Page 324 of The Havenport Collection

Epilogue

Oliver

Naples, Italy

“ T his is heaven,” I groaned, folding another paper-thin slice of magical crust, sauce, and cheese and shoving it into my mouth.

“Yessss,” Maeve sighed, rubbing her belly. “No offense, Sal, but this is pizza.”

“That’s the thing. I’m not sure it is. It’s beyond pizza. It’s some rare superfood with magical qualities seasoned with angel dust.”

“Have you ever considered giving up your law enforcement career to be a food writer? That’s some magical fucking prose right there.” She lifted her wine glass and winked at me.

I leaned forward. “Keep talking, Watson. Once I recover from this food coma I am going to spank that attitude right out of you.”

She laughed. “I look forward to it, Sherlock.”

“You know, I’m surprised you were able to clear customs. What with your criminal record and all…I’m surprised the Italian government didn’t turn you away.” I saw a flash of anger and her cheeks flushed. I wanted to pull her into my lap and kiss her senseless.

“Very funny. Tristian dropped the charges. My record is clean now.” Miraculously, this had happened shortly after he confronted Maeve at GourdFest. He then moved out of town and no one had heard from him since. Apparently he got the message that you don’t fuck with Maeve Watson.

I scratched my chin. “Yes. But the memory of your arrest is forever.”

She stuck her tongue out at me and I blew her a kiss. I leaned back in my chair, feeling the warm sun hit my face. This place was paradise, nothing but beauty and culture and incredible food.

We were on day five of our Italian vacation, previously known as Maeve’s nonrefundable honeymoon.

We spent a few days in Rome and then headed to Naples.

Yesterday, we hired a driver to take us to the village where Maeve’s grandmother was born.

She cried when we visited the church where she had been baptized.

I enjoyed watching Maeve connect with her family and her heritage.

She FaceTimed her sisters while we were there, and the three of them cried and reminisced about their beloved grandmother.

True to her word, Maeve had been working on herself.

She gave notice at her accounting firm and got a job with a small practice in Havenport.

Within a week, she had signed several new clients and was already proving to be a superstar.

She protected her work-life balance fiercely, and we spent our downtime kayaking to our special island, visiting with my mom, and spending time with her sisters.

Despite the fact that I had asked her to move in with me several times, she was still living with Alice.

She said they liked being roommates and were making up for lost time.

I was hoping that, after this trip, she would consider it though.

As much as I promised not to rush her, I wanted to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of my life.