Once that was accomplished, Piper got the comb for his hair and he put his little arms around my neck.
“Love my Kenna,” he said with a happy little sigh. It was the first time he’d said something like that.
“I love you, Preston,” I said, and the truth of it shook me. I loved this little boy, and on top of that, I loved his mother too.
I heard a little gasp and looked up to find Piper watching us in the doorway, the comb in her hand. She’d heard us.
I picked up Preston and walked over to Piper.
“And you know what, Preston? I love your mama too,” I said, even though I was looking directly at Piper.
Her hand went to her mouth and she dropped the comb.
“You do?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“I do. I love you, Piper. I love you, and I love your son. I want to stay here with you,” I said.
Tears fell from her eyes as she gathered both of us into her arms.
“I love you too,” she said.
“Mama squish,” Preston said, wiggling against us.
I put him down and he looked up at both of us.
“You kiss now,” he commanded us, and I burst out laughing.
“I guess we have to,” I said, pressing close to her.
“I guess we do,” she agreed, and our lips met.
“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” Preston chanted.
Epilogue
“Linley promised there would be no games,” I told Piper as we drove to Sweet’s. Linley was having her baby shower at the industrial kitchen, since there was plenty of room there, and it was the place she was most comfortable.
“I also put a ban on games at my shower, but somehow we still ended up playing some against my will,” Piper said, rolling her eyes. “I’m so glad I don’t have to do that ever again.”
Piper was absolutely one-and-done with kids, and I was fine with that. Preston was the joy of our lives and we didn’t need to have another baby just because. We were complete.
I’d moved my things over from the farmhouse to Piper’s a few weeks ago, and Hayden had also moved in and was staying in the guest room. As Piper predicted, Hayden and I got along great, and it was cool having her around. She didn’t crowd us too much, and actually went out quite a bit with a friend, so there were plenty of times when it was just me and Piper and Preston in the house. She also offered to babysit so we could have dates out, which made her one of my favorite people in the world.
Adjusting to being in a new relationship—and helping parent a toddler—was a lot, but I welcomed every single challenge. Even when things were hard, I didn’t wish I was anywhere else.
My family could not have been happier that I was staying in Castleton, and they’d thrown me a huge party to celebrate. Piper was now a regular fixture at family dinners, and she’d bring Preston, who all of the other niblings had embraced. He and Harley were basically best friends now and they had playdates all the time.
We pulled into the lot of Sweet’s, and the parking lot was so full that we got one of the last spots.
I got a message on my phone from River. It was the countdown to when she was coming to visit. She’d actually be staying at the farmhouse in my old room, which was really fun. I couldn’t wait for her to meet Piper and Preston.
“On a scale of one to infinity, how much are you looking forward to our date tonight?” Piper asked me, checking her lipstick in the mirror.
“I feel like we broke the infinity scale a while back, but whatever the most infinite is, that,” I said.
She laughed as we got out of the car and she came over to me to give me a kiss, pushing me up against the car door.
“I’m so glad you came to Castleton,” Piper said. “I feel like my life was on pause until I met you.”
“You were doing lots of stuff before me,” I said. “I was the one who was just existing.”
She made a frustrated sound and leaned in to kiss me again. “Let’s just agree to disagree.”
Read Just One Summer, Castleton Hearts: Book Seven and turn the page to read the first chapter!
Just One Summer: Castleton Hearts, Book Seven
Hayden Lindsey expects to spend lots of time at the beach and with her cousin Piper when she temporarily moves in with her in Castleton, Maine. What she doesn’t expect is to bump into Alessi Mason at the bakery and fight her for the last cinnamon roll. The girl she used to spend every summer in Castleton with is all grown up and she probably doesn’t even remember the last time they saw each other and that kiss they shared when they were kids.
Hayden doesn’t think about it either. Much.
But now is no time for thinking about past kisses. Hayden is only in Castleton to get on her feet, get over her ex, and figure out how to quit her accounting job so she can focus on her online tie-dye shop. A romance with Alessi is the last thing on her mind.
That is, until Alessi is in a bind and Hayden comes to the rescue and that little spark Hayden felt during the kiss? Well, now it’s an inferno, and she isn’t the only one who feels it. Alessi has her own complications, and a relationship is the last thing she needs.
Alas, chemistry sometimes has other plans. Will Hayden and Alessi give in to everything pulling them together, or will they let too many obstacles pull them apart?
“You’re in luck, that’s our last one,” the smiling server at the bakery said to the person in front of me. I’d been watching silly videos on my phone and hadn’t been paying attention, but I watched in horror as the server took the last caramel apple cinnamon roll and gently put it in a bag.
“Wait, is that the last one?” I blurted out in a panicked voice. I needed that cinnamon roll. That was the only thing getting me out of bed this morning. I had built my entire morning around acquiring the cinnamon roll, eating it, and then kicking ass the rest of the day. Everything hinged on that roll.
“I’m so sorry, it is,” the server said as the person in front of me moved to the cash register. I closed my eyes and tried not to scream.
The person in front of me didn’t seem to have heard me. Maybe I could prevail upon their kindness? Castleton was a friendly place, and I might not be a local, but people knew me here. I’d spent nearly every summer of my youth here with my parents, getting sunburned at the beach, and eating too many popsicles.
I tapped the person on the shoulder, and they removed an earbud before turning around.
“Holy shit,” I said. “Alessi?”
I would have known her anywhere, even though we hadn’t seen each other since we were eleven. Her dark curls framed her face and I’d know those denim-colored eyes anywhere. The freckle next to her left eye was still there.
“Hayden?” she said, shock in her voice. “Is that you?”
My hands almost ached to reach out and touch her, to see if she was real.
“Uh yeah, what the hell are you doing here?” Someone cleared their throat next to me and I realized we were holding up the line.
“What can I get for you?” the server asked me loudly, probably trying to move me along.
“Well, I wanted a cinnamon roll,” I said, looking pointedly at the bag that sat on the counter in front of Alessi.