Her eyes grow wider then, her lips parting as if an idea has struck her. It lingers for a moment, but then her face breaks out into a wide grin, and she throws her arms around my neck, kissing me soundly.

“You know, I get the idea it really won’t.”

My brow furrows. “What does that mean?”

“It means…” Her lips curve against mine, and my entire world is reflected in her smile. “I have some calls to make.”

Epilogue Tess

“Nobody move.”

I hold my breath as my fingers brush against soft, dark fur, watching as Reginald allows me to scratch gently behind his ears.

“I can’t believe I don’t have a camera,” Jeannie says in a hushed tone behind me.

I give the surly cat another scritch, a little more aggressively this time. “Months, Jeannie. I’ve known this asshole for months, and this is the first time he’s let me pet him.”

He blinks at me, looking bored, and I try for a smoothing motion of my hand down his back, which he also allows to happen.

“It’s a miracle,” Jeannie laughs.

“Hey, where do you want this stuff?”

I curse under my breath as Jarred’s loud arrival from the other room scares off my would-be friend. Reginald pounces away only to look back like he’s mocking me.

“Damn it,” I huff. “You scared him.”

Jarred rolls his eyes when I turn to glare at him. “That cat’s just mean, Tess. You have to give it up.”

“He likes me,” human Cat pipes up, wandering into the giant den with a cookie tray. “You just have to give him food. He’s a sucker for tuna.”

“So where do you want this?” Jarred asks again.

I point bitterly toward the coffee table, and he sets the ice buckets there for me to arrange, placing the bottles of unopened champagne nearby.

It took weeks to finish the rest of the reno after I persuaded the execs at HGTV to let us make this project our pilot episode for the show; I thought it would take a lot more convincing, but once I pointed out how much footage we already had in relation to their short schedule, everyone seemed to agree that it was a no-brainer. Plus, the show has a reno budget going toward each property, so that allowed us to cover some of the bigger projects, like getting a new furnace, which Hunter hadn’t been sure he could afford, thus a win-win.

“Place looks spiffy,” Jarred notes.

I shrug. “We’ve been long overdue for a grand reopening, I think. We would have done it sooner if not for the show.”

“God,” Cat laughs. “Hiring Hunter onto your crew is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Those pictures of him in California added years to my life. I just love seeing everyone on the internet turning our Hunter into some mysterious sex symbol,” she says with an actual cackle. “I feel like someone should tell them he still uses an address book and thinks a diverse wardrobe means different shades of plaid.”

I smack her shoulder lightly. “Hey. Leave the plaid alone. I’m partial to it.”

I smile as I think of how my followers constantly beg for more Hunter content; the first time I saw a post about Hunter’s article online by someone thirsting over him was jarring, though in a pretty hilarious way. Mostly because I knew how ridiculous he would find the entire thing (and I was right). Still. It turned out to be nothing but free publicity for the lodge, so he doesn’t complain too much. After Hunter’s article was printed, it was less than three weeks before he started to get calls about availability at the lodge. And the sleuths on the internet piecing together that Hot Hunter of the Hills is my Hot Hunter of the Hills only makes business boom more. I guess he’s more of an influencer than he first thought.

“We’re here!”

I turn to catch sight of a smiling blond woman I never expected to see again. It was a surprise finding out that the same doctor who turned my world upside down was actually mated to Hunter’s cousin, but after getting to know Mackenzie Carter, I’m actually kind of glad for it. It doesn’t hurt to have a doctor in your corner to answer all your random questions.

Her towering mate trails behind her, looking so similar to Hunter and yet so…different. Noah is more refined, less rugged than his cousin, and it just makes me appreciate my grumpy lumberjack all the more.

Mackenzie sets down her tray of something baked and sweet that I don’t recognize and reaches out to wrap her arms around me. “How are you? Settling in?”

Oh, right. That.

I don’t think there will ever be a time when I don’t smile about now permanently sharing a space with my sometimes-salty, sometimes-sweet lumberjack, especially since it means most of my nights involve snuggling or hot chocolate or toe-curling orgasms. I’d like to tell you a girl could get used to it…but this girl still hasn’t, really. Leaving Newport to move here for good was a big change, one that Hunter insisted I didn’t have to make. Although once the show was finished filming for the season…it just felt right. There’s so much history here. Old memories and hopefully, in the future, a lot of new ones.

“Place looks nice,” Noah comments, eyes moving around the space. “Very…new.”

Mackenzie rolls her eyes. “He’s still peeved you updated ‘our’ room.”

“Well,” I laugh. “Your room is basically the same. It just has a bigger shower now.”

Noah’s brow quirks, and he leans over to whisper something in Mackenzie’s ear. Something that makes her blush and promptly smack his arm.

Mackenzie clears her throat, then asks, “Where should I put the cupcakes?”

I grin. “Kitchen is fine.”

She drags Noah away by the hand, muttering something under her breath, and I have a feeling it won’t be long before they’re booking “their” old room soon.

“Is Ada coming?”

I shake my head at Cat, grateful that my Colorado best friend loves my California best friend as much as she does. “She had some stuff to take care of back in LA.”

“I saw the announcement about the big exhibition. I can’t believe she’s mated now!”

“Yeah,” I laugh, still having a hard time believing it myself. It was such a whirlwind, after all. “Me neither.”

Not that I have any room to talk.

“Well.” Jeannie claps her hands together, a quiet sort of smile on her face. “Let’s stop dillydallying and finish setting up. Everyone’s going to be arriving soon.”

“Who would have thought?” Cat squeals. “A full house!”

“As far as grand reopenings go,” I muse, “we really couldn’t have asked for more.”

Jarred makes a face. “Can you call it a ‘reopening’ if you never closed?”

“Shut up.” I wave him away. “Go set some food out or something.”

I hear him muttering something like bossy under his breath as his girlfriend pulls him away, laughing, and I cross my arms as I turn toward the big window to watch the snow falling softly outside. There was a time in my life when I thought I would never leave California. I’d been calling it home my whole life…but I don’t think I really knew what home felt like. Not until I helped carry my stuff through the doors of the lodge, blending it with Hunter’s.

Jeannie pats me on the shoulder before she goes. “You really did good, girl,” she praises. “This place looks like it did the day I first saw it.”

I reach up to give her hand a squeeze. “We all did this,” I tell her. “We did good.”

“Yeah,” she says thickly. “Yeah, we did. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

I nod. “I’ll be there in just a sec.”

I hear her footsteps fading behind me as she leaves the room, and I continue to watch the snow with a bemused smile. I stay like that for longer than I mean to, and I scent him before I see him. The soft smell of sunshine and rain envelops me as thick arms wind around my waist, a chin tucking against my shoulder before lips press to my throat.