in the store, not just sitting in the L.A. corporate offices.”
Viola leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. She looked around the empty, softly lit lobby and imagined it filled with families, the scent of popcorn, the sounds of movies playing. Imagined a daughter walking in with her mom and dad, doing their final activity as a family together. “It’s going to be magical,” she said. “Just like when I was a kid.”
“It will.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, straight in his eyes, letting down her walls and letting all of her emotion show. “I have something for you.” Her hands shook as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her crinkled note for him.
Liam swallowed and took it from her, his eyes more vulnerable than she’d seen them before. He unfolded it.
Liam, you bring love into my life.
Nervous, she shifted in his lap. “I know I don’t have a fancy ornament to go with it, but—” He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers, letting the full force of emotion flow between them.
He broke apart just long enough to say, “I love you too.”
She smiled against his lips. “Yeah, I got that, with the whole uprooting your whole life to move to Eureka Springs.”
He tickled her side and euphoria bubbled up and spilled over into her laugher. “I can’t believe how happy I am right now.”
He kissed her again, and in that moment, she saw her future with this man. For the first time, instead of fearing what might happen, she couldn’t wait to get started.
Epilogue
One year later.
It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the theater was packed to the brim with families. “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” played on the speakers in the background, and the scent of cinnamon and popcorn filled the lobby.
Sometimes, even a year later, Liam couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. The Old Grand Theater was open again, people loved it, and he was happier than he’d ever imagined possible. The thing that surprised him the most was how much he liked running the theater. He found joy in mingling in the lobby, welcoming people, being in the mix of all the energy people brought when excited about seeing a new movie.
The press had had a field day with his move to Eureka Springs, labeling it everything from an early midlife crisis to a mental breakdown. Other reporters had defended his decision and did segments on protecting mental health and setting boundaries. Those were the ones he agreed to do interviews with, and to his relief, the urge to panic had subsided. He still regularly saw his therapist, though they were down to once-a-month visits, and he still made sure to take inventory often of his stress levels.
But since leaving Pets and More, the tightness in his chest had left too.
As always, he found his gaze drawn to wherever Viola was in the room. Viola stood with the mayor, laughing at something he said as she showed off her engagement ring. They were getting married on Christmas day, right here in Eureka Springs. A small, simple wedding in Xander and Callie’s backyard, then they were taking a honeymoon to Hawaii. He wanted to do it right this time.
She’d finished up her huge job, but another one had come through only a month before. This time, she’d been hired to restore one of the town’s oldest hotels. It was a year-long job, maybe longer, and she’d already been mixing paints and drawing samples. But she’d taken off this week to help him in the theater.
Liam continued scanning the lobby, his heart full as he did so. Viola’s grandma stood in the corner, behind a cordoned-off area, next to Dane Lowbridge. Dane and Viola’s grandma had kept in touch, and when she’d suggested that he premier his latest movie in Eureka Springs, he’d surprised them all by agreeing. Liam wondered if it had anything to do with the caterer Dane kept shooting glances at across the room.
His own mom was in town for the wedding, and it turned out she was an organizational wiz. She had organized the meet and greet line for people to see Dane Lowbridge like a master. Like Xander, she didn’t love mingling with everyone quite as much as Liam did, but she had turned the lobby of the theater from being a mass of people, into a place of order and anticipation.
He and his mom had also grown closer over