Page 101 of Romeo

“You ready?”I ask him.

“Only if you are.”

I turn back toward my family.Today, my grandfather’s estate went up for sale.Tucker and I spent the last two weeks packing everything I wanted to take with me; then Beckett arranged an estate sale for the rest of it.

She’s been amazing through every step of this process.From helping me with the will, the massive mess Odie left behind, and dealing with the unweaving of the financial web he’d crafted to keep my grandfather’s money out of his hands.

It’s been a lot, and I’m so grateful to have had her by my side.

But today—today is a fresh start.

A new day.

And even though it aches to walk away from my grandfather’s home, I can’t bear to live there without him.Just as I can’t imagine living across the country from the man beside me.

“I’m ready,” I tell him as I turn away from the graves.

“You’re sure?”

I smile.“Absolutely.”

Epilogue 2: Jules

A year later.

“Are you seriously not going to tell me where we’re going?”I ask with a laugh as Riley guides me forward.Aside from the crickets, there are no sounds around me.Nothing to give away where he’s taking me.The blindfold over my eyes is certainly not giving anything away either.

“Nope.Not yet.”He stops me with gentle hands on my shoulders.“Okay.”He removes the blindfold, and I stare up at a Ferris wheel.Every light is illuminated, bright colors that change as it goes up and down, expanding from the center.“Happy birthday, Jules.”

Tears fill my eyes, and I turn to face him.“You remembered the Ferris Wheel.”

“Of course I remembered.”He leans in and kisses me tenderly.“Memory like a steel trap, remember?”

It’s been a year since my world fell apart and came together at the same time.A year of nights where I worried that I would wake and it would all have been a dream.But here I am, still standing, alongside a love I never thought I’d find.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”He takes my hand and pulls me toward it.The attendant raises the bar and lets us inside before securing it closed again.Then he steps back and presses a button that starts the wheel.

It begins to move, and my stomach twists.“I haven’t been on one since I was six.”

Riley wraps an arm around me as it climbs higher and higher.“It’s been a few years for me,” he says.“So you’re in good company there.”

We reach the top, and I stare out at the lights of Pine Creek, Texas in the distance.It’s such a beautiful place and felt like home the moment Riley and I stepped off of that plane last year.I’ve been living in a cabin on his family property ever since, spending every meal with Riley and helping out around the ranch in between taking classes.

It’s been a dream come true all the way around.

Up here, I can see that the fairgrounds are completely empty.“So how did you manage to get them to keep the fairgrounds closed for you?Aren’t Texas fairs usually pretty packed?”

He laughs.“I have a friend who knows someone.They always do a test run the night before opening, and I said we would love to test things out.”

“Seems dangerous.”

He shrugs.“Didn’t you tell me you wanted adventures?”

I smile.“I did.”

“Go have grand adventures, girl.”My grandfather’s voice echoes in my mind as I rest my head against Riley’s shoulder.“I’m doing it, Grandpa,”I think to myself, hoping that even though he’s not here with me, he knows that I’m on the greatest adventure of all.

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