"Big step."
"I'm feeling ready for big steps." She turned in my arms. "Thanks to you."
The square had emptied, just the gazebo lights remaining. I pulled her into the empty gazebo, holding her close.
"Dance with me."
"Still no music."
"Don't need any."
We swayed together under the stars, her head on my chest.
"Thank you for believing in me," she whispered.
"Thank you for not giving up on us."
We stayed until we were shivering from the cold.
"Ready to go home?" I asked.
"Your place or mine?"
"Doesn't matter, as long as we're together."
As we drove up the mountain, her hand in mine, I marveled at how much had changed. Two weeks ago I'd been alone on this mountain, convinced that's how I'd always be.
The cabin lights glowed warm as we pulled up.
"This is real, isn't it?" she said suddenly. "You and me?"
"As real as it gets," I said, pulling her close.
"I'm really here. You're really here."
"Yeah." I kissed her forehead. "You've gotten completely under my skin, Cinn. Can't imagine my life without you now."
"Even when I drove you crazy?"
"Especially then."
We went inside together, wrapped up in each other and the promise of what came next. Sugar & Spice was saved. Cinn had found her home. And I'd found something I hadn't even known I was missing.
All because one stubborn woman had demanded my maple syrup.
Epilogue
Cinnamon
Halloween night in Woodbridge Falls turned Main Street into a river of miniature ghosts, witches, and superheroes. Jack-o'-lanterns flickered in every shop window, casting dancing shadows on the sidewalk. I adjusted my blue gingham dress and ruby slippers—Dorothy had never worked a candy counter, but tonight she would.
"Hold still," I said, trying to fix Sawyer's silver face paint where it had smudged. He stood rigid in his Tin Man costume, the cardboard and aluminum foil contraption we'd cobbled together making him look absolutely ridiculous, but somehow it worked on him.
"This is torture," he grumbled, though his eyes showed nothing but humor.
"You're the one who insisted on couples costumes." I dabbed more paint on his jaw. "Besides, you make a very handsome Tin Man."
"Even without the heart?" he joked.
