Three Months Later Scooter
Three months later…
Scooter
"I am so proud of you, baby," Cabot tells me, beaming as he loops his arms over my shoulders and presses a kiss to my lips.
I'm taking him on a tour of the inside of my finally finished, four-months-over-schedule vet clinic.
"I'm not happy about the delay, and I still need to get the fresh paint smell out before we open, but yeah, I think I've landed on my feet."
He smiles. "You have indeed."
We kiss again, and it's a long, lazy kiss that I don't think I'll ever get tired of.
"How's the hiring process going?" he asks, taking a look around the crisp and uncluttered reception area with slate-gray walls, a matte-black counter, and not much else besides the sleek tablet that'll be used for check-ins.
"It's…okay," I answer.
Picking up on my hesitation, he swings his gaze to me.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just… When did vets get so hot?"
He chuckles. "Uh, hello. Did you see your former castmates?"
"I know. But that's Hollywood. It's to be expected. Clovelly is a small town, but I swear that almost every vet who comes in for an interview could easily be cast on reality TV."
"As long as they're not hotter than me, I'm cool with it."
"No one could be hotter than you," I say, sliding my hands around his waist, pulling his body into me.
"Glad to hear it."
Finding love with Cabot was honestly the last thing I expected. One or both of us ending up dead or in jail was more the finale I thought our relationship would have, especially after our rocky start.
Our storyline might have started off as villain vs. villain, but it quickly became clear to me that off camera, something a lot more real and a lot less villainous was taking place.
Another welcome—though the topic is far less pleasant—off-camera development has been Riff sticking to the terms of the deal we struck on my last day on set.
Money landed in Cabot's account a few days later, and we haven't heard a peep from the slimeball since. Good. I hope it stays that way forever.
More importantly, I hope he's learned his lesson and never again treats anyone the way he treated Cabot. Now that Cabot and I are official, I've confided in Gabriel so he can be on the lookout for any future shady behavior on set.
But enough about Riff. I have a bright future ahead of me with Cabot, and who knows, maybe some little Scooters and Cabots, too.
I didn't think I'd be the dad type. Filming with kids was always a little nerve-racking for me because I was always worried I'd say or do the wrong thing. Babysitting little Brock has shown me that, yes, I will make mistakes, but kids are resilient.
As long as your heart is in the right place—and you have plenty of carpet cleaner on hand for any mistakes someone might make such as stepping out of the living room for one second to grab my phone and returning to find Brock squatting on the carpet, mid-poop, proudly announcing, "I didn’t want to miss my show"—you can get through anything.
Kids are fine, it's their parents and your so-called closest friends taunting you about the mistakes you make for years to come that's more worrisome.
"You know…" Cabot says, glancing around the clinic with a mischievous smirk on his lips.
I chuckle. "Let me guess, you want to christen this place right this very minute, don't you?"
His smirk deepens. "Fuck, yeah."
"We have a dinner reservation at seven."
Cabot glances at his watch. "It's quarter to."
"That doesn't give us much time."
"Then stop wasting it with talking."
Once we're done not wasting time—don't know if I'll ever be able to look at the reception desk the same way ever again—and we're getting dressed and tidying ourselves so we don't look freshly fucked, something drops loose from my jeans.
"What's that?" Cabot asks.
I bend down to scoop it up.
"Oh, nothing. Just the engagement ring I was planning on giving you tonight over dinner."
I place the ring on the chair and get into my jeans. When I look up, Cabot is inches away from me. "Excuse me? What?"
It's my turn to smirk now. "You heard me."
"Are you really going to propose?"
"Yep."
"How are you so nonchalant? My heart's started racing just thinking about it."
"I popped a Prozac earlier to calm my nerves. You should have seen how much I was shaking."
"Oh my gosh." He closes the remaining space between us and runs his fingers through my beard. "You got medicated for me. That's true love."
He's kidding, but that doesn't negate the truth of the matter.
"I do love you, Cabot. It is true love, and I hope with everything I have in me that it's also forever love. I can still do the whole romantic proposal over dinner thing, but, uh, wanna give a guy a clue which way you're leaning?"
He trails his palm down the center of my chest. "I think you know it's going to be a hell, yeah."
"Really?"
He smiles, his blue eyes shining with nothing but love. "Hell, yeah," he whispers, brushing his fingers along my cheek. "I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Ohthankgod."
I sag, and as I do, Cabot holds me close, kisses me, and with every fiber of my being, I know this is the man for me. The one I want to raise kids with, come back home to, and be together with for as long as we both shall live.
Goodbye, villain edit; hello, husband era!