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“I’m on the last two boxes, and they’ll be left on the porch for that final donation place to pick them up. Don’t you dare touch a thing.” I point a finger at her just as she’s about to bend over a box.
“Liam, I’m fine. I want to help.”
“And I want you to sit there and look beautiful.” I smirk, complimenting and grounding her at the same time.
“You’re insufferable.” She rolls her eyes but does take a seat on the one remaining chair left in the bookshop. “Your mom asked me if we were moving in together yesterday.”
A laugh harrumphs out of me. “That woman can’t contain her meddling, can she? It’s not enough we’re giving her another grandchild?”
Of course, we’re moving in together. I mean, shit, she already lives with me in every official capacity that counts. Eventually, I want to build us a bigger house somewhere near the Ashton family land, but that will have to wait until after the baby comes.
“I think she’s trying to hint at a bigger question, which is if we’re getting married.” When I look up, Gabrielle is grinning a sly smile.
We haven’t told anyone about the engagement yet. Technically, I still need to get her a ring to solidify it, and I know my mother and sister would crucify me for not having one to ask her with originally. The baby was so much of a surprise announcement that we want to keep this to ourselves for the time being. Plus, we’ve been a bit insular. Okay, a lot insular. Being in this honeymoon and babymoon phase all at once means we want to spend time alone as much as possible, so it’s not like we’ve exactly been around our family and friends together to spill the beans.
“They can’t help themselves.” I shake my head and tape up the final box. “We’ll tell them soon. Between the shop closing, and the appointments, you haven’t been feeling well, the trespassing, the harvest … we’ve got a lot on our hands. Any spare second, I want to spend with you. We’ll tell them soon.”
She walks to me again, eyes flitting to the box, and I see the emotion in her gaze. “I’m in no rush, just thought it was funny. Your family is the best. I can’t believe I get to be a part of it.”
“With open arms, they’re about to claim you as their own. Be ready,” I taunt because my family can be a lot.
“Lucy would get such a kick out of me coming back here, falling in love with an Ashton, and staying for good. Her meddling hand is definitely in this as well.”
“Not a doubt in my mind that’s true.” I sway us, even though there is no music.
It just feels like the thing to do right now.
“I’m so sad it’s closing. I’m so sad I didn’t fight harder to keep it, or at least try to find someone to buy it who wanted to keep this place as a bookshop.” She looks around and her mouth droops down at the sides in a frown.
My hand rubs up and down her back. “This is what Lucy wanted, she said so in her instructions. She’d already set everything up for you to put in motion, you know this is how she wanted it. Her legacy will always be here, the people in this town will always remember stopping in for a good paperback or a chat over tea. And our son will know where he came from, what this place meant to Hope Crest.”
She sniffles and buries her face in my T-shirt. “I wish she were here to meet him.”
“Me too. She is, though. I believe she and my nonno are up there, drinking beers and laughing at all the stupid antics their families get themselves into. Evan alone provides comedic material on the daily.”
Gabrielle snorts and straightens, wiping her cheeks. “And we’ll always know this is the spot where everything came to a head. Literally.”
I chuckle. “That night was out of this world. I dreamed of something like that for years. Now I know the real thing is better.”
“Our baby boy can never know this is likely the place he was conceived,” she jokes.
“It’ll be a real hoot if he’s as into books as his great-grandmother was. We’ll know where he got it from.” My eyebrow crooks with sarcasm, and she cracks up laughing.
“Thank you for pushing the envelope that night. For admitting what I was never brave enough to. If it wasn’t for how sure of us you were, I wouldn’t have this life today.”
“I’ve loved you for a long time, baby. It was always going to end up like this,” I reassure her.
“Should we go home? I’m exhausted and have some raw steaks in the trunk. Baby boy was also craving a steak with extra Worcester sauce.”
Nodding as I heft the last boxes out onto the front porch, I lace her hand in mine. “Our son is oddly specific in the things he wants.”
“Kind of like his father.” She smirks.
The way that word sounds off her lips, it’s better than I could have imagined. I’m about to be a father, and I’m about to raise a child with Gabrielle. The whole thing feels surreal.
Her hand is on the doorknob, and she pulls it closed, effectively locking it, and we leave behind decades of memories.
“To the next chapter?” she asks.
