Epilogue Rosalie
Rosalie
One year and one day later
“Try this one, Leo.” I hold up a soft gingerbread cookie and he takes a bite of it from my hand.
“Mmm,” he moans in approval. “This one is my favorite.”
I laugh and shake my head, passing him the rest of the cookie. “You’ve said that about everything I made so far.”
“That’s because they’re all my favorites! I’ve never eaten a soft gingerbread cookie before, you should start a bakery and sell these.”
“No, thank you!” I say, wiping my hands on my Christmas apron.
“I’m happy with my current job.” At the beginning of the year the guys gave me the official title of manager.
So now I’m basically in charge of all operations at the gym.
It’s a little strange, since they own it, so they are my bosses, but I run it, so I get to tell them what to do.
It’s strange, but it works. They have zero interest in managing the place.
They just enjoy being there and helping others work towards their health and fitness goals.
Last year’s Christmas Open house was a tremendous success, we increased membership by three hundred percent.
I’ve since added some new fitness classes, some even designed specifically for women, like the self-defense class I originally came to Iron Oaks looking for.
I even hired a female instructor as the guys said they didn’t want to be put in any position where they'd have to physically touch other women.
That made me love them a little more.
“Are you two done baking yet?” Asher calls from where he’s sprawled on the sofa playing with a toy puzzle I put in his stocking.
I pull my apron off and saunter over to him, trying my best to look sexy in my red lingerie. As I approach him, his eyes bounce up to me then widen in surprise.
He sits up so fast, the toy puzzle goes flying to the floor as he gapes at me. “How long have you been wearing that?”
Leo laughs behind me. “Guess you should have baked with us, that’s all she’s been wearing under her apron.”
Asher swallows as he reaches for my hips and pulls me down to straddle his lap.
“Fuck, baby. You’re gorgeous.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.” I lean forward, wrapping my arms around his neck as I kiss him. His hands tighten on me as his tongue presses in, making us both moan with pleasure.
“Mmm, you taste fucking delicious. Like gingerbread.”
“Hey, none of that!” Leo yells as he comes over, scoops me up off Asher’s lap and sits down, pulling me into his so my back is to his chest. “It’s time for presents!”
“You are giving up sex for presents?” Grant asks as he comes to sit on our other side.
“Who said anything about giving it up? I can have both,” Leo says defensively as he kisses my neck, making me giggle when he hits a ticklish spot.
“Let me up,” I tap his hands and he releases me. “I want to go first.”
It was hard to figure out what to get them.
Last year I got them all something for their vehicles.
I gave Asher new motorcycle gloves and earplugs designed for riders, Grant got a dash cam for his Charger, and I gave Leo a truck bed LED light kit that had already come in good use for some date nights.
This year I wanted something more special. They were very hard to buy for as they weren’t into much materialistic things and bought only what they needed. I had considered a video game, but they don’t play that often.
In the end I decided to gift them with an experience instead of an object. I grab the boxes I purposely wrapped as diversions and pass them out. They are about a foot square and I smile as they rip into them.
Tissue paper goes flying as they search the box for their gifts.
“Is this empty?” Leo asks in confusion as his hand moves around the tissue paper, looking for the gift.
“Nope, keep looking,” I tell him, biting my lip nervously, hoping they aren’t disappointed.
“I found something,” Grant says, pulling out a green envelope.
Leo and Asher glance at what he’s holding then dive back into their own boxes, finding matching envelopes. They toss the boxes on the floor and rip the envelopes open.
I watch nervously as they read the note inside.
Asher glances up at me first, his eyes wide in excitement. “We’re going to drive race cars?”
I nod and he smiles, jumping up and hugging me so tight, he lifts me off the floor. “Thank you, Rosie. This is perfect!”
“You like it?” I ask nervously.
“I love it!” Leo says as he jumps up to hug me, too.
“Wait—There’s more,” Grant says as he continues to read the rest of the note. “It’s not just a race car excursion, we’re going away for New Year’s.”
Asher pulls the paper up to read it himself. “Oh, it’s a cabin!”
“And there’s snowmobiles we can use!” Leo says excitedly.
“Sweetheart, this is too much,” Grant says, standing and pulling me into a hug. “Thank you.”
“You guys are worth it. Besides, it’s not just a present for you, I also get to enjoy it.” I pull back and smile up at him. His gray eyes crease around the edges as he smiles down at me.
“Spending time with you is the true gift,” he whispers before using the crook of his finger to tilt my chin up to him. His lips press to mine gently and my fingers dig into his t-shirt covered chest as I lick the seam of his mouth.
He deepens the kiss until I’m a panting mess. I see the satisfaction on his face as he pulls back and studies my heated face. His eyes roam down my lingerie-clad body until Leo pulls me away and dips me back into a heart-stopping kiss.
With an arm around my back and a large hand squeezing my ass cheek, I groan as my leg lifts to wrap around him.
“Leo, let her go, we have to give her our gifts.”
Leo places me back on my feet as I pant out, “Gifts?”
I glance at the tree and see a few boxes there. I know some are their gifts for each other but am not sure which are for me.
They tell me to sit in the big comfy chair as they each pass me a gift.
My gift from Asher is a beautiful pink and black leather jacket and matching helmet and gloves for his bike. I love riding with him and refused to let him buy me a helmet, so I’d picked a second-hand one up in the Spring. This was far nicer.
“I love it!” I say, giving him a hug and kiss before Grant passes me his gift.
It’s huge, over three feet wide, and when I rip off the wrapping paper I gasp at the photo that’s revealed.
“It’s us!” I say as he lifts it up and steps back to give me a better look. “Was this taken at the Winter festival?”
“Yeah. We stupidly didn’t take a photo there last year, but I made sure to get a group shot of the four of us this year.”
“It’s perfect,” I say in awe as I admire the snow backdrop of the festival, and the way that even though we’re all dressed in our snow gear, they are all finding a way to touch me in the photo. You can see the love we have for each other shining through.
“Thank you, Grant.” He seems to already know where to put it, moving a piece of artwork off the wall and replacing it with the canvas. “It looks perfect there.”
“Alright, shortcake, my turn!” Leo says, passing me a large gift box.
I sit down, undo the bow and pull off the lid. A laugh bursts from me when I see the contents. “Leo!”
“What? You’re always complaining you need more bras.”
I chuckle as I start to lift out different colored bras and underwear. They all appear to be my size, but there’s just so many. “There must be dozens in here!”
“Yep, and they’re all matching sets. I know how much you love to coordinate your colors,” he says with a smirk.
“My files, not my underwear!” I laugh. But I have to admit, I love the idea. I’ve never had matching underwear before, well besides the red ones I’m wearing now and the black ones that just happen to be the same color, and not specifically a set.
“But I love it, Leo. Thank you.”
He gives me a huge smile then takes the box from my lap and sets it on the table. They all move in front of me and I frown, wondering what they’re doing as they’re not holding anymore gifts.
“What are you—”
“Whoops!” Leo cuts me off as he drops something on the ground and kneels to pick it up. “Dammit,” he grumbles as he seems to fumble it.
I can’t see what he’s trying to pick up but it’s Grant who groans, rolling his eyes as he kneels down beside him, reaching down to pick it up himself.
“Shit, that’s slippery!” he says when he seems to lose control of it.
I still can’t see what they’re trying to pick up as I lean forward and scan the ground.
“For fucks sake guys, how hard can it be to pick it up?” Asher says, kneeling on Leo’s other side and reaching for… whatever it is.
My eyes scan the empty ground as their hands seem to reach for something I just can’t see.
“What on earth are you guys doing?” I ask in confusion.
In unison, their hands still as all of their heads lift, their eyes filled with love and hope as they look at me.
I frown in confusion as I look between them.
“Rosie, this past year has been the best year of our life,” Asher says, making me suck in a sharp breath.
What is happening right now? Are they about to do what I think they’re gonna do?
“We couldn’t imagine living a single day without you,” Grant adds as my fingers dig into the couch cushion I’m sitting on.
“We love you so much and want to make this permanent,” Leo adds as he lifts a small ring box up and holds it open between us.
“Will you marry us?” They ask in unison, making tears form in my eyes.
“Yes!” I squeal, launching myself out of my chair arms wide and colliding with them. The next few minutes are filled with hugs and kisses and admiration of the gorgeous ring they got me.
I wipe the tears away as I smile, feeling happier than I ever have before. These men have come to mean everything to me, and to think, if I hadn’t been trying to run and hide from my ex, I never would have found them.
I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason. But I also believe that you have to make your own future. If I hadn’t run, I would still be stuck with Scott. I just had to have the strength to leave, then fate rewarded me with these three men.
I know not everyone’s journey has a happy ending, or it takes a lot longer to get there, but if you keep fighting for the future you want, keep looking for ways to make yourself happy, then you’ll find it.
If you sit around and surround yourself with sadness, that’s all you’ll ever be… sad. Don’t wait for your happiness to drop into your lap. You need to go out there and find it for yourself.
That’s what I did, I just didn’t realize it at the time.
And now, with the three men I love, I have found my true happiness, a place to feel safe and loved and supported. A place where I can be myself and not be judged.
A place I can call home.
The End