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Last week, I also had a long-overdue conversation with my mom. I told her Neil and I had made it through a difficult year, and that we’d emerged even more committed to this relationship.

“He’s going to be in my life for a while,” I said.

She waited a moment before responding. “I understand,” she said. “And he’s a good one—it’s easy to see that. We just didn’t want to see you get your heart broken. But as long as he makes you happy, we’re glad to have him in our lives, too.”

I assured her that he did, although there was no way I could properly describe the scope of it.

The past few weeks haven’t been without their challenges, but with this renewed confidence we have in each other, we’ve managed to make time for phone calls and some late-night creative texting. Turns out, even if you have a natural aptitude for something, you can always get better.

Officially a psych major, Neil texted last week, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled for him. Slightly anticlimactic. Mostly paperwork. Not enough fanfare. So I spent a solid minute sending him every celebration-related emoji on my phone.

ROWAN

first step to becoming dr. mcnair!

NEIL

Dr. McNair? That’s a lot of school.

ROWAN

good thing that’s your favorite thing in the world

NEIL

Well. Second favorite.

This time, when I try to peer into our future, all I see is possibility. This summer: Neil’s mom’s wedding, spending time with Kirby and Mara and Cyrus and Sean and Adrian, plus our families, of course. Instead of Europe, maybe a road trip down the West Coast, stopping at every independent bookstore along the way. But also, one day, an internship. A job and a career that I’m proud of. A chance to explore new countries with this person I love. Taking care of each other when we’re sick, listening to each other through the easy parts and the hard parts, and everything in between.

The romantic part isn’t just falling in love—I know that now. It’s staying in love too.

We’re going to stretch that happy ending as long as we can, even as we challenge each other and push ourselves to our limits, and then beyond that. Even as we change.

The one constant is the two of us, simply doing our best, the way that we always have.

Together.

I shut the door to my room, wheeling my suitcase into the hall just as my phone buzzes in my pocket.

NEIL

I’m about to board my flight. Love love love you. See you soon?

ROWAN

I’ll be at your house in ten short hours!

I just hope seattle’s ready for us.

NEIL

I think it always has been.

Epilogue THREE YEARS LATER

HE KNOWS SHE’S out there in the crowd somewhere, but it’s all a blur of violet.

Admittedly, the ceremony isn’t the most thrilling. He has always been a rule-follower, though, so he tries his best to pay attention. There’s an overwhelming swell of emotion in his chest amid all the pomp and circumstance, one he didn’t expect, and he’s grateful for it, even if endings are complicated.