A Vine Mess (Love on the Vine #4)

Epilogue Liam

FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE TRIP

The casual way I strolled into Blossom’s that crisp September afternoon completely belied the nerves that had taken root in my gut. I was about to do something categorically insane, but…well, I’d never exactly been in my right mind where Ella Delatou was concerned.

“Just a moment!” Fanny called from the back when the bell over the door tinkled with my entrance.

Hands shoved deep in my pockets, I wandered around the room, running over my plan in my head while I waited.

At last, Fanny appeared. “What can I—oh. Hi, Liam. Ella’s not here. She’s—”

“At the winery,” I smiled. “I know. I’m actually here to see you.”

“Okay…” Fanny had every right to be suspicious. I’d never spent much one-on-one time with the woman, not in the five years I’d lived in Apple Blossom Bay, and certainly not in the four months since Ella and I had returned from our trip.

“I need to buy some flowers.”

Her forehead creased in confusion. “Why couldn’t this be taken care of when Ella was here?”

“Because they’re for Ella.”

“Okay…” she said again, stepping deeper into the showroom floor. “Which ones do you want to buy?”

I grinned. “All of them.”

“All…of them?”

“Yes, Fanny,” I confirmed. “Everything you’ve got. And then, if you wouldn’t mind, the guys will be here shortly to help me bring them all upstairs.”

Fanny’s gaze narrowed. “What are you up to, Liam Danvers?”

I shrugged, affecting a nonchalance I certainly didn’t feel. “I’m proposing.”

“You’re what ?” Fanny gasped. “Oh my god. Let me see!”

I knew what she meant without her elaborating, so I withdrew my right hand from my pants’ pocket, the velvet ring box clutched there, and held it out to her.

She gasped again when she opened it. “Liam…” she said, glancing up at me. “You did good, boy.”

“I had help.”

She grinned. “You were smart to go to them.”

I’d had an idea in mind ever since I got a bug up my ass about proposing—which, for the record, was quite literally the second we returned from our road trip. It had only taken me this long to work up the courage. And I knew I wasn’t buying a ring she was meant to wear forever without her sisters’ input.

I wasn’t even worried she’d say no, because I knew without a doubt she loved me as much as I loved her. It was more…we were moving really fast, and I’d been terrified of what her family would say.

I’d worried needlessly. All seven of them were on board from the moment the words left my lips—yes, even Leon, who clapped me on the back heartily and welcomed me to the family.

“Take them,” Fanny said suddenly.

“What?”

“Take them,” she repeated, sweeping her arms out. “Take them all. Consider this my going out of business sale, and everything is free.”

“Fanny, you can’t—”

The only woman leveled a finger in my face. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, boy. I love that girl like she’s my own, and as long as this business is still in my name, what I say goes. Since today is my last day as owner of Blossom’s, this seems like the perfect send off.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “She’s going to be pissed.”

“Oh, for a number of reasons, surely. But think of it this way: you two can start your lives together with an entirely fresh slate. It’ll be good problem solving practice for her,” Fanny added with a wink.

“Baptism by fire,” I grinned. “I like it.”

“You’re a good man, Liam. And she’s lucky to have you.”

“Nah,” I waved her off. “I’m the lucky one.”

“I better be invited to the wedding!” she said as she disappeared down the hall after a knock came at the back door.

A moment later, the cavalry arrived, Delia leading the charge. I shook my head; I should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to stay away, even though I specifically requested all the sisters keep Ella occupied.

“How’d you get away from her?” I asked Delia as she led Logan, Cal, Owen, and Ezra in.

“Told her there was an emergency at the distillery that QB couldn’t handle by himself.”

“Whiskey,” Owen groaned. “Quit making me look bad in front of the boys.”

Delia merely shrugged. “Just reminding them who wears the pants in this relationship.”

We all glanced down at her legs, which were bare beneath the hem of her dress.

“Metaphorically speaking,” she added with an eye roll.

Fanny joined us, clapping her hands together and shouting, “Chop, chop! We haven’t got all day!”

Like being ordered around by a drill sergeant, we all hopped to attention, gathering arrangements in our hands and following Delia up the stairs.

Three hours later, the stage was set.

Ella’s apartment was small enough that there wasn’t really a free inch of flat surface to be found save the path from the doorway to where I stood in the center of the kitchen/living spaces. My hands were so clammy I couldn’t stop wiping them on my pants.

I’d briefly considered dressing up for the occasion, but I didn’t want to tip Ella off by having her also dress up, so I opted for my typical uniform of jeans and a black cotton tee.

While I waited for the text to come through telling me Ella had arrived, I popped the ring box open and studied it one final time before I’d be able to slip it onto Ella’s finger.

I’d wound up sourcing it from a boutique jeweler in Detroit who specialized in custom rings, and it had been worth every penny. The band twisted around like vines, ultimately rising up to four little leaves that held a large, square-cut amethyst at their center. I’d already purchased her wedding band, too, which was more of the same vines, little leaves branching off with a much smaller amethyst stone in their centers.

The ring was one-of-a-kind and wholly perfect for my girl.

I couldn’t wait to see her wearing it every day for the rest of our lives.

Just as I snapped the box closed and dropped it back in my pocket, my phone buzzed in the other, and I withdrew it to find a message from Delia.

Delia Delatou: She just pulled up! Good luck!

“Fuck,” I breathed into the empty room.

There was no reason to be this nervous, but I couldn’t quell the anxiety squeezing my chest. Couldn’t quiet that little voice in my brain saying, “What if she says no?”

I’d never survive.

“No,” I said, shaking out my limbs. “No. She’s going to say yes .”

Footsteps on the stairs had me straightening and making a last-ditch effort to pull myself together .

Her key slid into the lock, and I watched the handle turn as she opened it and pushed inside.

Then came to a stop in the doorway, hand flying to her mouth as she took in the scene.

When her eyes landed on me, widened in shock, she said, “What the fuck?”

I chuckled, all the nerves and anxiety leaving in an instant.

“Hi, Wildflower.”

“Hey, Wills,” she replied. “What’s all this?”

“Come here and I’ll tell you.”

She dropped her bag in the entry and walked slowly toward me, her head swiveling as she attempted to process the flowers, the petals, the candles.

Me, waiting for her.

“Is this like a birthday surprise or something?”

“Or something,” I grinned, hauling her against me when she was within reach. “Happy birthday, baby.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, rising to give me a kiss—which I ended before it could get too heated.

Ella frowned. “What’s going on?”

I didn’t respond, just stepped away from her and dropped to a knee.

“No,” she breathed.

I only smiled, turning the ring box over in my hands as I stared up at her.

Even in her ripped jeans and Delatou it was always Delia—rushed us.

The second before they reached us, before we got swept away in the excitement of her family— my family now too—I kissed her one last time.

“I love you, Wildflower.”

“And I love you more.”