Epilogue #2
I clear my throat. “From the moment I met you, you brought something into my life I didn’t even realize was missing.
Until you, I had been walking around numb for years.
Then suddenly, I felt everything all at once.
Joy. Hope. Grief. Love. And while every part of me thought I should stay away from you, I’m glad I didn’t.
Because you’ve been the brightest light, guiding me toward a life I never thought I’d have.
I don’t know if I deserve you, but if you’ll let me, I’ll spend forever trying to prove that I do. So, Marley. Will you marry me?”
She pulls me to my feet, giving me barely a second to steady myself before launching into my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist, her hands gripping my face, as she kisses me like it’s been months instead of seconds.
I pull back just enough to mumble against her lips, “I take that as a yes?”
She cups my face, pressing one last kiss to my lips. “Yes, Theo. A thousand times yes.”
There are no words to convey the feeling bursting in my chest. Not once in my life did I foresee meeting a person who would forever change the trajectory of my life. But now, here she stands before me. Staring at me like I’m worthwhile, like she loves me for me.
Slowly sliding down the length of my body, her hands settle on my chest. I try to restrain myself when her hips press a figure eight right into my pelvis, but it’s damn near impossible. She’s too damn sexy, even when I’m trying to propose.
And my brain? Already planning the multiple ways I want to celebrate with her later. In bed. On the countertop. Against the—fuck. Focus.
I lift her hand from my chest, slipping the oval-shaped diamond onto her left ring finger.
Still holding her hand, we both stare at it, taking in the weight of it and the way it sits so perfectly on her finger. I press my lips to the ring on her finger once again, letting the surreal feeling wash over me. That my favorite person in the entire world is about to be my wife.
Her hands find their way to my jaw, and she smiles up at me with a look of pure adoration. “Guess the bouquet and garter wins were correct.”
“I had a feeling they would be.”
“You did?” she asks, surprised. “Honestly, I thought you despised me.”
“I was petrified,” I admit. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I had this sudden overwhelming feeling. A premonition. I took one look at you and thought … shit. I’m in trouble.”
“Trouble?” She laughs.
“Yeah. The kind that changes everything. Because right after that, I felt it. Certainty. Like something inside me woke up. And I haven’t felt the same since.”
“Guess we should’ve just eloped that night like I suggested. Would’ve saved us all this trouble.”
I huff out a laugh. “Think I would’ve stood a chance if I’d taken you up on that eloping offer?”
Her eyes are bright, shining. “Ask me this time and find out.”
My pulse pounds as I look at her, the woman who’s been turning my world upside down from the moment I met her.
“Marley James, will you marry me? Right here, right now?”
“Hm, let me think about it,” she teases, clearly enjoying herself.
I raise a brow. “Marley.”
Laughing, she throws her arms around my neck. “Obviously, yes.”
Then she pulls back, glancing around, pivoting as if expecting someone to magically appear in the empty theater. “Who’s going to marry us though?”
Like that, it clicks, a figurative lightbulb popping up above my head like in the cartoons. There’s only one other person here who could make this moment come full circle. The man who helped me light hundreds of candles minutes before.
And lucky for us, he also happens to be legally qualified.
I cup my hands to my mouth and shout. “Hey, Noah! Get your ass in here.”
A side door is thrown open, and Noah sticks his head in, brows raised, eyes wide. “Everything okay in here, folks?”
When Marley sees that her cousin is here, too, she knows exactly where I’m going with this.
“We have a favor to ask,” I tell him as he jogs closer.
Once he’s within earshot, Marley asks, “Hey, are you still ordained from that time you married your friends in Big Sur?”
“Yep, sure am,” he replies, clearly proud of himself for yielding so much power. “Why?”
Marley grins, knowing he’s about to lose his mind. “Because we want you to marry us.”
Noah blinks, then whoops out a laugh, shaking our hands like we’ve awarded him the highest honor. “No fucking way. Of course, I will. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
“Consider this an impromptu elopement,” Marley says, grinning as her cousin’s eyes widen. “No license, no dress, none of the usual stuff that makes it official. But we’ll figure all that out later. Right now, we just want to be married.”
For a second, he stares at us, like we’ve told him we’re about to board a spaceship to Mars. Then his face breaks into a huge grin. “You two are absolutely insane. And I fucking love it.”
That’s how I found myself here—center stage and hand-in-hand, about to marry the only person who’s ever made me believe in forever.
My heart pounds as I look at her, this woman who flipped my entire world upside down without even trying.
Do I deserve her? Probably not. But I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets saying yes.
From the moment I stood beside her, I knew everything would change.
Loving her wasn’t a decision. It was gravity. Undeniable. Unstoppable.
I didn’t believe in fate. Still don’t, really. But I believe in her, and somehow that turned out to be the same thing.
THE END