Epilogue
Jeremy
Four Months Later
“ So, when are you going to do it?”
I snap the box shut and whirl around to see Maddy standing in the living room doorway, her hands on her hips. She’s giving me a look so full of attitude that I have to stifle a laugh. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a sassy ponytail that falls over one shoulder, and she’s wearing a bright pink dress and sneakers covered in glitter, no doubt a result of her recent shopping trip with Molly. A little notebook and her Harry Potter wand stick out of a pocket in her dress.
I love her so much it hurts.
But at this very moment, I’m regretting my choice to tell her I have a ring and was planning to ask Emma to marry me. Because Maddy wanted to see the ring and then she got it into her head that I should propose to Emma on the same day as her adoption is finalized, and since today is that day, she won’t stop talking about it.
“Today, right?” Maddy taps the toe of her shoe, like I’ve inconvenienced her by waiting too long to respond to her question. She turned eight last month and the sass is real with this one. I guess maybe I have a thing for sassy redheads because even though she can be exasperating, I’m obsessed with it.
I never gave much thought to being a parent before Maddy came into my life, but I love every minute of it, both the hard parts and the parts that are as easy as breathing.
And the best part of it is, I get to do it with Emma. She is a remarkable mom. Watching the two of them together takes my breath away on a daily basis. That they let me live here and share this life with them makes me the luckiest man alive. I love the little trio we’ve formed, and all the memories in the home we’re building together. There is nowhere else I’d rather be.
The past four months have been a whirlwind. The board finally voted on my permanent replacement at the foundation, and I have thrown myself into coaching and running the hockey camps. Whenever I’m on the ice, I can’t believe I stayed off of it for so long. Hockey is in my blood. Maddy leveled up, and I coach her on one of the girls’ teams, and I get to work with Asher every day. And stepping down has freed up more of my time to be at the bar with Ben and to be present for my girls.
I’ve been seeing a therapist twice a week since the week I met my brother. She has helped me see that, for years, I used my cocky cheerful mask as a way to keep the people close to me from seeing the real me. The one who is a little bit broken and afraid a lot of the time. She has encouraged me to start letting in all the people I love, not just Emma, and has helped me learn to trust that they are going to stick around, no matter what I do or say. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m happy with where I am now.
“Are you sure you want me to do it today? It’s your day.”
Four months ago, we had no idea that Maddy’s adoption would go through so quickly. But I guess with Maddy’s father giving up his parental rights, and Maddy already living with Emma for so long, the path was pretty smooth. I had my background checks done and took all the classes that the state of Pennsylvania requires for adults who are living with foster children. I sold my house and officially moved into Emma’s last month. Even though it’s only Emma who is officially adopting Maddy today, it doesn’t feel that way to any of us.
Maddy shakes her head. “It’s our day. You and Emma told me that today is the day we get to be a family.”
I crouch down so I’m at eye level with her. “We’re already a family. You know we are. We don’t need rings and signed papers to make us a family. Family is what’s in here.” I point to my heart and then to hers.
“I know, and I know family means forever. You and Emma tell me all the time, and I believe you. But I also want it to be official.”
“Me too, Little Red.”
And I do. Just like I didn’t think much about being a parent before Maddy, I never thought all that much about getting married until Emma. I love her and she loves me, and I know we’re forever, paper or not. That’s part of the trust I’ve fought to learn over the last few months. But something about my ring on her finger and hers on mine and words like married and husband and wife make it all feel more real. I want that life.
“So ask Emma to marry you today, and we can all be official.”
“What are you guys whispering about?”
Emma comes in from the kitchen and hands me a mug. She’s wearing leggings and one of my sweatshirts she threw on this morning after our little game of share the shower, and even though she wears my clothes all the time, seeing her in it still has need pumping through my veins.
“I found a cookie dough creamer at the grocery store this morning. I think it’s gross, which means I’m sure you’ll love it.”
She grins at me and leans up for a kiss but pulls away too soon for my liking. Winding an arm around her waist, I tug her against me and bring her mouth to mine for a longer, much more satisfying kiss.
“Thanks,” I say, kissing her one more time before trying the coffee that is, as Emma predicted, fucking amazing.
“So, what are you talking about?”
“Jeremy wants to ask you to marry him, but he’s worried about taking over my day or whatever. I told him that’s stupid, but he won’t listen to me.”
“Jesus Christ, Little Red,” I mutter.
She just shrugs. “I was afraid you wouldn’t do it, so I decided to do it for you. And don’t swear.”
“You want to propose to me?”
Emma turns to me, her green eyes glowing and her freckles standing out against her flushed cheeks. My heart knocks against my ribs. I guess this is happening now. I kiss her cheek and then bring my forehead to hers, breathing her in.
“I have for weeks, Ems.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring box I stashed there.
“Get down on one knee,” Maddy hisses, and Emma laughs.
I kneel down, but I pull Emma down with me so we can both be at Maddy’s height. I know she gets it because her eyes gleam with love and understanding. I hand Maddy the ring to hold and take both of Emma’s hands in mine.
I hesitate, looking down at the floor for a second to collect my thoughts because I want to say all the words that are in my heart, and I don’t want to leave anything out. I want to make this perfect for her because she deserves perfect.
“Jeremy.”
I look up, and Emma’s eyes are full of understanding, a smile on her face.
“Tell me something true.”
My anxiety melts away at her words—our words. She’s telling me without telling me that she doesn’t need perfect, she just needs true and real. She needs…me. And what a fucking gift it is to be needed like that. So, I open my mouth and tell her all my truest things.
“Ems.” My voice is already thick with emotion, but I am determined to get this out. “I never thought that this kind of love was out there for me. But then you came into my life and even though it took us some time to get here, I wouldn’t trade our life now for anything in the world. You have given me love and patience and understanding and a family of my own. You made me feel like I belonged somewhere for the first time in my life, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not filled with gratitude for you and for this life we have together. I swear that no one will ever love you like I do, understand you like I do, and take care of you like I do. You are my favorite person in the entire world, and I want to spend every minute of every day loving you the very best way I can. I love you, Pretty Girl. Marry me. Be my family forever.”
I glance over at Maddy, who already has tears running down her face, and let one of Emma’s hands go so I can wrap an arm around Maddy and hug her closer.
“Be our family forever.”
The tears I’ve been holding back spill over as I finish, and Emma barely gets out the muffled “Yes” though her own tears before she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. I bury my face in her hair, closing my eyes and breathing her in, feeling myself settle completely at the feel of her body against mine.
“You need the ring!” Maddy exclaims, tears forgotten. She hands me the box and I flip it open. Emma gasps when she sees it, eyes flooding with more tears.
“My mom’s ring,” she whispers. “How did you get this?”
“Mimi. I drove to Cleveland last week to tell your grandparents I wanted to ask you to marry me, and she gave it to me. She told me to tell you she’s been holding onto it for you and was only going to give it to the right person. Apparently, that’s me.”
I give her a sheepish smile, trying not to show her how much it meant to me to have her grandparents’ blessing like that. They are amazing people, and they have accepted me and Maddy into their family, completely and without question.
“It’s definitely you,” Emma says through a watery laugh, watching as I take her left hand and slide the ring onto her finger, bringing her hand to my mouth and kissing her fingers just below the ring.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“Love you,” she whispers back, and I can feel it flowing out of her, straight into me.
Then I cup her face in my hands and kiss her, pouring every ounce of love and devotion I have for her into the kiss, letting her know without words that she’s mine, always and forever.
When we break apart, Emma curls right into my lap and Maddy scoots over next to me. And with my girls beside me I take a deep breath, everything I ever needed right here on our living room floor.
Emma
“Em, this taco bar fucking rocks,” Molly says, a plate in one hand and a taco in the other.
“Did you use the same place I used for our wedding?” Hallie asks with a mouthful of guacamole.
“And for mine,” Julie smirks. “I may have gotten married in a backyard, but it was still a wedding. And I’m pretty sure you told me that taco bar fucking rocked too.”
“Sure did. It was the best. I figure it’s our thing now. Taco bars for big celebrations. Anyway, it’s Maddy’s favorite.”
“And yours.” Molly puts down her plate and comes over to admire my engagement ring again. “We’re not just celebrating an adoption today anymore. It’s engagement o’clock up in here and we’ve got another wedding to plan. Hang on, I’m going upstairs to find my wedding binder. We can get started now.”
She flies up the stairs before anyone can make a move to stop her, even though I’m in no rush to dive into any kind of wedding planning. I want to enjoy the now for a while longer.
After Jeremy proposed this morning, the three of us stayed all tangled together on the living room floor for a while before it was time to go to the courthouse. I shouldn’t have been surprised that all our friends and family showed up for Maddy’s adoption hearing, but it just knocked me over, seeing everyone there for her, and for Jeremy and me too. Like Hallie said to me on the phone the day she first called me about Maddy, we don’t do anything alone in this group.
My grandparents also drove in for the day, and they are sitting on the couch with Maddy between them, laughing with the Parkers. Mimi and Pops bonded with Maddy immediately when they met her a few months ago. They’ve gone back and forth a lot so they could really get to know her, and she’s going to spend a week with them next month during spring break.
When Maddy heard I was planning a party for the day her adoption was finalized, she asked if we could do it here in our office. She said it’s where she met me for the first time so it was a special place and, well, I couldn’t argue with that. We closed for the day, and everyone is scattered around the main level.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind and I smile, leaning a head back on Jeremy’s shoulder as he presses a kiss to my temple. Maybe there will come a time when his proximity doesn’t give me butterflies, but today is not that day.
“Tell me something true, Ems.”
I turn in his arms so I can see his face, lean up to kiss him, and watch his eyes go soft the way I love.
“I’m really, really happy. I also ate like ten tacos, so I kind of feel like I need to lay on the floor.”
Jeremy chuckles and tightens his arms around me while I wind my arms around his neck.
“Good. That’s my plan. To keep you loved up and happy and well fed and well sexed for the rest of our lives.”
He grins at me and kisses my nose, and happy, playful Jeremy, with his gold-ringed eyes and tousled brown hair falling over his face and the white button-down shirt stretched over his muscular chest and his sleeves rolled up over the forearms that make me weak in the knees is really a sight to behold.
“Stop checking me out, Pretty Girl,” he whispers with a smile. “Your grandfather is sitting right over there so I can’t do any of the very bad things I want to do to you when you look at me like that.”
“Get used to it, Jer. I’m going to be looking at you like this for a long, long time.”
He kisses me again, slow and sweet, and my heart does a long, slow roll in my chest.
“Counting on it, Ems.”
He pulls me closer to him and starts to say something else but is interrupted by the sound of the front door to the office opening.
We turn to the entrance and watch as a man steps through the door. He’s tall and broad, with purposefully disheveled light brown hair and a day’s worth of scruff on his jaw. Trendy black rimmed glasses are tucked into the neck of his shirt, and his whole look is giving hot nerd meets billionaire CEO. Something about him is weirdly familiar.
“Is that…” I trail off, thinking I can’t possibly be seeing who I think I’m seeing.
“Why the fuck is San Francisco tech billionaire Gabriel Sullivan in your office?” Jeremy murmurs in my ear. I guess the guy is exactly who I think he is.
“No clue but I think we’re about to find out,” I whisper back, watching as Julie walks over to him, Asher hot on her heels in his full protect my girl mode that never fails to make me laugh.
“Is there something I can help you with?” she asks, activating Lawyer Julie Mode, giving no indication she recognizes him. I am, as ever, in awe of her poker face.
“We’re closed for a private party today, but if you need legal assistance, we would be happy to schedule you an appointment for later in the week at your convenience.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” he says, his gaze taking in the room like he’s looking for something.
Or someone.
“I don’t need an appointment; I’m just looking for…”
He trails off and whips his head around as Molly comes thundering down the stairs, rainbow dress flying. “I found it!” she calls. “We can start…”
Whatever she was about to say dies on her lips as she screeches to a halt halfway down the stairs, the color draining from her face. One hand holds the binder she’s carrying to her chest like a shield and the other grips the banister so tightly her knuckles turn white and still, I can see her hand shaking.
“Gabe?” she says, voice quiet and shaky.
He looks up at Molly with a soft smile, eyes filled with love and longing in equal measure. When he speaks, his voice is raspy and deep, and his words are soaked in reverence.
“Hey, Rory.”
THE END