Epilogue
JESSIE
“ Y ou still have the rings, right, man?”
Rolling his eyes like it’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard, Jon reaches into the pocket of his gray casual pants and pulls out two small black boxes, showing them to Zach. “Yep, I still have them.”
Zach turns back to look at himself in the mirror, adjusting his collar for the tenth time.
“It’s all good. Everything’s going to go just”—raising his hand, Jensen pinches his thumb and forefinger together—“perfectly.”
From behind, Zach’s dad places his hands on his son’s shoulders. “Everything looks great out there.”
Holding both of Aster’s hands above his head, I walk him over to his daddy. He looks so fucking cute in a matching suit.
“Hey, buddy.” Zach picks up his son and swivels back around to speak to him in the dress mirror. “Ready for Daddy to go marry Mommy?”
“Yeah,” he answers and then points a slobbery finger at them both. “Da-daaaa.”
My heart squeezes in my chest as I hope, one day, I’ll hear my own child’s voice.
Truth is, if Mia got pregnant tonight, I would be ecstatic, but I know we’re a few years off that while she finishes school and establishes herself as a kick-ass therapist.
Jon checks his watch and points at the door. “Okay, it’s time.” He looks between us all. “You remember the order of proceedings, yeah?”
On a salute, Jensen walks over and opens the door to our hotel room. “It’s burned into my memory, Morgan.”
“Then my work here is done,” Jon replies as we all step out of the room, dressed in various-colored linen pants and white shirts.
I look down at my blue pants and wonder what Mia will look like in the midnight-blue dress she picked out with Luna. When she found out she was going to be a bridesmaid, I don’t think I’d ever seen her so emotional. It meant everything to her to be part of a day our group had been waiting for since the moment Zach had proposed on Lake Washington.
We reach the end of the hallway and turn left, ready to head out the side exit and step out directly onto the soft white sand.
That’s when I see Kate, Felicity, and Mia step out of their room at the end of the hall with small white bouquets in hand.
She’s only a couple of weeks from turning twenty-three, but as I approach her with the rest of the guys, I pray she’ll be next to me for the rest of my life.
When she steps toward me and away from the others, the long, silky blue gown she wears pools around her feet, hugging every gorgeous line and curve of her body. The neckline rests just above her breasts, and the tiny straps holding the slinky fabric make me think she isn’t wearing a bra.
My dick stirs—I can’t help it.
“Down, boy,” she whispers against my lips as I take her mouth with mine. “We need to keep this PG—at least for a while.”
Someone clears a throat from behind me, and I turn to look at Jensen, who immediately drops his gaze to June and Will. On wobbly legs, they hold on to each of his hands.
“I gave you a free pass with the sheets, but I will accept zero petting around my children.”
I narrow my eyes at him as we all get into order.
“Okay, this is where I leave you.” Jon squeezes Zach’s shoulder. “I’ll see you down the aisle with your wife.”
Since Luna’s dad is basically an estranged asshole and her mom said she couldn’t make the wedding as she’d already booked a vacation with her new husband, Luna asked Jon to give her away.
Dropping his head between his shoulders, Zach takes another deep breath and then leads us out onto the sand, and when we all reach the simple white flower arch that looks over the perfectly still ocean, you can literally hear a pin drop.
“It’s beautiful,” Felicity whispers to Kate.
Only the officiant and our group can be seen on the private island Jon suggested they book.
I lean across to Jensen, who’s standing next to me on the other side of the archway, still holding June’s and Will’s hands. “I gotta hand it to him,” I say. “Jon absolutely nailed this in the end.”
Jensen nods. “I’d say this is a bigger win than the goal-scoring record you secured or lifting our third Stanley this season.”
“J—”
I look down to where the tiny voice came from and see Will holding his free hand out to me.
“Oh, wow.” Mia is the first to speak.
“Did he …” I say to Jensen, not sure if I heard it right.
“He definitely did,” Zach agrees.
Jensen’s brows lift as he looks down at his son. “What was that, little guy?” he asks.
When Will stretches his hand up toward me again, I know he wants me to hold him.
“Can I?” I ask, my eyes shooting to my best friend.
An easy smile breaks out over his face as he picks Will up and hands him to me.
I bring him face-to-face with me, and Will stares at me, his brown eyes wide and matching his dark hair swirling in the coastal breeze.
“You trying to tell me something, buddy?”
“J-Jessie.”
The air in my lungs escapes in a whoosh.
“Jesssssie,” Will repeats.
“Oh my God,” Kate says from across the archway. “Did he just say your name?”
“And his first word,” I croak out.
Tears surface before I can stop them. “Hey, Will.”
Will’s tiny palm comes to my cheek as he continues to stare at me. In his gaze, I see the reflection of the tiny waves as they creep up the shoreline.
Jensen’s hand lands on my shoulder, and I turn to look at him, his eyes as watery as mine.
“I don’t think we could’ve wished for a more perfect first word. You earned it, buddy. You mean the world to him.”
“I definitely have inadequate tissues for today.” Felicity wipes underneath her eyes and then focuses her attention ahead of her as Luna and Jon appear at the end of the empty aisle.
“Breathe, Zachary,” Kate reminds the groom as he holds his breath at the sight of his girl.
“You weren’t kidding, were you?” he says to Kate as Jon and Luna walk slowly toward him.
Her eyes are pinned on Zach, dropping to Aster as she comes to stand next to him under the archway.
Wrapping his hand around the nape of his neck, he grips hard, trying to push back the emotion as it tumbles down his cheeks. “I don’t have words. You look …”
“Like our happily ever after?” she asks.
I look over at my girlfriend as she stands behind Kate, facing Zach and Luna, tears pooling in her green eyes.
She catches me looking at her, and a smile pulls at her lips in response.
Zach nods. “Yeah, Rocket. Exactly like that.”
The following morning is exactly like the previous day—still, peaceful, and with bright sunshine filtering through the blinds of our beach bungalow.
We barely got any sleep last night, the celebrations drifting into the early hours. And when I finally got my girl alone, I had absolutely zero intention of spending the rest of the night in any way other than buried deep inside her.
Mia’s still sleeping when I climb out of bed and pull open the glass door, which leads directly onto a small, decked area and then out onto the beach.
“What do we think, Will?” I speak into the morning air, hoping the ocean breeze will somehow carry my question to him. I look across at my suitcase sitting on top of the trunk at the foot of our bed. “Is it now like we planned?”
A large wave crashes to the shore, stirring Mia awake, and I turn around to see her sitting up in bed, stretching her arms out above her.
She looks perfect, dressed in a silky white nightdress.
Before she can register where I am, I lift the lid on my case and swipe what I need, dropping it into the pocket of my athletic shorts just before she looks up at me and yawns again.
“Hey, baby. What time is it?”
I bring my finger to my lips and hold out my other hand for her to take. “Still early. Take a walk with me?”
She looks around the room. “Sure. Let me grab my robe.”
When she takes my hand and we step onto the cool sand, I feel my body begin to tremble. Although this time, it’s not anxiety or fear that takes over my body’s reaction.
When Mia lets go of my hand and steps into the shallow water, I watch as she turns back to me with a bright smile framed by her dark hair blowing in the wind.
Reaching into my pocket, I turn the small velvet box around in the palm of my hand. It wasn’t hard to find a ring; there could really only be one. When I told Graham about my plan to propose and he gave me Jayne’s engagement ring, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out on giving it to her.
With my dad still in custody, awaiting a trial, which will almost certainly see him behind bars for at least a decade, I finally feel like I have some kind of closure on my past.
But with the help of regular therapy, I’ve never felt closer to Will and Mom. Last week, I even caught myself laughing at a memory I shared with Papa and her at the local diner when I spilled a strawberry shake all over his brand-new pants.
“What are you thinking about, Jessie?” Mia steps toward me, her head cocked slightly to the side in question.
“Just everything,” I answer.
She giggles, the sound inflating my chest. “Well, you wouldn’t be my boyfriend if you weren’t overthinking everything, even surrounded by the calm ocean.”
I bring my eyes to hers. “What if I told you I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore, Mia? What if I wanted to be something else?” I slowly drop to one knee in front of her as I reach into my pocket for the box. “Like your husband?”
She brings her hands to either side of her face, and I open my palm out in front of me, my hands still trembling, and pop the lid.
As soon as I do, petals fly out, scattering across the sand around us, but one stays where it is, caught inside the thin white gold band.
“My mom’s,” she gasps, reaching out to touch the delicate ring. Her eyes flick to mine. “And … freesias. Oh my God, Jessie, freesias.”
Tears tumble down her cheeks just as mine do the same.
“I’m not perfect, Mia. I guess no one ever really is, and I can’t promise you that I won’t struggle at times.” I take a deep breath. “I once told your dad that I wanted to get to a place where I could sit with even the hardest of thoughts and still feel like I was the man you deserved.”
With my other hand, I pull out the ring and hold it between my thumb and finger.
“I know it’s taken a long-ass time, but in my heart, I know I’m there; I’m ready to not just survive, but to spend every second I can making you happy.”
Standing up, I take her left hand in mine and hover the ring over her finger.
She releases a long breath as the tears continue to fall down her cheeks.
“I’ve gotten to the point where forever with you means so much more than it did. Everything in me wishes I could somehow find a way to merge our souls, so there’s no way I can ever lose you because I’m never letting you go, Sweetheart. Not in this life or the next.”
When I push the ring to her knuckle, she looks up at me.
“So, while I find a way of making us eternal, I can offer you this ring and my promise to make you the happiest wife who ever lived. So, will you marry me, Mia?”
She doesn’t hesitate, not even for a millisecond. “Yes!”
She leaps into my arms, and I hold her tight against me as she wraps her legs around my waist.
“I can’t wait to spend my life with you,” I whisper into her neck.
She pulls back, and I catch a tear that falls from her long lashes and into my palm.
A few beats pass between us as she looks out to the ocean. “I wish Ginger could’ve been here. We’ll have to get him a doggy passport next time.”
“Actually, I got a message from Coach this morning.”
Mia smiles. “Oh, yeah? Is the sitting going well?”
I blow out a laugh. “Yeah. Not sure who’s sitting who, but Ginger’s happy.”
Cheering filters from behind, and we both turn to find where the whooping is coming from. Jon, Felicity, Luna, Zach, Aster, Kate, Jensen, and the twins all stand on their verandas, clapping and punching the air.
Taking Mia’s hand in mine, I walk her back up to our friends. They all knew I planned to propose this morning.
Everyone circles around us as Mia shows the girls her mom’s ring, the inside engraved with her parents’ wedding date. Something I plan to add to when we set a date ourselves.
Jensen holds out his hand for me as Zach and Jon join us. “So fucking proud of you, man. Congratulations.”
“Literally couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. The best setting,” I say, looking over my shoulder at the ocean.
Jon smiles. “This is just the beginning too, Jessie. You think it doesn’t get any better, but when she’s that damn special”—he pauses and looks over at his wife—“you could go anywhere, be anything, and still feel like the luckiest guy alive.”
Narrowing his eyes at his best friend, Zach swipes a hand across his mouth. “Getting a little philosophical on us for an early morning, aren’t you, Cap?”
In response, Jon drops his eyes to the sand beneath his feet and shrugs his shoulders. “I guess I’m just saying that not everything stays the same.”
“Okay …” Jensen drawls.
From over my shoulder, I watch as Mia shows June, Will, and Aster her ring, but as I’m about to turn back around, I catch sight of Felicity, who looks at Jon, nodding just once at him.
Zach looks at his best friend. “What’s this all about, Jon?”
Running his tongue across his bottom lip, Jon puffs out a slow breath. “Seattle has been really good to me. I found my family here, and over the past few years, I’ve looked on as my friends have built a life for themselves.” He looks to Zach. “You with Luna and Aster, another baby on the way.”
He tips his chin at Jensen and then over his shoulder at Kate and the twins. “You finally got the girl you wanted to love you, JJ.”
And then his eyes finally land on me. “And you’ve got everything ahead of you, Jessie. It’s been an amazing journey. Seattle has changed my life, but now … now, I need to help make my stepson’s dreams a reality. In New York.”
Zach’s eyes practically leave his head. “Wait, what?”
“He got signed by the Blades, didn’t he?” Jensen asks.
Rolling his lips together, Jon nods. “I haven’t been able to tell you until now, but he signed his contract last week. He’ll spend a year in the AHL, and if he impresses management, they’ll likely offer him pro terms in the NHL.”
“Wow,” I say. “Jack Thompson, taking on the NHL. He’ll kill it; I know he will.”
“Well, that’s the other thing.” Jon smirks, running a hand through his hair. “We’re about to enter a new Morgan era. He’s taking my name.”
“And you absolutely love that, right?” Jensen laughs.
“Yep.” He pops the P . “When he told me he wanted to take my name and play as a Morgan, I gotta admit, my heart exploded. Can’t say I was too excited about him wearing his dad’s family name either.”
“I’ll say. So, other than the return of a Morgan to the league, where do you fit into this?” Zach asks.
A smile breaks out across my face as the pieces all fall into place.
Since the season when the Blades’ assistant captain, Alex Schneider, took out Zach on the ice, they’ve been cycling through coaches, trying to find the right fit to rebuild their struggling team and culture without success. I’d take a guess that they think Jon is the guy they’ve been searching for, and they’d be a hundred percent right.
“They offered you the coaching job, didn’t they?”
“They might be our rivals, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Jon replies. “And when Felicity got her transfer to the New York office, I knew it was time.”
Blowing out a long breath, Zach plants a hand on Jon’s shoulder. “Fuck me, man. I guess all I can say is congratulations. This is huge.”
When the rest of the girls join us with the kids, his wife wraps her arms around Jon’s neck.
With emotion in her eyes, it’s obvious Felicity just broke the same news to the girls. “I guess all chapters come to an end at some point,” she says, leaning across and planting a soft kiss in Kate’s hair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, babe. We just had to wait for confirmation on everything.”
Swiping under her eye, Kate smiles at Jon and Felicity sweetly. “It’s fine. Now we have the best excuse for retail therapy in Manhattan.”
“Ah, blissful. Maybe we could even take in a Broadway show when we visit,” Mia coos.
I reach my hand out to the side, wrapping my little finger around hers. “Exactly. Amazing things ahead for us all.”
Luna nods. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past couple of years, it’s that when you truly love each other, distance really doesn’t matter.”
“Damn straight,” Jon agrees.
Bending down and picking up June, Jensen holds her in his arms. “What a journey we’ve had though, right?”
“Only more to come.”
Jon looks at Zach, an all-too-familiar expression on his face. “Definitely. But I don’t plan on taking it easy on you, buddy.”
“We won’t need it,” I retort.
From beside me, Mia giggles. “Okay, this sounds like a whole heap of fun.”
Lifting his chin, Zach holds out a hand to his former teammate and captain, and as Jon takes it, they both crack huge smiles.
“It’s gonna be real fun, lifting that cup next season.”
With his shoulders shaking, Zach drops his gaze to the ground before lifting his eyes to Jon. “Bring it.”
THE END