A Hot Holiday Collection

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

OLIVIA

L ifting the box of pale-pink peonies to my face, I took a deep breath through my nose. Their sweet scent made me smile. “I can’t believe you found peonies that will last for an entire year. I’m not sure how they did it, but I love that I’ll still have these when you can’t buy them anywhere.”

“I’m glad you like them, baby.” Leland pressed a kiss to my temple.

This was our third Valentine’s Day together but being engaged made this one feel special. Although we were still three months away from graduation, we were already knee-deep in wedding planning, and Leland had put what he’d learned about my preferences to good use. “I more than like them.”

“Good.” He beamed a smile at me before taking the box from my hands to set it on my bedside table. “You can enjoy them more later. We should probably head downstairs since it sounds as though they already started the party without us.”

My sorority hosted a dance on Valentine’s weekend every year. It was hard to believe this was my last one. “Good call. I don’t want to miss a minute of it.”

“Olivia!” a few of my sorority sisters called when we reached the bottom of the stairs. “Come have a shot with us.”

I quirked a brow in question at Leland, who shook his head with a smile. “You go ahead. Get wild and crazy with your girls, and I’ll be here to watch over you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked as I accepted a shot glass from one of my friends.

He nodded and patted my butt. “It’s your party, baby. Have at it.”

And that was exactly what I did, drinking more than I should while partying with most of my favorite people in the world. Several hours later, Leland had to practically hold me up while we danced together. “You’re the best, you know that, right?”

“As long as you think so, that’s all that matters to me.” He twirled me around, and I almost toppled over. “And if I’m going to live up to my rep as the best boyfriend, then I think I’d better get you some water.”

He led me over to one of the couches where Danny and Delia were cuddled up together. When I flopped down, half on the cushion and half on my best friend’s lap, her boyfriend chuckled. “Looks like your fiancée was overserved.”

“Overserved,” Delia echoed before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Leland jerked his chin toward us. “I think the same could be said about your girlfriend.”

“Definitely,” Danny confirmed. “She just stopped talking about how the room was spinning.”

“I’m going to grab a water for Olivia. Want me to get some for Delia, too?” Leland offered.

“Nah, I’ll come with you and get her one myself.” Danny inched his way off the couch as Delia, and I toppled into the empty space he left behind.

It took us a moment to get upright again—those spins Delia had mentioned to Danny were contagious because now I had them. “Pick a spot across the room and focus on it until everything stops moving,” she suggested.

I had planned on staring at the picture of our pledge class that was hanging on the wall near one of the windows overlooking the front lawn, but my gaze was snagged by something else instead. “I’m worried about Katie. She doesn’t seem like her usual self.”

Delia scanned the room, her brow wrinkling when she spotted our sorority sister standing in the corner. Katie was in our pledge class and tended to be the life of the party. We would’ve been less surprised to find her in the middle of the dance floor leading a conga line. “Huh. Now that you mention it, I think you’re right.”

“I wonder if something is going on.”

“Going on with what?” Leland asked as he and Danny returned with our bottles of water.

“Katie is acting weird,” I explained before taking a sip of my drink.

Danny shrugged. “She’s probably just trying to figure out who her secret admirer is.”

“What secret admirer?” Delia and I asked in unison.

“The one who sent her a dozen red roses this morning,” Leland explained.

Delia looked as surprised by this information as I felt. “How come you two found out about this before we did? Katie’s our sorority sister.”

“Just because Danny landed his dream girl and you accepted my proposal doesn’t mean I’m not still keeping an eye on what’s going on around here.”