by A. J. Pine
He kissed her cheek and took the book back from her. “Okay. I will.”
The patrons applauded. The small catering staff paused. Brynn had found her way to where Jeremy and Jamie stood against a shelf opposite the table. All their eyes were on Wes and Annie now.
He opened the book and read.
“For Annie.” He looked up at her and grinned. She chewed her lip nervously. “For Annie,” he said again. “We’re not in Kansas anymore. Wherever we go from here, you’ll always be home. The light that guides me. My Emerald City.”
He looked up, and she wasn’t sure if she was seeing him through the moisture welling in her eyes or if she detected a hint of wetness in his, too. He handed her back the book, and as she took it, he dropped to one knee.
The whole room was one collective gasp, Annie included.
“Marry me, Annie.” She was sure he was holding up a ring, but she could barely see it through the rapidly falling tears. “It’s time for our happy ending,” he said.
She knelt down in front of him, glad Wes had insisted the party be casual, and only now realizing his perfectly fitted button-down was green. But now she wondered if the biggest moment of her life so far was going to happen while she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt that said carpe read ’em.
Well, she wasn’t wondering for long. Because hello? Wes was freaking proposing.
Her mouth formed the word yes, but instead she cried out, “Wait!”
He froze. The whole room seemed suspended in the moment.
“No happy endings, remember?” she said.
Wes blew out a breath, and she realized she must have scared him. He reached for her left hand, and she offered it to him willingly.
“No endings,” he said, sliding the ring down her finger. “But a hell of a lot of happy,” he added.
She nodded. “I’ll say yes to that.”
And then he kissed her to the sound of applause and catcalls from Jeremy and Jamie and Brynn.
“You know I have zero point of reference for how to do this, right?” she said in between tear-soaked kisses.
He shrugged. “That makes two of us.”
“Yeah, but my mom will probably show up at our wedding with a guy half her age she met online that day. And my dad and Theresa just told us they have an open relationship and—have I mentioned how messed up I learned my teen years were?”
He cupped her cheeks in his hands.
“I love you, Annie. Didn’t you say that was all that mattered? That love would conquer all?”
He pressed his lips to hers, and her eyes fell shut as she nodded. “I did say that,” she whispered against him. “I always thought those were three simple words, but I underestimated them—what it meant to say them. Or to have them said to me.”
“They were the hardest words to say—until I said them to you.”
“I love you, too,” she said and felt his lips part into a smile.
“Then I guess we have an agreement,” he said. “No endings.”
She leaned her forehead against his.
“I guess we do.”
There’s No Such Thing As a Happy Ending
by HappyEverAfter admin | Leave a comment
This post is going to be short and sweet, everyone. But I promise to post from the road and let you know how the book tour is going. For now I just want to say thank you for supporting the blog, for supporting my store, and for championing love in all its forms. Reading romance has taught me that love certainly does conquer all—but not at once. With every little obstacle, love has to work its butt off to triumph again and again and again. The key is to never back down from the fight. Happily ever after is real. I learned that from stories and also from my own life. But most of all, I learned there are no happy endings. Only what comes after.
The Beginning
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Acknowledgments
Well, it took me eight books, but I finally found the characters who let me use their story to write a love letter to romance. Thank you, Annie and Wes, for showing us that love can conquer all and that happy endings are just the beginning.
Thanks to my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan, for always being in my corner and for championing my ideas no matter how many shiny new ones I email you.
Karen Grove, you pushed me to turn an idea with potential into a story with real heart—and plenty of heat. Wes truly thanks you for the latter—especially in that wedding chapter.
Lia Riley, Megan Erickson, Natalie Blitt, Jennifer Blackwood, and Chanel Cleeton, I don’t know what I’d do without our daily chats. You are my sanity keepers, my plot whisperers, and the most talented writers I know. I’m grateful to call you my friends. AWKWARD GROUP HUG.
Special thanks to Our So-Called Group and Kingston Ale House group members. Your support and daily shenanigans are the best.
Thank you to my Hideaway girls. Your guidance, advice, and Tingle-esque title contests mean more to me than you can imagine.
To all my readers, I am forever grateful that you let me keep doing this thing I love to do—making new stories.
And always, the biggest thanks go to S and C, for loving me infinity even when I’m frazzled, on deadline, and go for days without the laptop closed. You are my true heroes, and I love you most.
About the Author
A. J. Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend them with a happily ever after. As an English teacher and a librarian, A. J. has always surrounded herself with books. All her favorites have one big commonality—romance. Naturally, the books she writes have the same. When she’s not writing, she’s of course reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes). And a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. You’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago ’burbs.
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Savannah Gamble might be a dating coach, but that doesn’t mean she’s got her own love life figured out. When her former best friend, Lincoln Wells—the same guy who broke her heart after an unforgettable one-night stand—reenters her life, all her rules point to the fact he’s not her Mr. Right and she should stay far, far away. But rules can’t always compete with chemistry.
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Harlan Franco lives by his own rules: be in control, be detached, and never mix business with pleasure. These rules are tested when he’s being paid to secretly guard the sexy, unpredictable, pain in the butt, Sophie Callaghan—a woman determined to stay away from him. Sophie is on a mission. What she doesn’t need is hot, broody, and controlling Harlan barging into
her life. After a night where both live out their darkest desires, Sophie tries to fight the explosive chemistry between them. But the ties that bind her heart to this bounty hunter are tight and tangled.
Discover the Kingston Ale House series…
The One That Got Away
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Also by A. J. Pine
If Only
What If
I Do