Page 68 of Come Find Me Tonight

She rolls her eyes and gets up too. “Need small fingers?” she asks.

“I do.”

“You need to shorten yourself, you tall ass,” she teases me.

I close my eyes and breathe out a slow exhale.

We’re going to be okay.

I lean against the counter, and she reaches up on her tiptoes. It takes her only a second to remove the small barbell from my ear. “Are you sure? About all this?”

I nod, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist. “More than.”

She trails her fingertips up my chest. “For the record, Rook isn’t dead. Just retired. And can visit when I want him to.” She cocks her eyebrow at me as she speaks, maintaining her eye contact with me.

“Don’t act like this is yours to control,” I say, my voice low and familiar.

Appa kisses me on the cheek and tilts her head to whisper into my ear, her warm breath tickling my neck. She grips the back of my head as her lips brush against my ear.

“Oh, but it always was, babe.”

Epilogue - Part One

Appa

One year later

Our lives only became more entwined over the past twelve months. We embraced the cooler temperatures as the seasons changed from summer to fall, spent weekends glued to the 49ers once football started, and traveled to Napa for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, where I met the rest of Robby’s family. Robby didn’t even give me trouble when I ordered my first pumpkin spice latte of the season.

We spent our first New Year’s Eve at Enzo’s house with their other cousins, and when the clock struck midnight on the East Coast, followed by Central and Mountain Time, Robby kissed me to make up for the New Year’s Eves we spent apart. Part of me was ready for him to pop the question when California sprang into the New Year…

Now, a year into our relationship, I find myself pacing the mahogany flooring of the bathroom above the stables, anxiously waiting for the three longest minutes of my life to be up. The floor creaks beneath my feet, but I can’t stay still.

In the spring, we traded Los Angeles for Napa and sold both of our houses there in exchange for a small plot of land a few minutes from the Tenuta Valenti vineyards. It was a dream come true after July Fourth here to find something in our budget, and they just poured the concrete foundation for our forever home.

I stepped into Rook’s filming room for the last time. It had been months, nearly a year, since Robby had filmed for Rook’s now deactivated account, but seeing the room fully emptied made me feel a certain way. Hollow? I felt Robby come up from behind and wrap his arms around my waist.

“It’s really happening.” It wasn’t a question. A pure observation of how our life was evolving.

“It already did, baby. Time to move on to the next chapter,” Robby said softly. I turned my head, and he met me halfway with a kiss. His phone beeped when our lips met. “Oh, that might be Enzo,” he added, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Yeah, he’s here.”

We stepped outside, where Enzo had pulled up with his truck and long flatbed trailer. We coordinated the move with him, so he could haul Robby’s Jeep and Tesla to Napa with Robby following in my car.

“Be careful?” I warned Robby as I passed him the key to my car.

He smirked. “Always.” Enzo walked over to us when the cars were secured to the trailer. “E, thanks again for coming down here.”

“You’ll get my bill,” he joked, but I knew Robby would pay him back for the diesel. “This better be the last time I have to drive to LA.”

Robby laughed. “Probably.”

“We’d better get moving. Dinner at Ma’s tonight,” Enzo said.

“Okay, I’ll catch up with you,” I said to Enzo. He nodded and turned toward the truck.

“See you in Napa, baby. Got your location sharing on?” Robby asked and placed his hands on my hips.

“Yep, always.”