“We’re going to go find our girl!” Anne tells me, still giddy, as she and Peter head toward the stage.

Not two seconds later, Tori steps up beside me.

I tense on instinct. But just like she’s proven time and time again over the last few years, she’s nothing but compassionate and kind, even though we’re caught in the middle of what most would consider an awkward situation.

“Are you guys all packed up?” she asks, turning to me and smiling when I meet her gaze.

“Hardly. School’s been nonstop for Maddie this semester with her senior-level classes and her capstone project. I’ve been down in the Valley most days this month, just trying to tie up loose ends and get things ready for New York.”

She nods thoughtfully, then regards me with a furrowed brow.

“Do you need help? Rhett has to get back to Virginia, but I took the whole week off work. I could stay out here for a few more days. Help you guys pack and get things ready for the move.”

I shake my head and smile, insisting we’ll be fine. I’ve already hired packers, and I planned to work from home all of next week anyway.

Her sincere generosity always surprises me. It’s no wonder my brother fell for her so damn hard.

As if sensing where my thoughts have gone, Tori’s expression softens. She takes in a shallow breath, then looks back toward the crowd before she speaks again.

“How is he?”

It’s a loaded question.

A question I would have struggled to answer a few years ago.

But now I think the answer will surprise her.

“He’s great,” I reply before amending. “Or they’re great, I should say. We’re going to spend a few weeks with them this summer after we get settled in the city.”

Tori nods to herself before looking back up at me.

“I’m really happy for him. And I’m even happier for you,” she professes, wrapping her hand around my arm and squeezing it for emphasis.

“V! Dem! Maddie wants us all together for pictures,” Rhett hollers from twenty feet away, stashing his phone in his pocket as he waves us over.

“After you,” I insist, letting Tori walk in front of me as I crane my neck to spot my girl in the crowd.

When I find her, she beams, and I can’t help but feel like all the rays of the sun are shining down on us in that moment. She runs toward me, and my arms physically ache with anticipation.

She did it.

We did it.

Against all odds, even when together seemed impossible, we somehow made our greatest dreams come true.

Maddie

Extended Epilogue: A Few More Years Later

I pull the covers tighter around myself and shiver. It’s not just the late fall breeze through the open loft windows I’m feeling.

It’s him.