Page 106 of Tinsel in Telluride

And then kisses me under the mistletoe.

EPILOGUE

LUCA

Thirteen months later

“We’re going to be late,” Leigh hollers from the front of our New York apartment, and I can picture her looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room down at the traffic below, pretending like her anxiety isn’t getting the best of her.

She might claim to be a New Yorker at heart, loving the hustle and bustle of the city, but the more she splits her time in Los Angeles, the more I think she likes the slower pace.

Not that traffic isn’t horrendous there too. It is. But it’s easy to forget when you’re standing on our balcony looking at the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

I huff a laugh and yell back, “Tell that to Zach. He can’t decide if he wants to wear the blue shirt or the purple one.”

“Tell him it won’t matter if we don’t hurry up.”

As if that’s going to work. Shaking my head, I lean against the doorframe of Zach’s room where he, in all his newly turnedthree-year-old glory, is standing naked from the waist up, hands on his hips, looking at the two shirts on the bed.

He gets this from me. How many times has he found me in the exact same position, getting ready for work in the morning? Usually, I’d find it adorable as shit, but today’s a big day, and I need him to just pick a damn shirt.

I cross the room and kneel beside him. “What if you wear the purple one to see the judge, and then you can wear the blue one when we go out to dinner with your aunts and uncles?”

“Zo?”

“Yes, Enzo will be there.”

“Hote?”

“Yup and Holt too.”

“Bash Bash.”

I chuckle, realizing we are going to have to name every single one of his aunts and uncles who are flying in for this special day. “Yes, Bash too.”

“Dee?”

“And Indie.”

“Low and Shop?”

“Yes, Willow and Bishop too.”

Zach’s brow furrows as he considers my offer. As much as I’d like to claim the trait as mine, this one’s all Leigh. He carefully looks back and forth between the two button-down shirts and then smiles up at me. “Okay.”

If only I’d come up with this solution ten minutes ago, we wouldn’t be on the verge of running late. I’m fairly certain the court of law waits for no one, and today has been months in the making, so there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to allow us to miss our scheduled appearance.

Throwing the blue shirt over my shoulder to take with us, I help Zach slide the shirt on and do up the buttons, silently thanking the Patron Saint of Toddlers that he didn’t fight me ontrying to do them himself. Now I just need the saint of traffic to help us get to the courthouse on time, so Leigh doesn’t have a conniption.

The last thing I need is for her to be angry today. Not with everything I have planned.

I look down at my sweet, confident, and brave boy. “You ready buddy?”

Zach beams up at me. “Family Day, Dada!”

“Yeah, bud.” I smile, blinking back the tears I promised Leigh wouldn’t fall before the judge bangs her gavel. “Todayisfamily day.”

Traffic is a nightmare, but somehow, we make it with time to spare.

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