Epilogue #2
“Thanks,” she laughs, even as the tears continue to fall, “but I’ll risk it.”
“Might want to close your eyes, bud. I’m about to take one of my two allotted kisses,” I tease.
Huffing, he does as he’s told. And once she’s ensured she won’t offend him, Sienna jumps into my arms and wraps her legs around my waist. Holding her tight, I kiss the ever-loving shit out of her. Screw the two-kiss rule.
“I’m so proud of you.” She beams.
“Thank you, baby. It means the world to me that you’re here. I love you.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love you.”
War smacks me on the shoulder, breaking us apart. “Come on. We’re gonna take the kids around the ice.” He’s already got Scarlett on one shoulder and Josie on the other, and Brayden has his little brother in his arms.
I eye Ollie. “You willing to risk the stench for a ride around the ice?”
He tilts his head, his lips pursed, like he actually has to think about it, then nods sharply.
One by one, the guys take off with their children, some helping those who have multiple.
Brooks carries baby Taylor, who’s dressed in head-to-toe blue, and Aiden has Addie on the front of his skates.
Snow tosses Beckett’s son Finn onto his shoulders, and the rest of the older kids rush the ice in their sneakers, making it a full-on family affair.
It’s the best damn way to end my career. And as “Blank Space” plays through the speakers, we all sing the Bolts’ version. We’re officially legends, and we love this game.
Sienna
Aiden: So on a scale of one to ten, how late will you be?
Beckett: I’m here.
Gavin: Same.
Brooks: Walking in now.
Aiden: Obviously not talking to you.
Beckett: Which you?
Aiden: Duck.
Aiden: I mean duck.
Beckett: Hahahahaha.
Gavin: Should we say it?
Brooks: Definitely feels like he deserves it.
Me: Goose!
Beckett: There she is!
Aiden: Her! You! How late will you be?
“We’re going to be late.” I shift in my seat and frown at Noah.
The party is in the opposite direction, but he insisted on stopping by the arena first.
“Screw the party,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“We can’t ditch this. It’s your retirement party.”
With a scoff, he shifts into park.
He looks so good tonight. He’s all dressed up in a black tuxedo, his brown hair swept to the side, his blue eyes dazzling behind the pair of black frames that make my knees weak. He has boxes and boxes of contacts at home, yet he chooses to wear the glasses because he knows they make me hot.
My dress is more revealing than my usual clothing choices these days, calling back to a younger, more reckless Sienna.
The Sienna who reveled in taunting the man in the villa next door.
It’s dangerously low-cut, the V ending just above my belly button.
Think JLo’s green dress but red, with a gold seashell belt that I squealed when I found.
The garment is my design. The first for my new boutique based in Boston. The boutique I’ll open once I’ve found the right space. I’ve done little more than tell my brothers that I’m stepping down from the organization and sketch designs.
“Can I put this on you?” He holds up a black silk blindfold.
I shimmy my shoulders. “Oh, kinky.”
With a chuckle, he throws his car door open. He helps me out of the passenger side and kisses me thoroughly before placing his hands on my shoulders and spinning me to face the car.
“Just a few seconds of darkness.”
He’s gentle as he slips the blindfold over my eyes, careful not to mess up my hair. Then he lifts me into his arms.
Giggling, I cling to his neck. “Well, this is fun.”
He hums, but as he heads toward our destination, he’s silent. I listen to his footsteps the whole way, trying to discern our location.
When he finally sets my feet on the ground, he holds on tight, ensuring I’m steady. Then, with his lips against my ear, he says, “Six years ago, I met a girl on a plane, and she stole my heart.”
A shiver courses up my spine.
“We had the most incredible few days,” he continues, “but she had a whole new life ahead of her. So she asked me to put my name and number in a book, swearing that if she found it, we were meant to reconnect.”
I grin, my eyes tearing up behind the blindfold. Our story will never not make me emotional.
“I promised I would. I’d write my name and number on the title page, then send that book out into the universe, hoping one day it would find its way to her. But I have a secret, baby.” He presses a kiss below my ear. “I lied.”
I suck in a shocked breath. “What—”
He eases the blindfold from my eyes, distracting me from my confusion.
I squint beneath the overhead lights, a bookshelf coming into focus as my vision clears. It’s flush against the wall and it’s stuffed full. There have to be a hundred paperbacks lining the shelves, each one with an identical spine.
Heart racing, I glance at Noah. “Are they—”
Nodding, he squeezes my arms. “I got back as many as I could find. Called every bookstore in Paris. Practically put out an APB.”
I walk to the bookshelf, my heels clicking loudly in the quiet space, and pluck one from its shelf. It’s the book he brought with him on the plane all those years ago. But not. Because the original is on a shelf in my bedroom.
“Wait, I have the original, right?”
Noah sidles up next to me and nods. “I cheated. I would have done anything to find you, sweet cheeks.”
I chuckle at the old nickname.
“But yes. That’s the only one signed by Hannah, so I know it’s the original.”
My heart takes flight. This man. He tried so hard, sending dozens upon dozens of books, maybe more, out into the world. Yet that single dollar bill and the original book are what brought us back together.
But this? His dedication? It brings tears to my eyes.
I open the book to the first page and smile at the sight of his name and number.
The message gives me pause. It’s not the same as the original.
It’s been two years, and still I think of you. Come back to me, butterfly.
“Noah,” I breathe. “Did you write a message in them all?” I pick up the next one without waiting for a response.
“My son took his first steps today,” I read, “and a butterfly landed on his shoulder. Definitely not a happy coincidence. It’s fate, sweet cheeks.”
My vision blurs as I turn to the love of my life. When I find him down on one knee, my heart stops and my breath catches.
“For years,” he says, “I missed you. I ordered dozens of books and sent them around Boston and Paris in hopes that one day you’d find at least one of them. I added little notes about my life in some. In others, I told you how deeply I wished to find you again. How much I missed you.”
The setting sun casts the room in a pink hue and turns his irises crystalline.
“You are the love of my life. I knew it then and I know it now. The universe has given me everything I could have asked for. And I’ll consider myself the luckiest man alive if you’ll agree to be my wife.
” He opens his hand, and a turquoise and diamond ring glistens in the light. “Marry me, butterfly.”
With a hand to my mouth and tears in my eyes, I nod over and over. “Yes. You’re all I could ask for too. You and Ollie and—” I suck in a breath. This time I’m the one with the surprise. Licking my lips, I angle closer. “Just you and Ollie and our baby.”
He lets out a soft sob, his eyes welling with tears too.
“If I have nothing else, that will be enough.”
He scrambles to his feet, his cheeks damp and his eyes wide. “Did you say baby?”
I grin at him through my tears. “I took the test this morning. I wanted to wait until after your party to tell you.”
With a whoop, he picks me up and spins. “We’re having a baby!”
I laugh. “Yes. We’re having a baby.”
He comes to a stop, but he doesn’t put me down. “And you’re going to marry me?”
I drop a kiss to his lips and angle back. “Of course I’m going to marry you.”
Carefully, he eases me to the floor. He slips the ring onto my finger and kisses my knuckles. Then he flips my hand over and presses his mouth to my wrist, tracing the butterfly tattoo with his lips.
“I love you,” he says, lips still on my wrist.
“I love you too.” I cup his cheeks and swipe his tears away with my thumbs. “Wait.” I drop my hands. “What is this place?”
He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I had a whole thing planned, but you threw me for a loop with your news.” With a hand splayed over my stomach, he rests his forehead against mine. “We’re having a baby.”
Fresh waves of tears crest my lashes.
“Picture this,” he says, pulling me against him.
“Racks filled with your designs in that corner.” He points to the left, then to the window, where the sky has turned purple.
“Maybe a mannequin or two in the window, showcasing your favorites.” With his hands on my hips, he turns so we’re facing the opposite direction.
“A couch and a chair in that corner, where you can meet with clients. A dressing room back there.”
I turn in his arms, my head tipped back. “This is my boutique?”
His lips quirk up on one side. “If you want it to be.” He takes my hand and guides me to the window. “Look.” He nods. “It’s right across from Langfield Corp, and since I’ll be there, I could visit you every day.”
I frown and look from the Langfield structures to him and back. “Why will you be at Langfield Corp?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m the new GM of the Boston Bolts.”
All the breath escapes my lungs. “Really?”
“Yup. Really.” He dips in close and nuzzles my neck. “You see, my fiancée has four older brothers, and as luck would have it, they like me so much, they offered me a position in the family business.”
I snort. “And to think we were afraid of how they’d react.” I throw my arms around his neck and pop up on my toes. “This is the best day ever.”
He laughs. “Baby, I have a feeling every day of our lives is going to be like this. So long as I have you.”
The door near the front windows flies open, and Sara darts in, squealing. “Did she say yes?”
One by one, my brothers and their wives file in, then Hannah and Daniel, all wearing hopeful expressions.
Noah is right. With him, every day is better than the last. What we have is special. It’s rare. Not just our love, but this family of ours.
And the family we’re creating together.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was serendipity. Or maybe it was just a bunch of happy coincidences. Regardless, I have no doubt that we’ll live happily ever after. Every single one of us.
THE END