Page 53 of Delicious (Delicious #1)

Epilogue

Rob

Three years later

B ang bang bang

I pulled my earplugs out with a sigh. Either I’d put them in wrong or they were useless at cutting out construction noise. Then again, there probably wasn’t a quiet way to remove a brick wall. Thankfully, it looked like the crew was almost done for the day.

“Wow, look at that.” Mateo shook his head in wonder at the jagged opening between Boardwalk Pizza and the old florist shop next door. “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”

I set a hand on his hip. “I know what you mean. This is exciting, baby. I’m happy for you.”

“For us,” he corrected. “This is ours. You’re family too, you know.”

I grinned. I did know. Things had changed dramatically since our pizza-bagel bake-off. In a twist, the world took notice when a former athlete kissed his lover in public.

The media had swarmed Haverton, hoping for a titillating story that amounted to headlines like, “Football Star Meets His Match Making Bagels.” Corny much? It was silly, but damn, it was therapeutic too. I hadn’t realized how freeing it would feel to come out on a large scale. I didn’t have to hide any part of my life. I was gay and proud, and I didn’t care who knew or what they thought. From that moment, I’d vowed that the next chapter of my life would be lived out loud. With Mateo.

Don’t jump to conclusions. We hadn’t ridden off in the sunset after the bake-off in a fairy-tale-style happily ever after. We’d taken it one day at a time, slowly building a life together and in the community.

Mateo had moved into my house two and a half years ago. We’d both been a little nervous about it. Living together was a big commitment, but we’d known we were ready for it and were committed to each other. Every day we grew as a couple. We were friends, confidantes, lovers. He knew me in a way very few people did, and he let me know him. There were no walls between us, no secrets.

A year ago, the florist on the other side of Boardwalk Pizza decided to retire and offered the Cavarettis first right of refusal. The cousins had jumped at the chance, but real estate prices had risen significantly, and they’d been leery of the cost of renovating the two spaces. I’d offered to become a silent investor and after some intense haggling, I’d finally talked Mateo into taking my money.

“My boyfriend shouldn’t be funding my business,” he’d griped.

“I’m investing. It’s different, baby.”

“Hmph. I’m not putting bagels on the menu. That’s a hard no.”

I’d laughed and kissed him. “No pizza bagels?”

“We’ll save those for special occasions.”

And we did. The Pizza-Bagel Bake-off was now an annual event that attracted fans and tourists from across the globe. We didn’t compete anymore. Instead, we hosted aspiring chefs in the area while still raising money for the community.

In fact, if we didn’t hurry, we’d miss the opening festivities.

“We should go, baby.”

“You’re right.” He didn’t budge, though.

“You okay?”

Mateo nodded, slipping his hand in mine. “Yeah, I’m…I can’t believe it’s real.”

“It’s going to be amazing too. The plans are?—”

“No, I meant…us. Everything we are, everything we’ve done, everything we’re going to do. I just…I love you…so much.”

I crushed him to my chest, holding him close. “I love you too.”

He squeezed our fingers and smiled. “C’mon, let’s go judge some pizza bagels.”

“You’re on.”

Perhaps all was fair in love and war, and maybe in love and pizza too. I preferred peace and harmony…and our new beginning.