Relief washes over his face and he folds me against him, tucking my head under his chin. He lets out a long, shaky exhale, like a weight has finally lifted. “Thank you,” he whispers.

And that has to be the most quintessentially Ryan thing I’ve ever heard—thanking me for loving him, as if it’s not the best thing that’s happened to me.

“I knew we’d get our happy ending,” he says.

I sit back to look at him. “This isn’t our happy ending.”

His forehead creases in confusion. “Seems pretty happy to me.”

“Yes, but think about it. Even after a book ends, whether it’s happy or tragic, the characters have more life to live—and so do we. So much happens beyond the pages that we never get to read. That’s what I’m looking forward to—living it all, the good times and the tough ones—wherever the story takes us.”

“Beyond the pages,” he says, smiling. “I love that.”

As I kiss him, unshakable certainty fills my heart. I may not know exactly what will happen next, for the bookstore or our relationship or our individual lives, but I know one thing for sure: I want Ryan by my side as we find out.

The battle is over. But our story is just beginning.

One Year Later

Ryan

When my love lamented about the happy endings in romance novels, she forgot about the epilogue. The glimpse into the future—maybe one year, maybe more—to let the reader know that the happiness of the characters they’ve come to love was not short-lived. That in the space between the end of the last chapter and the end of the book, the characters have continued to grow and live their full, complicated, beautiful lives.

Our lives have definitely been full over the last twelve months. Going back to school has been an adjustment for Josie, but she’s rising to the challenge with the same badassery and grace she brings to everything she does. She added a business minor to her degree, so it’ll take her longer to graduate, but the things she’s learning will set her up for success in whatever she decides to do next.

And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to take care of her, keeping her fed and watered with plenty of Americanos and the occasional Munchkin.

Between studying and reading (for pleasure!), Josie’s been working a few hours a week at the store. She’s helped me implement a lot of her systems and strategies so I’m no longer making decisions based on my gut alone. More than that, her support and belief in me have helped my anxiety go down and my confidence go up.