We kissed, a hungry, urgent kiss born of all the desperation of being without her for two days and the sheer bliss of having her in my arms once again.

She broke the contact way too soon, gazed into my eyes with love and lust in hers, and said, “You, my love, are my very own hoppy ever after.”

Epilogue

One month later

Chloe

What a difference a couple of months could make.

I’d gone from thinking I was happy with my life to experiencing a daily over-the-top sort of bliss that I’d never known was possible.

My husband was everything I’d ever wanted, quite literally. I’d just never believed it was possible for him to love me. He did, though. He showed me every day, in so many ways, from the expensive Jamaican coffee he brewed for me before work to the way he worshipped my body every night—and sometimes in the middle of the day and in the morning and… You get the picture. Our sex life was not lacking in the least, and all those fantasies I’d had over the years that starred him? They didn’t come close to doing us justice.

Holden’s love made me feel beautiful and sexy and confident even without my armor. The designer label wardrobe? I’d given some pieces away, still had a few in my closet, but they were mostly untouched. I wore jeans and tees—most of them with the Rusty Anchor Brewing logo—to work every day, plus sneakers or flip-flops.

And working with my husband? It stimulated me in a whole different way. Learning the brewing business was challenging and fascinating. Applying my hospitality and management skills to our start-up invigorated me, and helping Holden realize his dreams fulfilled me and added yet another dimension to our relationship. We were partners in everything, and while that might not be for everyone, to me, it was incredibly fulfilling.

It was the second Saturday night in June, and our wedding celebration party was in full swing. More than a hundred people had shown up and were currently meandering between the food tables and the bar and the dance floor, all set up for the evening on my parents’ property.

I’d been so reluctant to have it here at first, but from the moment we told my parents I’d reconsidered and wanted to hold it behind the trailer on their partially wooded two-acre property, they’d come to life with so much excitement and joy that I hadn’t regretted the decision.