Elly did remember. She had felt uncomfortable about being in a stranger’s yard. Her eyes followed his hand past the cherub to the other side of the garden, where a giant brown whimsical house with a red door and teak gables rested just beyond some small pine trees.
“That’s my house. I want to live a simpler life than the other heirs, but I have always had a certain weakness for beautiful things. Like that house.” His lips brushed her ear. “I live alone there. There has never been anyone but you, not since Paige, and I hope never again. You are everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve kept secrets from you, and I don’t know that I deserve your forgiveness. But if you could just, maybe let me try to make it up to you—I’m willing to sacrifice everything that I am for who you are. Even if you do just want to use me for my money, I would take it, just so that I don’t have to be away from you for another day. Elly, you are the one….”
Elly spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck. The garden and everything around them faded into a blurry, watercolored background. There was only Keith, his eyes apologetic and honest, and Elly, her lips inches from him. “Keith….” She leaned her forehead against his, trying very hard to keep her breathing steady. She raised her eyes to meet his. “You can’t hide anything from me. Not ever again.”
Keith’s eyes met hers, wide and unflinching, and Elly knew in that moment that she would never have to worry about him again. “I won’t. I swear.”
Elly leaned forward. “Then hear me out: I want you. I want to be with you, more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I know that if I just gave myself over to you, everything would be perfect, but….”
“What? What is it?” Keith’s eyes were alarmed.
Elly felt his breath on her face. Keith, the thing she desired above all others. “I need you to know that I will never get a DNA test for Dennis. Never. And if that’s something that you can’t live with, then …,” a look of fierce determination came over her face, “then I can’t be with you, even if it would break my heart every day. Dennis is an essential part of my life now. He comes with the package. All of him.”
Keith Carcelo leaned forward and pulled Elly’s face against his. “I don’t care if Dennis is a Russian assassin. He is part of your family, and I can’t even breathe without you. I swear that I will never ask, or care, again.”
Elly felt relief sweep through her, a relief that burned like a forest out of control, lighting up every part of her. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him how it felt to be his, but Keith beat her to the punch. They almost said it at the same time: “I love you.”
Then there was just kissing, and Keith, and Keith, and Keith. They fell solidly into each other, awash in new love in front of the house that Keith owned, as Cadbury barked his approval joyfully to the stars.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
“I need you to come. Now. The cooler is broken and everything is horrible.”
“What do you mean, the cooler is broken and everything is horrible? What is everything?”
“I don’t know, just come right now!” Snarky Teenager hung up the phone.
Elly groaned and crawled off the couch. It had been a long day, with a late-autumn wedding at the Coronado Ballroom, and her arms were achy and sore. Cadbury gave a groan. She slipped on her flip-flops and pulled her hair—getting so long!—into a loose bun on the top of her head. PJs were okay, right? They would have to be. It was after hours. Store B would be closed, so it’s not like she would have to see anyone. She shuffled over to the kitchen table, trying to find her keys in the dim light. Her purse knocked over a stack of Dennis’s community college brochures onto the floor and Elly decided she’d pick them up later. She grabbed her keys and wandered down the hall to knock on Dennis’s door.
“Come in!” He was lying on his bed, reading Lord of the Rings for the eleventh time since Keith had given him a rare signed edition of the book.
“Hey, I’m running over to Store B. Some drama with Snarky Teenager. Want to come? We can grab Mexican on the way home.”
Dennis looked down at the bed. “Naw. I’m reading.”
“Really? Okay. I guess you should probably make it an early night. Do you have the early shift at the deli tomorrow?”
“Ugh. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Okay, see ya.” She paused. “Love ya.” Dennis didn’t even look up from his book, but she saw the tiniest of smiles.
“You, too.”