Epilogue

Landon

I was an asshole. A big one. Why? Because I resented my best friend for finding love. Fuck, I hated myself for it.

But come on! Andre and Joelle had known each other for less than a month, and they were moving in together. She got the job she wanted. He was growing his business. Everything was perfect for them.

And I was fucking alone.

I knew I had to get the hell over it, but it was hard.

Especially when the woman I thought I’d spend my life with walked into O’Kelley’s and joined the damn party.

Finley invited her. Finley MacKellar. The woman Reegan worked for through the summer. As a nanny to Finley’s son. Because Reegan was great with kids. She just didn’t want any. Or at least, she didn’t want them with me. Like she didn’t want to live with me or build a future with me or have much of anything to do with me.

Which was why I was such an asshole. Because I couldn’t see past my own fucked up failure of a previous relationship to celebrate my best friend’s newfound love.

Fuck.

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” Reegan said, dropping onto a chair next to me.

“You didn’t know I’d be at a party for my best friend and the woman he loves? The one who wants to live with him and build a life together? Funny.” I was being a dick. It wasn’t fair to her. But I wasn’t in the mood to be fair. Or nice.

“In case you’ve forgotten, you broke up with me, Landon,” Reegan hissed.

I turned to look at her. She was so damn familiar to me it hurt, but I didn’t know her anymore. We were strangers. “You’re right,” I said. “I did. And you have every right to be here. It’s a public place, and your boss invited you. I won’t ruin your night.” I stood to walk away, and she let me.

Just like she let me end things nine months ago.

I hated that I still got angry when I saw her. That I still felt cheated out of a future. A future I tried to convince myself I didn’t really want if it meant staying with Reegan. But I did want that future. With kids and a wife and a dog or whatever. I wanted the picket fence and the flowers out front and all the cheesy shit men were mocked for wanting.

And I wanted it more than I wanted her.

I took a seat at the bar and waved for Hudson to bring me another beer.

He stopped in front of me and eyed me closely. “How are you getting home?”

“I walked. I have no intention of getting behind the wheel tonight.”

Hudson nodded. “Okay.” He handed over a beer, the same kind I was drinking earlier, but he didn’t let go of the bottle. “You probably don’t want any advice, but I’ve been where you are.”

“Single and angry and wondering where you went wrong?”

He shrugged. “Mostly, yeah. Definitely the angry part. And the single part. But I always knew where I went wrong. When my wife died, I wanted to crawl into the grave with her. For a long time, I couldn’t see a future for myself.”

I sat up a little straighter. I didn’t know Hudson well, but I respected him. As a fellow business owner, I knew what it took to make something of yourself in this town. And I knew it wasn’t easy for him. Bars were notoriously challenging, but he made it look easy.

“I’m not going to tell you there are more fish in the sea or any stupid shit like that. What I will tell you is the people you surround yourself with are the ones who matter. And if you isolate yourself from them because you can’t be happy for them, your own happiness isn’t going to be as good.”

I swallowed, his words hitting hard in a spot I didn’t like. He was right, though. I was being an ass, and Andre didn’t deserve it. He almost lost Joelle. And instead of supporting them, I was acting like a jealous ex who couldn’t wait until their relationship imploded.

That wasn’t what I wanted for them.

“Thank you,” I told Hudson, hoping he understood how much I meant it.

He nodded, then went to serve another customer.

I looked at my beer and knew I needed to stop. I left it on the bar and walked away. My first stop was the bathroom to take a leak. I splashed some cold water on my face, then I went back to the party.

Reegan was sitting on the edge of the group, smiling but looking entirely uncomfortable being there. She was picking at the label on her bottle, a sure sign she was antsy and ready to go.

I took the seat next to her and waited until she looked up at me.

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry. I was an ass, and you didn’t deserve it. You’re right. I ended things. And you don’t need to be treated the way I’ve treated you for months. I hope one day we can be friends again.”

She swallowed, nodding. “I would really like that, Landon. I… I know our relationship didn’t go how we thought it would, but I want you to be happy. I want you to have all the things I couldn’t give you. All the things I… don’t want for myself.”

“Thank you. I hope you find what you want, too. I really do. I should have said that somewhere along the way, but I…” I shrugged.

“Didn’t really want me to be happy without you?” She smirked.

I breathed a laugh. “Yeah, maybe.”

She grinned. “I don’t really blame you for that. We held on a lot longer than we should have. I did. I knew I wasn’t going the same way you were, and it wasn’t fair of me to not tell you. But I couldn’t imagine a future without you in it.”

“And now?” I asked, holding my breath.

She smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile. It was a sad one, one of missed opportunities and regrets. “I still don’t want the same things you do, Landon. I hate that, because I will always love you, but I wasted enough of your time. You deserve more than being stuck with me.”

I wanted to argue with her, to tell her she was wrong. That I didn’t need the things I always said I did.

But I couldn’t say the words. Because they would have been lies. And we both knew it.

“You deserve more than being stuck with me, too,” I told her softly.

She smiled sadly and nodded.

I could feel the closure I didn’t get months ago. When she told me she signed a new lease instead of moving in with me like I asked. I was angry that day. Hurt. I lashed out at her, and she hit right back. We’d always been good at fighting, explosive in the moment and even more when we made up.

But that fight didn’t precede a makeup. It was the end. An end that blindsided me, even though it shouldn’t have. We fought about a future together for more than a year. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it all came to a head and Reegan made the decision I didn’t have the guts to make.

“I hope you find your happiness, Landon.” Reegan set her bottle on the table and stood. She squeezed my shoulder, then walked away.

I let out a breath and felt like a weight was lifted. Reegan and I were done. And I was… I was okay with it. We didn’t want the same things. And we deserved the chance to find what we did want.

“You okay?” Andre asked, claiming the seat Reegan had vacated.

I looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

He looked closely at me. “You sure?”

I drew a breath and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. But tonight’s not about me. It’s about you and Joelle and the life you have to look forward to together. I’m happy for you, man.”

“Thanks, Landon. That means a lot.”

I grinned. “I’m just happy you finally found someone who will put up with you. I was getting worried I would be called in to take care of you when you’re too old and fragile to care for yourself.”

“You’re barely younger than me,” he argued.

“Yeah, but I am younger.”

Andre snorted. “I guess it’s good I found a younger woman then. She can take care of me.”

“I can do what?” Joelle shouted.

“He said you’re going to take care of him since you’re so much younger, Joelle,” I said, loud enough for her to hear me over the noise.

“Like hell, I will.” She came over, running her hand across Andre’s shoulder.

“Are you saying there are limits to your love?” Andre asked, catching her hand and tugging her onto his lap.

“I’m saying we can hire a nurse when we get older and need someone to do that kind of work.”

Andre lifted her chin and brought his lips to hers, murmuring ~I love you~ against her lips.

I looked away, not wanting to intrude on the moment. I was still jealous. I still wanted what they had. But Hudson was right. If I couldn’t be happy for Andre and Joelle, I would miss out on more than sharing my happiness. I would miss out on sharing theirs.

Because theirs was the only happiness I was witnessing at the moment. Mine had already walked out the door.