Page 47

Epilogue

After stopping for boxes at a store around the corner from her apartment, Danielle got to work packing up all she owned in LA. With the edits and marketing of her fourth book, as well as slowly convincing her mother to set up a muffin shop in the bookstore, she hadn’t had time to come back and get everything cleared out. The lease was up at the end of the month, and she and Liam had made the decision to get it done that weekend before another storm was due to hit Sage Creek.

She worked late into the night, leaving some of it for the next day. As she worked, she thought of Liam and her new life in Sage Creek. Had anyone told her four months ago that she’d be moving back to her hometown, she’d have laughed in their faces. But Sage Creek felt more like home now than ever, and she hoped to make it so for the future.

Finishing up the last few things by close to four the next afternoon, she looked out the window and saw Liam pull up with the moving truck outside. Meeting him downstairs, she kissed him good and long.

“Thanks for coming to help me with this,” she said, wrapping one arm around his waist as they walked back inside.

“Of course. What are boyfriends for?” Liam grinned, and they moved up the stairs together.

It had been three months since she’d turned down the network job, and with Kara’s treatments, this was the first time they’d been able to get away long enough to pack up her apartment in Los Angeles.

Danielle loved Kara, who’d become the sister she’d never had. Her body had been reacting well to the course of treatments, allowing her to come home from the hospital for a few weeks at a time. The doctors were skeptical that it would last for long, but Liam and Danielle were determined to make the best of the time she had left, with that sliver of possibility that she’d survive for more years to come.

They worked throughout the afternoon, up and down the stairs with several boxes and the few pieces of furniture from the apartment. The weather was perfect for January, and Danielle was grateful for the lack of heat.

“Let’s get something to eat before we head out. Is there somewhere you’ve been dying to eat or just want to have one last time?” Liam asked, inserting the keys into the ignition of the Jeep. They would leave the moving truck by the apartment until after dinner and then would head out from there.

Danielle pulled up a mental map of the area, trying to decide where to eat. “There is this Italian place a few blocks over I’ve always wanted to try. Just never took the time to do it.”

She directed Liam to where it was, and the hostess got them right in. The woman smiled at them on the way back to their table, making Danielle feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Here is your table and your menus. I’ll send your waiter out now.”

“That was odd,” Danielle said, scanning the options for entrees on the menu.

Liam shifted uncomfortably but didn’t say anything, his eyes focused on the options as well.

They ordered their food, and for the first time since that day when they’d decided to be a couple at the diner, Danielle felt some weird invisible wall between them.

“Are you all right?” she asked, reaching out for his hand.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Danielle tried to study his face, even hoping to catch his eye so she could understand why he was acting so oddly after a day of laughing and chatting as they packed up the apartment.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Taking in a deep breath, Liam looked up, giving her a hesitant smile. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, and I wasn’t sure how to do it.” He dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small silver ring with a teardrop pearl set in the middle. Sliding out of his seat, he knelt on the ground, looking at her with tears forming in his eyes.

Danielle took in a breath, not really believing this event was happening.

“Danielle Kate Holloway, since the day I met you at my bookstore, I’ve grown to love you more than I ever thought possible. Will you be my wife?”

Dropping down to kneel by him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her tears already falling onto his neck and shoulder.

“Yes. A million times, yes.”

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