PERFECT PAIRINGS
EPILOGUE
***
Sebastian
I’m not sure who’s more nervous, Sophie or me. We pull up in front of my childhood home, and I turn off the engine.
“Ready?” I squeeze Sophie’s hand.
She turns away from the window and stares back at me with a smile so sexy and dangerous, it threatens to stop my heart. “Ready.” She clutches the rolled top of a paper bag. “I hope your family likes our Winter Wonderland dessert.”
“They’ll love it. And you,” I add for good measure.
The house bustles with laughter and kids chasing after one another. We find the adults in the kitchen fussing over dinner.
“You made it.” Mom wipes her hands on her apron and sidesteps me to embrace Sophie with a hug before I have the chance to make introductions. “It’s about time Sebastian shared you with us.”
"It's so good to meet you." Sophie's attempt at polite conversation with Mom gets thwarted by my niece. She immediately grabs Sophie's legs for a well-meaning child's hug. She takes it in stride, instantly turning her attention to my niece. "Oh, hi there."
"Are you Bastian's girlfriend? Is he poposing tonight? Drake poposed to Hope last Christmas." She tilts her head back and glances up at me. "Are you getting married?
My niece doesn’t have a shy bone in her body. She skips pleasantries and goes right for the jugular. Sophie turns beet red, and I stumble to find the right words. Luckily my sister rescues us from the uncomfortable silence that falls over the room by swooping my nosy niece into her arms to shush her.
“We brought dessert,” I manage to say.
“I hope you like ice cream.” Sophie holds the paper bag up and waggles it in the air.
“And fudge brownies. We’ve been working on a little something together.”
"I bet you have." Drake scoots past me, nudging my shoulder with his. I catch the mischievous glimmer in his eye and brace myself for the rise he's about to get out of me. He reaches for Sophie's hand, and the twinge of jealousy I'm bracing for never comes. "Welcome. I'm Drake." He nods toward the end of the kitchen island. "And that's Hope, the love of my life."
“Glad you could make it.” Hope wiggles her fingers and grins. “Hope you like rowdy because these two have cornered the market on it.”
“Oh, I think I can handle it.” Sophie slips an arm around my waist, and I gather her to me.
She's going to fit in just fine. Nothing can stop us. We're the perfect pairing.
Merry fudgin’ Christmas to me.
***