Epilogue #2
Andi had made tiramisu cups that morning, making her whole apartment smell like espresso and mascarpone.
I'd made the mistake of mentioning once, just once, that tiramisu wasn't really my thing, and somehow that had made her more determined to perfect it until I changed my mind.
I watched her check that the plastic wrap was still secure before we got out, focused and careful.
As I watched her, I thought that I would eat tiramisu every day for the rest of my life without a single complaint if it would make her happy.
"I've got it," I said, taking the dish from her.
She looked up. Something in my expression made her pause. "What?"
"Nothing." I kissed her once, quickly, before Charisse could witness it and say something devastating. "Let's go."
"Don't chicken out," Charisse said, and bolted from the car before I could respond.
The front door opened before I could knock. Danny stood there in jeans and a tight t-shirt, looking impressed with himself and grinning wide.
"The man of the hour arrives!" He stepped aside. "Come in, come in."
Andi ducked past him with a kiss on his cheek and disappeared into the noise inside. Danny watched her go, then turned back to me with a look that had trouble written all over it.
"Fair warning," he said, dropping his voice. "I told Ma you were bringing lasagna because you thought you could make it better."
"What the fuck, Danny! You trying to get me killed?!"
He laughed. The fucker actually laughed as he slapped my back. "Guy, Ma's been interrogating my girlfriend like she's applying for the CIA. I needed something to pull the heat off of us!"
"So you picked me? Asshole!" I shoulder-checked him, moving through the front hallway. "You do know that payback is a bitch, and she's looking to cause pain, right?"
"Hey! I'm the baby. Don't I deserve a minute to breathe?"
"Not at my expense, dick. Pick on Andi. She can do no wrong in Pat's eyes."
"Nah. I love my sister too much."
"Ass. Did Andi tell you there's a bet going on? Joey's got fifty on your girl not making it through the month."
Danny winced. "I'm aware. If Ma doesn't quit with the third degree, he's going to collect before the end of the night."
"So where is she?"
"Hiding in the bathroom, probably." He laughed. "Clock's ticking."
"You're an ass. Go save her, man."
"Meh. If she can't survive family dinner night, she won't make it anyway."
I shook my head. He's not wrong, but damn, that's painful. I made my way through the house toward the kitchen. The noise level increased with every step, with multiple conversations overlapping and kids shrieking in the backyard.
The weight in my jacket pocket felt heavier with each step. What if she didn't—
"Gavin!" Patty appeared, wooden spoon in hand. "I heard you think you can make lasagna better than me!"
"Danny's full of shit, Pat. I would never say something so ridiculously untrue!"
"Language!" But she was smiling. She looked at the tiramisu dish I was carrying, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, what's this?"
"Andi made tiramisu cups," I said, handing it over carefully.
"She's trying to make me fat!" Pat said.
"No such thing, Ma! That's a bad word we don't use in this house!" Andi called out. There was laughter from the other room.
Patty beamed and carried the dish off toward the kitchen.
I followed the sound of Andi's voice until I found her, already swept up in conversation with Rachel, Tommy's wife, near the back window.
I wrapped her up in my arms when I reached her and kissed her, ignoring the catcalls that rose immediately from somewhere to my left.
I let the chaos swirl around us, enjoying every moment, and I felt the box in my pocket. Yes.
Dinner was family-style chaos. I ended up between Andi and Charisse, with Danny's terrified girlfriend across from us. No way was she going to last. You can't cower to this group. They will eat you alive.
"Sammy, sit!" Rachel called.
"But Charisse—"
"Both of you!"
Patty stood at the head of the table. "Grace. Now."
Everyone bowed heads.
"Lord," Patty began over the noise, "thank you for this food and for giving me another day where I didn't murder my children yet. Amen."
"Amen!"
Food moved in organized chaos. Conversations overlapped. I felt Andi's hand find mine under the table.
My other hand went to my pocket.
"So, Gavin," Joey said loudly. "What are your intentions for my sister?"
The table went quiet. There it is.
"Joey!" Andi hissed.
"What? You're at his place constantly. Your toothbrush is there. Doing the hibbitty dibbitty and running away every night!"
"It's not—we're not—"
"It kind of is, though," Mike added.
I felt Charisse kick me under the table.
Okay. Now. I stood up. All eyes turned to me.
"Actually, Joey has a point."
"Gavin," Andi whispered. "What the hell are you—"
"Your stuff is everywhere in my apartment. Your clothes. Your terrible pun mugs and, more recently, a giant espresso machine that only you know how to use." I pulled the small box out of my pocket. "And I think it's ridiculous that you leave every night when you could just stay."
Andi's eyes locked on the box.
I opened it, revealing a key with a coffee cup keychain.
"So I'm asking you—in front of your entire family—will you move in with me?"
Silence.
Then Patty burst out, "What the hell?!"
Charisse shrieked, giggling like a hyena, looking like she might burst.
"Holy shit!" Danny yelled, standing up.
"DANIEL!"
"That's not a ring!" Joey said, his voice rising with indignation.
"Damn right it's not a ring! What the fuck is happening here? Is that a fucking key?" Tommy was already pushing his chair back.
But I only watched Andi, who stared at the key with confusion.
"You want me to move in?" She whispered, curiosity and confusion rolling through her voice.
"I want you to stop visiting and start living there. Permanently." I stepped closer. "Charisse picked the keychain."
"Gavin Byrne, what the HELL do you think you're doing?!" Tommy's voice could shatter glass.
"You're asking her to MOVE IN?" Mike was on his feet. "Just move in? Like she's some—"
"Sit your ass DOWN, Gavin!" Danny pointed at me. "Before I—"
"Wait. Would you all just shut up for a second?" Andi's voice was firm. Discomfort written all over her face, but she looked at me. "I don't understand—"
"Look closer," I said quietly, holding the box out to her.
Andi's eyes dropped back to the box. To the key with its coffee cup keychain. And then she saw it.
The coffee cup charm wasn't alone on the keychain. There, slipped onto the metal loop alongside it, glinted an engagement ring. With three diamonds catching the overhead light, it had been masquerading as just another trinket beside the brass key.
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God."
"What?" Patty demanded. "What is it?"
"There's a ring," Andi whispered. "There's a ring on the keychain."
The table went silent.
Every eye locked onto the small box in my hand.
"I'm asking you to marry me," I said as I dropped to one knee, my voice steady despite my racing heart. "And also to move in with us, because I can't imagine Charisse and I living any kind of life where you weren't there at the start and the end of every day—the three of us as a family."
The room froze in a collective inhale. Only Charisse's urgent whispers broke the silence, her voice barely audible as she chanted like a prayer, "Say yes. Please say yes."
Then Patty burst into tears. Real ones this time. "Oh, thank God! I thought you were—"
"Bro. I was about to knock you out!" Tommy said, but he was grinning now.
"Fuck, man!" Joey collapsed back in his chair. "You almost gave us all heart attacks!"
"That's the most brilliant thing I've ever seen," Mike said, laughing. "A ring on a keychain. You almost died, man."
"Say yes!" Sammy shrieked. "Say yes, Aunt Andi!"
But I only watched Andi, who was staring at the ring with tears streaming down her face.
"Yes," she whispered. Then louder: "Yes! Yes to all of it!"
The table erupted.
I pulled the ring free from the keychain, my fingers fumbling as I was shaking. I slid it onto her finger, then kissed her while her entire family went absolutely insane around us.
"You're insane," she said against my lips.
"You said yes."
"You almost died tonight."
"Worth it." I grinned. "Did you see their faces?"
"I thought Tommy was going to flip the table!"
"I WAS going to flip the table!" Tommy shouted, but he was laughing.
Tom stood up, beer in hand. "A toast! To Gavin—for having the balls to scare the shit out of all of us—"
"TOM!"
"—and to my baby girl, Andi. He'll never understand how lucky he is, but he's the luckiest man in the world, second only to me. Welcome to the family, son. Officially."
"OFFICIALLY!" everyone shouted.
Danny's girlfriend chose that moment to whisper something in his ear and then quietly slip out the back door. Joey collected his fifty dollars with a triumphant grin, and I shook my head. Poor girl never stood a chance.
Charisse launched herself at us, wrapping her arms around both of us. "We did it, Dad! They totally thought you were just asking her to move in!"
"Pretty good plan, yeah, Bug?" I asked, ruffling her hair.
"Best plan ever," Charisse declared.
Later, after dessert, after the chaos had mellowed into coffee and conversation, Andi pulled me aside.
She held up her hand, watching the ring catch the light.
She was quiet for a moment, and softly she said, "I spent a long time waiting to be someone's first choice.
" She exhaled slowly, shoulders dropping.
"I didn't realize until just now, that I'd stopped holding my breath when I met you. "
"Well, you can keep breathing because you'll always be my first choice.
You are my always." I pulled her against me, one hand cradling the back of her head as our lips met with the kind of kiss that makes you forget where you are—the kind that feels like coming home and setting out on an adventure all at once.
Her fingers curled into my shirt, holding on like she'd never let go.
From the living room: "Andrea! Gavin! We need to make lists!"
Andi's lips lingered against mine for a heartbeat longer before she drew back, her exhale warm against my chin. The corners of her mouth curled upward as she shook her head, eyes bright despite the theatrical roll that followed. "And so it begins."
"Ready to do this?"
"With you? Always."
We walked back into the chaos together, her fingers laced through mine, while the coffee cup keychain with its brass promise jingled softly in her pocket with each step.
I had never felt more at home in my life.