? This is your column! How is this possible?”

Eric shrugged and handed her back the paper. “I guess Jim found someone to keep the title alive. Like the Dread Pirate Roberts.”

“Ugh, I was just starting to like the paper again too. We haven’t even announced it, so how does she know?”

“It’s public record, babe.”

Eric went into the kitchen while Gracie read the new Miss Know-It-All column aloud. “It seems that after years of will they/won’t they, everyone’s favorite barista and bartender have tied the knot. It’s rumored that the hurried nuptials have nothing to do with the couple adopting Gracie’s foster daughter and everything to do with their deep and abiding love. Cue the violins and hand out the barf bags, folks, ’cause I’m guessing the newly minted Mrs. Henderson has a bun in the oven. Only time will swell, though.”

Gracie threw the paper down in disgust. “God, she is more annoying than you and has a terrible sense of humor! ‘Only time will swell,’” Gracie mimicked in a high, nasally voice. “She is going down.”

Eric kissed her on top of her head. “While you’re plotting how to take out my replacement, I’m going to wake our daughter up.”

Gracie’s mood lightened at the mention of Pip. As Eric came out holding a sleepy toddler, Gracie had an idea.

Eric shook his head when he caught her gaze. “I hate when you get that look in your eye. What are you up to, woman?”

Gracie got up and went to the coffeepot, keeping her back to her husband so he couldn’t see her evil grin.

“You shall see.”

* * *

Two Years Later

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