18. Epilogue – Emily
1 YEAR LATER
“Before we get to the final round of questions, I want to take a moment to thank you all for coming tonight,” I say into the mic, beaming at the crowded bar in front of me. “Gosh. I can’t believe this is our twenty-fifth trivia night. Mostly because it took a hell of a lot of convincing to get Rock to agree to do this many.”
The crowd laughs, lots of glances going in Rock’s direction, where he’s standing behind the bar drying pint glasses. He shrugs and smiles, like he can’t help being the way he is. As I look at him, I bite back a smile of my own, feeling so grateful that a year into our relationship, things are still going strong. That’s not to say that there haven’t been plenty of disagreements between us, but we’ve both put our all into making this relationship work. Things are really, really good between us.
I look into the crowd, easily finding the faces I’m searching for. Jenn, Paige, and Wes are sitting together at one table, and a few feet away, my parents are at a table with a couple they befriended at a previous trivia night. I’m happy to report that in the past year, my parents have come to the bar a handful of times. The first time they came, I could tell how uncomfortable they were, but by the second visit they were a lot more at ease. It means the world to me that they’re finally supportive of our business—and, of course, that they adore Rock as much as they do now.
Shockingly enough, my mom has even stayed true to her word and hasn’t dropped a single hint about wanting me to get married.
I raise the mic to my mouth again. “Thank you so much, everyone, for your support. Oh, and to those of you who are here for the first time from The Goal Line, welcome! We’re happy to have you, and we hope you come back, trivia night or not.”
It was a huge relief that the ‘rival’ sports bar that opened down the street didn’t turn out to be a rival after all. The manager is really friendly and we’ve been cross-promoting our businesses a lot.
“Now for tonight’s final round!” I say.
I look down at the notes on my phone, read out the next trivia question, then set a timer. As everyone starts to debate amongst themselves, I feel Rock’s warm gaze on me and I look over at him. He smiles at me, and I smile back.
There’s something odd in his smile, though.
“ What? ” I mouth.
He shrugs, acting innocent.
The timer chimes and I look back down at my phone to read the next question. Again, as soon as I set the timer, I can feel Rock’s gaze on me. When I look over at him, he’s leaning against the bar, his forearms looking as sexy as ever. Damn , my boyfriend is hot. And the way he’s looking at me right now, telling me with his eyes just how obsessed he is with me, is making my cheeks heat.
“ Stop it ,” I mouth, giving him a meaningful look.
He breaks into a grin and looks away from me. But as soon as I read the next question, I can feel his eyes on me again. This time I don’t even look at him, but I’m smiling at the silent flirty game he’s playing.
The timer goes off and I peer at my phone for the final question. I wrote these trivia questions last night, so they should be fresh in my mind, but Rock has gotten me flustered and I can’t remember anything.
“All right, last question of the night,” I say into the mic. But then I stop. Because the trivia question I wrote last night isn’t there. It’s been replaced.
FINAL QUESTION: Will you marry me, Em?
I look up from my phone, stunned into silence. Rock has come around the bar and is walking toward me. As I silently gape at him, he slips the mic from my hand and lifts it to his mouth.
“Sorry, folks. Slight change of plans,” he says, his deep voice filling the bar. “I’ll be asking the last question tonight, and it’s just for Em.”
Excitement ripples through the crowd as Rock sets the mic and my phone on the bar, takes my hand, and gets down on bended knee.
“Rock,” I choke out, already full of emotion.
“Emily,” he says, squeezing my hand. “You know how I feel about you. I tell you this all the time. But I’ll say it again: I love you more than anything in this world. You’re my best friend. You’re my better half. You’re the girl of my dreams. I want to spend the rest of my—”
He cuts himself short, sighs and shakes his head, and digs a ring box out of his pocket. He pops it open, and with a sheepish smile, he says, “Right. I meant to say all of that with this in hand.”
I throw my head back and laugh. Then look at him tenderly. Oh, Rock.
“Emily Coleman,” he says, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Happy tears are already spilling down my cheeks. “Yes! Of course I will, Rock. Yes .”
As he stands up, I wrap my arms around him, and he does the same to me, pulling me into an embrace that is full of everlasting love. Everyone in the bar is celebrating and cheering loudly, making it feel like the whole entire world knows exactly how meant to be we are.
I belong to Rock, and he belongs to me. Today and for the rest of time.
As Rock’s lips drop to mine, the smiles on both of our faces are uncontainable.