Epilogue #2
He hugs me back. “I love you, Kai, you know that. And I love your son.”
“Your grandson, you mean?” I ask in a teasing tone.
“I swear to God if you start calling me Grandpa at work, I will kick your ass. But yeah, I love my grandson too, and I’m happy you’re finally making this all official.”
“To Max turning two.” Ryan holds his beer out to cheers with mine.
“To Kai and Miller,” Zanders corrects. “For keeping him alive.”
“Yeah, well we’ve got a pretty good support system behind us.”
The backyard is full of our friends, including the team staff and Miller’s employees from the bakery. The only people missing are the guys from the team, most notably, my brother.
Every year before the season starts, the team takes a trip together.
They like to say it’s for bonding purposes when in reality, it’s an excuse to spend a few days drunk by a pool.
This year they chose Vegas and, though Isaiah begged me to come, I made the very easy decision to stay home with my family.
With the season starting in a couple of weeks, I want to soak in as much time at home as possible. Max and Miller won’t be traveling with us this year. With Miller’s business taking off and Max getting older, it’s time to transition him away from my hectic schedule.
The two of them will, however, come join us on the road for a night or two every month and that feels like a good enough compromise until I can be home full-time with them.
And Miller’s office at the bakery can double as a playroom so Max can spend time with her there.
Between the two of us and the friends who have offered to help us fill in any gaps in our schedule, I don’t think Max will ever need another full-time nanny.
Ryan looks around the party. “Miller’s really stepping into this whole new mom role, huh?”
I find her sitting on a blanket with Stevie and Indy, baby Taylor laying on her back with Max watching his new friend adoringly from above.
The crew is growing and I’m excited for Max that he won’t be the lone kid around here anymore.
“Dude, she loves it. It’s wild to me that just six months ago, she thought she wouldn’t be good at it. She’s a natural, and every time I see her with Max, I get hit with the craziest baby fever.” I shake my head. “I want to knock her up so badly.”
“Yes,” Zanders agrees. “Watching Stevie be a mom over the past four months is seriously one of the most attractive things I’ve ever witnessed.”
We both turn towards Ryan, who is attempting to suppress his smile. He’s going to understand how we feel real soon because they just found out Indy is pregnant.
He nudges me. “When are you and Miller going to have another?”
“I’m ready, but she’s so busy with work and everything that we agreed we’d try once I officially retire.”
“Stay-at-home dad.” Zanders nods in approval. “Sounds amazing.”
“I can’t wait.”
The truth is, in theory Miller and I are going to wait, but we aren’t doing much to prevent it from happening now either.
So, if we get hit with a surprise pregnancy, it won’t be much of a surprise at all.
And there isn’t a person on the planet who could change my mind.
I will be retiring once baby number two is here.
A bit of noise comes from inside the house, and I turn to find my entire team finally here to join the party.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my friends. “I need to go check on my brother.”
I welcome my teammates, pointing them in the direction of the food and drinks, before I make my way to the front entryway where Cody, Travis, and Isaiah seem to be having a private conversation.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my tone suspicious. “And why are you guys so late?”
The three of them look to each other, silently communicating.
“Your brother is an idiot,” Travis finally says.
“Trav, what the hell?” Isaiah shoots him a warning glance. “We agreed not to say anything today.”
Travis simply shrugs.
“I don’t know,” Cody cuts in. “I think the whole thing is romantic.”
“It’s not romantic,” Travis corrects. “It was a drunken mistake. A very dumb, drunken mistake.”
Confused, my attention bounces between all three of them. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”
Travis looks right at my brother. “Just tell him.”
Isaiah plasters on a smile that is so forced, it’s clear he’s trying to convince me I shouldn’t be mad at him.
Then he holds up his left hand so I can see the wedding band living on his ring finger.
“What the fuck is that?”
“It’s a wedding ring because... surprise! I got married!”
“You what?”
“Got hitched. Tied the knot. Took the plunge.”
“I understand what it means to get married, Isaiah, but who the fuck did you get married to?”
“Oh, I love this part!” Cody pipes up.
Isaiah’s smile is equal parts sheepish as it is thrilled. “Kennedy.”
“Kennedy?” I ask in disbelief. “Kennedy Kay?”
“Kennedy Rhodes as of last night, but yes.”
“But she...” I stutter. “She hates you.”
“Well, you see about that. Turns out, after about eight shots of tequila, she doesn’t hate me all that much.”
I look back to the other guys, waiting for someone to tell me this is one big joke, one of their stupid pranks they like to pull.
It’s evident by their expressions, it’s not a prank.
“Wait, what? You’re telling me Kennedy went to Vegas with you guys? She never goes out with the team.”
“She was there for a different reason. We ran into each other on the strip.”
“And you got married?”
“Yeah, we were both a little surprised over that part when we woke up this morning too.”
“Kennedy will lose her job over this.”
Isaiah quickly shakes his head. “She won’t.”
“You need to get this annulled and just pray that team management doesn’t find out about this, because if they do, I can promise one of you is getting fired and we all know that someone isn’t going to be you.” I shake my head in disbelief. “I assume she’s not coming to the party anymore.”
“Probably not.”
“I don’t know what’s more unbelievable,” Cody laughs. “That Kennedy married you or that Dean fucking Cartwright is now your brother-in-law.”
“Oh fuck me.”
“Kai!” Miller calls from the backyard, Max’s hand in hers. “Are you ready for cake?”
I turn back to my brother. “Take the fucking ring off before you go sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your nephew. Miller can’t find out about this today. I’m proposing tonight and the last thing I need is for my brother to steal her thunder over a drunken mistake.”
“Mistake seems harsh,” he counters. “I like the term, ‘happy accident’.”
“Is that what Kennedy is calling it?”
“Oh, no. She definitely called it a mistake.”
Miller gets Max situated in a seat with his birthday cake on the table in front of him.
He’s got an adorably cute smile on his face, rosy cheeks from all the attention.
I get the candle lit for him and make sure he’s enough of a distance away while the entire backyard of our friends start to sing him “Happy Birthday”.
I wrap my arms around Miller’s shoulders from behind, holding her as we sing to our son. He’s so giddy, his blue eyes scanning the crowd to see everyone who loves him.
When the time comes, we prompt him to blow out the candle, but he needs a little help so his uncle steps in to blow it with him and, when they finally get it out, Max sits up straight and claps for himself, urging the crowd to clap with him.
Miller laughs in my arms and I pull her closer.
Leaning down, I kiss the skin under her ear. “You and me, Mills, we’re doing good.”
She finds my forearm, holding me. “Yeah, we are, aren’t we?”
Once the party is cleared out and only our closest friends remain, we let Max open a few gifts as we sit around in a circle and watch him do his thing in the center. Miller is curled up on my lap with a glass of wine in her hand at the end of another one of our good days.
“Wow!” Max exclaims as he pulls out a small wooden train from the gift bag Monty brought. “Twain!”
Every present he’s opened has been revealed with a “Wow” and it has yet to get old.
“I got you a whole train set ,” Monty explains. “Your dad and I are going to set it up in your room tomorrow.”
Max gets on his hands and knees, pushing the train around on the ground, making choo-choo noises the entire time.
“It looks like there’s one more present,” Isaiah says, holding up the tiny gift bag.
The nerves instantly take over and I feel my body tense.
Miller looks at me over her shoulder in confusion. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I exhale, shifting in my seat, trying to figure out how I’m going to casually get her off my lap so I can get down on one knee.
Isaiah looks around the bag. “I’m not sure who it’s from, though.”
That seems like a good opening. “Let me see.” I usher Miller off my lap and onto the chair. Taking the bag from my brother, I look inside, pretending I have no idea what this is.
“Max, come here for a second.”
He leaves his train behind, shuffling his way to me.
I hold him close, showing him the inside of the bag before I whisper, “This one is for your mom. Can you go give it to her for me?”
On a mission with a smile, Max takes the bag right to Miller, holding it up for her. “Mama, you.”
“For me?” she asks him. “But it’s your birthday. Why am I getting a present?”
Her confused gaze finds mine, but I simply shrug her off.
“You’ll help me open it, right?” she asks, and Max nods before climbing into her lap.
Miller sets her glass of wine down and holds the bag down in her lap so Max can feel like he’s helping.
I make quick eye contact with both my brother and Monty, the two of them so obviously excited, as I find my way in front of my two favorite people.
“What do you think this is?” Miller asks Max in a high-pitched voice, not quite catching on to what’s in the bag.
That is until her fingers graze the velvet box and her eyes shoot to me. “No.”
I chuckle. “You’re saying no already? I haven’t even asked.”
“Malakai.” She tilts her head, her lip jutting out.
“What is it?” Indy asks from behind me.
Miller pulls out the small box just as I get down on one knee.
“Let’s go!” Ryan cheers.
“Miller Montgomery,” I begin, but she cuts me off before I can continue.
She points at the tear that’s already falling down her face. “I hate you for this.”
“It really wouldn’t be a proper proposal for us without you telling me how much you hate me, huh?”
She laughs that watery laugh, and I carefully take the box from her hand.
“Miller Montgomery—”
“Yes! The answer is yes.”
“Okay,” I chuckle. “Thank you for the vote of confidence but I still got to get this out.”
She hugs our son to her chest, her chin leaning on his head as I make this little speech to both of them.
“I wanted to ask you the second you came back, but I was trying to give you the space to grow into this new life without asking too much of you. But I can’t wait any longer.
There’s no one else I want to raise him, and hopefully a few more babies, with.
You’re my closest friend and the person I have the most fun with.
I love you, Miller, and I’m pretty envious that Max gets to call you Mom because I’d really like the opportunity to call you my wife. ”
She huffs a choked laugh.
I open the box and Miller’s eyes dart to her dad when she sees the ring, clearly knowing its original intention.
With her tears falling quicker now, her attention comes right back to me where I’m kneeled in front of her. “What do you say, Mills? Will you marry me?” I glance down at Max. “ Us ?”
My entire world is looking right back at me, this family I’ve longed for, dreamt for, and the three of us have never felt more complete than when she takes a deep breath, smiles at me, and simply says, “Yes.”
THE END