EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
LEDGER
“Come on, just tell me where we’re going,” I beg for the millionth time since Griff shoved me into the truck with a smirk and told me he had a surprise for me.
I was totally on board to be surprised when I thought he was taking me somewhere local, but once we got on the interstate towards Chicago, I had questions.
“We’re almost there,” he assures me.
“You said that an hour ago.”
“An hour ago, I was lying.” He shrugs unapologetically.
“You’re the worst,” I complain, even as I grin and lean into him a little more.
He doesn’t even try to argue, just rumbles a brief laugh and finally takes an exit. Maybe we really are almost there this time. I still don’t know where there is, but it must be somewhere exciting if he thought it would be worth the drive.
A few minutes later we pull up in front of a massive square building with the name High Fly plastered in big letters across the side of it. There’s no other indication of what this place is, it’s just a nondescript building that looks like it’s probably a renovated warehouse.
“Where are we?” I ask, peering through the windshield at it.
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He nudges me to get out of the truck.
He has my interest piqued now, so I don’t even complain about how frustratingly mysterious he’s being about this surprise date. I scramble out of the truck and by some miracle manage to wait for him instead of sprinting straight for the door to find out where we are. He links his fingers through mine and walks annoyingly slowly. I look over at him to ask what the holdup is and notice the almost-smile on his lips and the amusement dancing in his eyes. He’s dragging his feet on purpose just to tease me. Ass.
We finally reach the door, and he pulls it open for me and waves me inside.
“Indoor skydiving?” I gasp as soon as we step into the lobby.
“In no world am I actually going to jump out of a plane, but I figured this might be an acceptable substitute,” he explains.
“Hell yeah, this is awesome.”
I might have had fun teasing Griff about his fear of heights, but I’m with him on the jumping-out-of-a-plane thing. But stepping into a room with a giant fan that will make us feel like we’re flying? Sign me up.
We go to the desk, and he tells them we have a reservation. The employee gives us his whole safety spiel and then takes us to a room to get suited up in overalls and helmets. Griff turns his back to me and fumbles with something.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Great,” he grunts, fiddling around for another second before turning back towards me with an awkward, unconvincing smile.
“So secretive today,” I say lightly, leaning in to brush my lips against his.
“The first secret was good, wasn’t it?” he points out, and I nod. “Then trust.”
“Always.”
Once we’re all geared up, a different employee pops in and leads us to the “fly room.” We step into the marked area, and they give us the signal that they’re going to turn it on. I grin at Griff and bounce on my toes, and then a loud noise fills the room, and we’re lifted off the floor.
“Holy shit, this is so cool!” I shout over the fans, reaching for Griff’s hands as we become airborne a few feet off the floor.
My insides swoop and I laugh. Griff grins right back at me, pulling one hand out of mine and slipping it into one of the pockets on the jumpsuit.
“What are you—”
He pulls out a small box and my breath catches. That’s not what I think it is, is it? It can’t be. Oh my god, please, please, please let it be what I think it is, which it’s probably not because I don’t want to get my hopes up.
“Ledger, I love you so damn much,” he shouts, holding the box out towards me. “Will you marry me?”
Oh. My. God.
I clutch his arm and pull him towards me as hard as I can against the force of the wind until I manage to reach his lips.
“Yes. Forever yes. Always yes,” I answer in between kisses and laughter.
Who knew window peeping—er, secretly admiring —could lead to everything I ever wanted? And this really is everything I dreamed of. Forever with the growly, perfect bear of my dreams.
The End
LOOKING FOR MORE IN THE FOUR BEARS CONSTURCTION UNIVERSE? DON'T MISS BIG BULL MECHANICS OR INK SLINGERS !