Epilogue
Griff
One Year Later
Griff Halstead did not get nervous.
The energy that coursed through my veins and made my palms sweat enough that they slid over the steering wheel like a greased pig through a cocktail party was due only to excitement. Not nerves.
What did I have to be nervous about?
This dinner date was like many others I’d been on in the past year since Taylor and I began dating. We went to countless events with the executive staff, my department, and even attending regular work events as a couple all the time.
This one was no different.
Except that it was.
This event had nothing to do with work. In fact, we were just meeting with our friend group who happened to be some of my co-workers.
In the past year, Taylor and Sawyer had continued their friendship—deepened it even, once Sawyer learned what Taylor really did for a living.
Naturally that included Evan. It only made sense that I would spend more time with Mark and Gregory.
Now the three couples were having dinner together under the guise of us celebrating Taylor’s book release.
Only I knew the true reason. Sawyer seemed to think he knew as well, the little shit.
He had been hinting all week about this special dinner we were having, and he kept asking if I was nervous.
I was half tempted to skip this whole thing and do this privately just to avoid his smug attitude.
But I knew Taylor well enough by now, and this was going to be something he would love. And I loved him. More deeply than I ever thought possible. I was continuously impressed by his imagination and drive.
“Everything all right? You seem tense. Work not go well today? Don’t tell me you have another acquisition to work through. That was painful last time, and I didn’t even have to do anything for it.”
“Huh? No. I’m fine. Work is fine. Just normal stuff, no acquisitions.” There was one on the horizon, but it wasn’t worth worrying about just yet.
Taylor raised a brow, studying me. The man was too perceptive for his own good. It was probably why he was able to write such amazing characters.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. It’s just a silly work thing. That’s a problem for Monday. I’ll stop thinking about it.” Just a tiny white lie to get me through this car ride and to the restaurant.
Little did he know that Monday I didn’t even have to work.
I actually had the next five days off, and if we played our cards right—and Taylor said yes to my question—then the two of us would be spending those five days holed up in a cabin deep in the mountains where we might live out every single primal fantasy the two of us had.
And also plan our wedding.
“You sure you want to do dinner? We can skip it.”
I smiled. We were pulling into the parking lot now, so skipping it would be silly.
But I knew if I said I wanted a quiet night at home, we truly would just go home.
Friends be damned. It wouldn’t be the first time that we showed up late to a dinner because we got caught up doing other things.
In fact, it was the running joke amongst all of us about who was going to be late, since we all seemed to have the same issue of getting distracted as we were getting ready.
“No. I want to have dinner with you and our friends, celebrating your amazing book.”
Taylor snorted. “The Ogre’s Omega Mate is hardly going to win the Pulitzer Prize.”
“It is still worth celebrating.”
Taylor leaned over the center console and gave me a kiss on the lips. “Thank you,” he said. “You’ve made all of my dreams come true. If I had a fated mate, it would be you.”
I grinned. Soon he would know that he made all of my dreams come true also.
Our friends were already waiting for us at the table when we arrived.
The dinner was largely uneventful. Taylor got some teasing from Sawyer and Evan about the content of the book.
They hadn’t been able to get a copy until it went live just a few days ago.
Only I and a few other beta readers had a chance to see the masterpiece before the public.
It was a privilege that I would not take for granted.
Especially since Taylor and I also got to act out many of the scenes just to make sure they were as accurate as they could be.
In the past year we had kept up our routine, where each day he gave me a scene or two to take to work with me, either printed or shared electronically. I loved being able to take breaks during the day to read his work.
“Would anyone like dessert?” the waiter asked.
“None for me—” Taylor began, but I interrupted him.
“Oh, I think we’d like something,” I said. “It’s a celebration. We need cake to make it complete.”
He pursed his lips in question. “That’s not—”
Right on cue, a red velvet cake was carried out of the kitchen by one of the waitstaff and placed in front of Taylor. Directly in the middle, surrounded by decorative frosting, was a ring.
Taylor gasped when he saw it. He looked directly at me. “Griff.” My name was like a prayer on his lips. Breathless and surprised.
“Taylor. I don’t have a way with words. That is your domain, and I can’t even begin to attempt to match your skills when it comes to prose.
All I can do is speak from the heart. You have completed my life in ways I never even knew possible.
I live for the moments I get to spend with you, even if I am simply in the same room as you and you’re a world away with Grysten and Tobias.
I cherish every look you give me and every morsel of your attention. ”
Taylor squeaked, giving a little hiccup like he might be holding in tears.
“I love being the person you come to with your ideas. I love that you share your imagination with me before anyone else. I didn’t know what an alpha reader was before I met you, but I’m sure glad I get to be yours.
The story of my life, before you came into it, was boring and uneventful.
Now it has purpose and direction, it’s hitting all the right beats, as you would say.
Will you, please, continue writing the story of our life with me?
Will you marry me? Let me be your alpha reader for life? ”
He nodded. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
Sawyer let out a whoop and then popped open the champagne I hadn’t realized was delivered. I picked up the ring from the cake, cleaned off the frosting, and slid it on to Taylor’s hand.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you. Thank you for making all my dreams come true.”