Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,98

at Christmas. The small things that made up a million memories in a happy life.

“I love you, Cassie. I’m going to spend every day showing you how much.”

“I love you too, Jake.”

Epilogue

Jake looked around the brand-new events hall, exactly two years to the day since the storm had destroyed the old one, eight months since Cassie had moved home. Everything was finished. The lights were hung, the floors polished, the new bar gleamed. The whole place looked positively opulent. Liv had done an incredible job.

The silence was almost as loud as the perpetual renovation noise they’d lived through for the last ten months. There was nothing left to do. It was the end of a cycle that had started with the death of their father. It had tested them, and like the distillery, they’d all risen from its ashes.

“How are you feeling?” The slap of Connor’s hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie.

“Ready as fuck.”

Connor laughed. “You’re a braver man than me. When I proposed to Em, I was a nervous wreck. I’ve jumped off bridges, swum freezing waters, and cycled three legs of the Tour de France and never felt the panic I did at Christmas.”

“When you asked me and Liv if it was okay to ask her, you seemed confident enough.”

“Yeah. Well. Poker face and all that. Even though I knew you’d all say yes, I still had momentary panic you might not. How did it go with Chris when you asked?”

“I didn’t ask him.”

Connor looked at him in shock. “What do you mean you didn’t ask him?”

“Because Cassie would hate that. She spent a decade having her decisions dictated by a handful of men, her father included. His relationship with Marianne has been an issue for Cassie most of her life. For me to ask for his permission would only reinforce he has some control in her life, and I knew she wouldn’t like it.”

Connor’s eyes went wide. “So, he doesn’t know you’re proposing tonight?”

“Out of respect for Chris’s relationship with Dad, and the way he looked out for us, I went to see him. I explained how Cassie is her own woman, and doesn’t need anybody’s permission to marry, but out of courtesy I let him know I intended to ask.”

“Ballsy move.”

“Are you finally wearing a decent suit?” Anders said, walking into the events hall through the large glass double doors.

Jake looked down at the navy-blue suit Connor had helped him pick. It fit like a glove, was as soft as a silk pillow, and had cost three months’ mortgage. But it did look good. He’d forgone the ties that both Connor and Anders were wearing, but the white shirt he wore beneath was new and pressed. He hoped Cassie would love it.

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean you’ve turned me into a fashion plate like the two of you.”

Anders grinned. “I have to wear a suit for work. League rules for travel. And if I’m spending three grand on a suit, I might as well wear it more than once.”

Connor tugged the cuffs of his shirt so they showed a half-inch below his jacket sleeve. “I fucking love suits. It’s a mindset thing. Plus, every guy should have at least one custom single-breasted suit in their closet. You’ll need another once you get married.”

Jake groaned. “Don’t we rent tuxedos from Tuxedo Junction? Pick vests to match whatever color scheme Cass wants?”

Anders blanched. “You put me in polyester someone else wore before, and I might resort to violence.”

Connor laughed. “I’m with Anders. We’ll get custom black suits, and you’ll trust your Uncle Connor on this one.”

“Fuck off. We might elope.”

“Linen suits then,” Anders said. “Would look good for a beach wedding.”

“You still need a suit on a fucking beach wedding?”

Both Connor and Anders laughed as Jake’s phone beeped.

On our way.

Liv’s message was short and to the point.

When he’d gone to his sisters to let them know he planned to propose to Cassie, once the screaming had died down, they’d asked how they could help. It had been Liv’s idea to propose in the events hall once everything was finished as a way to include their father. And what better way than to propose in the room that had previously held all of his stills? The place where the Dyer’s Gin Distillery had started.

A long table ran down the center of the room with six beautiful place settings. He’d told Cassie it was a private party for the six of them to celebrate the end of the