Epilogue
brOOKS
“Is this all of the eggs?” Con asks. Pouring jelly beans into the last one, I snap it shut and toss it in the basket.
“Yup, that’s all of them.”
“And the, um… golden egg,” he asks, eyes widening a little.
I pat the pocket of my hoodie. The egg’s ready. The ring’s ready. Now I just need to be ready.
It isn’t that I don’t want to marry Hadley. I want to marry that girl so hard. I’m just nervous. Fuck.
Needing to distract myself, I grab some of the eggs from the basket, helping Con hide them around the house for Evelyn.
I bury one in the flowers Hadley put on the island, and one behind a picture of all five of us she had framed and hung in the living room.
Over the last six months that she’s lived here, she hasn’t drastically changed the house. Little things have shifted, though, making the space more her. More homey.
Having her here has been a dream, the last puzzle piece that we didn’t even know we were missing, finally clicking into place. With her, our little makeshift family is complete.
We’ve all already talked about how Evelyn is perfect, and we’re all on board to not have any more kids. But there’s one more step that Austin, Con, and I want to take, and today we will see if she’s on the same page as us.
It isn’t like I think she’s actually going to say no, but fuck. What if she does say no? Shaking the thought away, I hide the last egg between the couch cushions.
A sleepy yet excited Evelyn walks down the stairs with Cash at her side. Austin and Hadley follow behind them, hand-in-hand.
Last night, Hadley slept in Austin’s room with him. Con and I agreed to get all the Easter stuff set up while he kept the girls distracted.
Sometimes, we all sleep together in Hadley’s room, and other nights she spends time with just one of us in our own rooms. On occasion, she just wants her space and sleeps in her room all alone.
Honestly, the thought of her sleeping by herself in that giant bed makes me laugh.
“Happy Easter,” Con tells Evelyn. She runs over, giving him a hug and grabbing the basket from his hand. “There are twenty eggs, kiddo. Go for it.”
She bounces in place before darting around the room like she’s already hyped up on sugar.
Hadley walks over, leaning up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. Another round of flutters rushes through me. “Morning, baby.”
“Morning,” she says, yawning.
The four of us adults get coffee and settle on the sectional as Evelyn continues to buzz around like a bee. Hadley cuddles up with Con on the opposite side from where I am.
Austin plops down in the middle, groaning when he sits on the egg I put there earlier. When Evelyn has her back turned, he places it in the magazine basket on the coffee table.
Evelyn sets her basket on the coffee table, counting how many she has collected three times. “Con, how many did you say there are?” she asks with her hands on her hips over her pink fuzzy pjs.
“Twenty.”
“I only have nineteen. I can’t find it anywhere,” she huffs.
Inhaling deeply, I stand up. “I’ll help you look for it,” I say, holding my hand out to her.
As we walk toward the kitchen, I lock eyes with Austin and Con. A mix of nervous energy coils through us.
I bring Evelyn with me until we’re both crouching behind the far side of the island in the kitchen, where I know Hadley can’t see us or hear us if we whisper.
“I need your help with something, Evie Girl,” I tell her, pulling the golden egg from my pocket.
Her eyes widen in wonder. “It’s so pretty.”
“Wait till you see this,” I say, popping it open. With two fingers, I pull out the gold ring that’s hidden inside.
Evelyn gasps, her hands flying to her face.
“Shhhh…” I tell her with my finger to her lips.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I love it.”
Evelyn knew we were going to ask Hadley to marry us, but she hadn’t seen the ring yet. Her eyes fly up to mine.
“Hadley’s going to love it.”
I hope so, kid.
“So, what do you need my help with?” she asks, her brows furrowing together in her mischievous way.
“You guys okay in there?” Hadley’s voice comes from the living room.
“We’re fine,” Evelyn and I both say at the same time. Looking at each other, we both start opening and closing cabinets… loudly.
“We’re just being thorough in here,” I say.
Con had better keep her right where she is right now.
I drop my voice even lower than before. “I need you to walk in and say you found this egg, but tell Hadley you need her help opening it.”
She smirks, nodding her head quickly. I place the ring back in the egg, making sure it’s closed tight. I hold it out to her. She takes it reverently in her hand.
“Don’t lose it. Okay?”
“I won’t. I promise,” she says seriously. “Go. I’ll be in in a second.”
Kissing her forehead. I walk back into the living room, wiping my sweaty palms on my sweatpants.
I try not to meet Hadley’s eyes as I walk in, knowing I’ll probably blow this whole plan to shit if she stares into my soul right now like she always does.
Sitting on the arm of the sectional, I watch as Evelyn stands up from behind the island. Here we go.
HADLEY
“Found it,” Evelyn shouts, her head popping up in the kitchen.
She skips toward us with a golden egg in her hand and a smile plastered across her face. Con’s arm tightens around my waist, almost like he’s bracing for something.
She crouches down by her basket, opening a few of her other pastel-colored eggs with candy and coins in them. When she gets to the golden egg, she grunts, but it doesn’t open.
Brooks coughs to cover up a laugh. I crane my neck to look at him. What the heck is he laughing at? He just shakes his head, trying not to smile. Ooookay.
She holds the egg out to me. “Can you help me open it?”
I grab the golden egg, feeling something rattling around inside it. I don’t think it’s candy or coins. I wonder what they gave her in this one.
When I press on the middle seam, it easily pops open. Hmmm… this feels like a set up…
Then I see what’s lying at the bottom of the egg. That isn’t a fake ring. That’s a ring… ring. Like an engagement ring.
I look up, finding Evelyn beaming at me. All the guys are staring at me, too, with wide, nervous eyes.
I gulp down the saliva that I somehow forgot to swallow in the last fifteen seconds. Austin scoots over closer to me, pulling Evelyn up onto his lap.
Brooks kneels in front of me on both legs, not one, because they all know what a cliché I think getting down on one knee is.
Brooks gently grabs my hands, which are shaking, and pulls the ring out. It’s stunning—a solitary diamond on a delicate gold band that looks like a four-strand braid.
The four of us tied together.
Tears spring to my eyes at the enormity of what’s happening.
Conrad touches the side of my face, turning me toward him. “I had no idea when I sat down on that airplane, I was sitting next to my entire world.”
I blink, tears tracking down my cheeks.
“I was a complete idiot to let you walk away, but that’s never happening again. I want you by my side through every stage of life, even when we’re old and gray.”
I smile at him, tilting into his palm.
“I love you so much,” he says, kissing my temple. “You. That’s all I want. Just you.”
My throat feels impossibly tight as I lean into him. He kisses the top of my head one more time before turning me toward his brother.
“Hey, you,” Brooks says, his smile allowing me to drag in a much-needed breath.
“Hey,” I get out even if it’s raspy as shit.
He grips my hand with his free one that’s not holding the ring. “I never really thought falling in love was something that would happen for me, but then you crashed into our lives and put all of that to shit.”
His eyes fly to Evelyn and Austin. “I know. I know. I’ll put a dollar in the cuss jar,” he says before Evelyn can tell him. I snort out a laugh.
He takes a quick breath, focusing himself again. “I think I fell in love with you after that first kiss. There’s just something about your heart that makes sense with mine.”
I nod, knowing exactly what he means. There’s something about our connection that can’t be described with words. It just is.
“I don’t ever want to wake up not knowing that you’re mine. I want that every day for the rest of my life. Plus, I don’t think I’ll look bad when I’m old. Silver fox and all that.”
Of course, his proposal would make me laugh. I lean forward, smacking my lips against his to shut him up.
Leaning back, I draw in a deep breath, trying to find the courage to look at Austin. I can already feel more tears welling, ready to spill over.
“Angel,” he says in his deep voice.
Finally, I turn, looking at two pairs of matching green eyes that mean everything to me. I know taking a chance on this relationship was probably the hardest thing he’s ever done because it put her on the line.
I don’t want a single day to go by where he doesn’t know how grateful I am for that chance at happiness he gave all of us.
He opens his mouth, but no words come out. His eyes dart between Evelyn and me. He kisses her cheek as the first tear rolls down his face.
I grab Evelyn’s hand with my left and Austin’s with my right, giving Austin’s an extra squeeze.
He looks up at the ceiling, drawing in a few deep breaths. He lowers his head, his eyes set on me.
“You are the calm in my world, Hadley. You settled the storm inside of me that was blocking anyone from getting too close. I was so scared to let you in, but I’m so thankful I had the courage to do it because you’re the best part of our world,” he says, pulling Evelyn a little tighter against his chest.
Evelyn’s head bobs. “The best,” she echoes her dad’s words.
My thumb rubs over her small hand in mine.
“Do you know what I told your brother outside the hospital that day when he was about ready to punch me?”
“No,” I say quietly.
“I told him I loved you.” Even back then? “Yes, even then I knew.”
Oh my god.
“Angel, I love you so much it hurts sometimes because the thought of losing you doesn’t just crush me. It decimates me. I just wouldn’t exist anymore.”
I choke out a sob, opening my mouth to say something. He reaches our joined hands up to my mouth to stop me.
“But I don’t worry about that anymore because I know you love her as much as I do,” he says, looking at Evelyn.
I do. I absolutely do. I just nod when no words seem to formulate.
“And you love me as much as I love you,” he adds, a few more tears falling from his lashes.
“I do,” I say, and I press my forehead to his. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know, baby,” he says, kissing the back of my hand.
Just when I think I have my tears under control, Evelyn wraps her arms around my neck. More tears fall against her fluffy pajama shirt.
“I love you, Evelyn,” I tell her like I have every day since I moved into this house.
“I love you, too.” She looks down at her lap. “Are you going to be my mom now?”
I suck in a sharp breath, my eyes darting over to Austin. Geez, we’re both crying so much. I try to communicate so much with just this look alone.
He nods with a small smile, telling me it’s okay.
“Would you want that?” I ask her.
She thinks for a minute. “I think you already are,” she says, and I forget how to breathe. “Can I call you that now?”
I can’t help the constant stream of tears flowing down my face. Hearing a few sniffles from behind me, I know Austin and I aren’t the only ones affected by this.
“You can call me whatever you want, honey. If that’s mom, then I would be honored.”
“Okay, Mom,” she says, resting her head on my chest.
Fuck me. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through any more of this. I look over Evelyn’s head to see that Austin is almost as big of a mess as me.
Taking several deep breaths, I try to get it together. This isn’t even done. They haven’t even asked me yet.
Evelyn sits up and snuggles back against her dad. I turn to look at Brooks. His eyes are glossy, but he gives me a smile.
“Well, that was a lot of emotion,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “But I’m pretty sure none of us actually asked you.”
I shake my head.
He grabs my left hand. “Hadley, will you marry us?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
He slides the ring on my finger, then wraps his arms around me. “I’m glad you didn’t think about your answer. I probably would have gone off the handle if you did.”
Laughing, I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you back.”
I turn back to look at Conrad. Wrapping my hand around the back of his head, I pull him to me, and our lips collide in the same way they did that first time in the airplane bathroom.
Pulling back, he smirks at me like he was thinking the same thing.
Turning to my other side, I press a kiss to Evelyn’s forehead and snuggle into Austin’s side.
What do we do now? My mind reels. After all of that, what do we do now?
“Can we go get donuts?” Evelyn asks, crawling off Austin’s lap.
“Yes, donuts,” Brooks says, giving her a high five.
Well, I guess that’s what we do. We just be happy. Together. As a family.
The end.
Join my newsletter and download a BONUS SCENE with Hadley and fam NOW!
What to read next???
Click HERE to read Lacey’s first book in the Men of Medford series, Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties.
Join the mile high club? Done.
Discover the seductive ‘stranger’ is my brother’s bestie… OMG.
Get stuck in a cabin and claimed by three off-limits firemen? No way.
After being robbed, I flew home with my pride in a carry-on and my faithful corgi stowed in cargo.
So when the passenger next to me looked like People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, I did what any heartbroken girl would do.
I followed him into the tiny bathroom to forget my troubles at 30,000 feet.
And forget I did?—
Until my brother picked us up at the airport.
Mr. Sexy Face tossed our luggage into the trunk, smirking like we had a secret.
Because we did. A very naked one.
Then, lured by the promise of ‘all-inclusive relaxation’,
I accepted my brother's invite to the firehouse ski trip.
Cue the surprise blizzard.
Now I’m snowed in with three forbidden firefighters.
Jaxon , my wild ride in the sky… Now I’m his favorite landing strip.
Colt , Mr. December in the charity calendar, looks like he splits logs with his bare hands.
And Ryan , the golden retriever jokester who makes me beg between the sheets.
They’ve all claimed me. At the same time.
I’m so screwed.
I can’t choose between them. And I’m not about to burn it all down and run.
Not when my three firemen make me feel like I’m finally home.
Start reading Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties NOW!
Here’s a sneak peek of chapter one…