strange expression before he turns sharply to the sound of more firefighters.
“Gurney!” one yells, and I can’t bring myself to look. I can’t bring myself to hope. It costs too much.
“Take this,” the medic instructs, gesturing to the mask, “and make sure she keeps it on.”
I cuddle Ellie against me and for a moment, it doesn’t matter that Windfall is burning or that people I love are inside or that nothing will ever be the same after tonight. He promised he would protect her. He kept that promise.
A gurney rushes toward the ambulance next to us, and I realize he’s kept more than promise. He promised he wouldn’t leave me again.
“We have to take them to the hospital,” the medic says, joining us. “You want to ride with her?”
“Yes, but can I…”
“Hurry,” she advises.
I cross to Sterling in time to see his eyes flicker. Taking his hand, I can’t find the right words to say to tell him how much I love him and what he means to me.
“Hey, Lucky.” He tries to turn to me but groans. “You can’t get rid of me. Told you I was all in.”
“Miss,” a medic pushes past me and covers his face with oxygen just as his body begins to shake. “We need to get him to the hospital now.”
“Is he going to be okay?” I call.
The medic grins as he reaches to shut the ambulance door. “I’d call it a miracle, but I think he’s just lucky.”
Epilogue
Nine months later
Adair
He came back to me in the spring, so we chose late April when the magnolias are in full bloom for our wedding day. The air is warm enough to release their perfume across the yard as caterers and florists and photographers bustle in and out of our new home, a large, white farmhouse with a porch that wraps entirely around it, perfect for three of us and one large dog. Magnolia trees line the drive, their snowy blossoms draping over it like a bridal veil. The land behind the house is in the process of being transformed into something out of a fairytale. Even I don’t know exactly what to expect.
“The tent is up,” Poppy announces, sashaying into my bedroom wearing a blush, silk robe, embroidered with her initials—her gift for being my maid of honor. “Champagne tower is still standing. Cross your fingers the dog doesn’t knock the table.”
Of all the requests I made for the wedding, which she insisted on planning, having Zeus as the ring bearer is the one she disapproves of most. She’s been a good sport about it, because she’s Poppy.
“He will,” I promise her. She continues to run down a list of who is doing what, how far behind this or that is, before she pauses. “Those are beautiful.”
She reaches to inspect my earrings. Delicate flower blossoms hang like bells, an opal dripping from their centers, from a thin, golden hook.
“My mom gave them to me.” I haven’t worn them often. Every time I’d tried it felt wrong. After Sterling proposed, I realized I was meant to wear them on my wedding day. “It makes me feel like she’s here with me.”
“Oh, darling, she is.” Poppy hugs me tightly before dashing off to oversee more business.
A loud pop startles me and I turn to find Trish with a guilty smile and an open bottle of champagne, wearing a matching silk robe. “I think we need to toast.”
“We could just get drunk,” Sutton says from her spot on the floor. She’s not wearing the matching robe, but I consider it a victory that she’s here and in a fairly decent mood. I haven’t figured out yet if she’s putting up with me for Sterling’s sake or Ellie’s.
Poppy joins us, grabbing a glass of champagne. Even Sutton takes one.
“To proof that true love does exist outside stories,” Trish says, raising her flute. “And to Adair, editor extraordinaire, whose book got its third starred review this week.”
I flush, shaking my head, as I tap my glass to the others. Sutton swigs hers and plops back down with Ellie who is coloring a picture on the ground, her copper hair twisted into a pretty bun, but still in her pajamas.
“My mom’s book,” I remind Trish quietly.
She sighs, the sound a mixture of happiness and resignation. “There’s as much of you in that book as her. Be proud. She would be.”
I hope she’s right.
Looking to Ellie, who’s guarding her picture like a dragon, while Sutton pretends to sneak peeks, I know Trish