Bonus Epilogue
SAWYER
“Mom?!” I say as she walks through the tower door and into the room. She rushes us, throwing her arms around both of us.
“Surprise!” she cries as she squeezes us, the tears welling in both of our eyes. She pulls away briefly to kiss us each on our cheeks, then pulls us back in.
“What are you doing here?” I ask when we finally finish our embrace. She smiles and looks up at Julian.
“A little birdie called me out,” she says, putting a hand to his cheek. He smiles sheepishly and looks down at me.
“I told her things were going to get ugly,” he says, “and I asked if she would come out to New York. I want the two of you to be close to each other. And I want to be able to keep an eye on her, too.” He smiles and winks at her.
I swallow and look at him.
“For how long?” I ask. They look at each other again, then back to me.
“Indefinitely,” he says. My eyebrows knit together and I look at my mom. This isn’t what I wanted. I did this. I made this choice. Not her. I chose to uproot and redirect my life. I never meant to do it to hers.
“Ma…” I start to say, but she holds up a hand.
“Before you start,” she says, “I want you to know that I have never been happier in my whole life. I get to be close to you. I get to help you and be here for you in ways I couldn’t over the last few months.”
“But…Seattle…”
“I love Seattle,” she goes on, “but it’s not home without you there.”
“And it doesn’t have to be goodbye forever,” Julian interjects, raising an eyebrow at my mom.
“Nope,” she says with a smile. “I’m subletting the apartment.”
“And while she’s here, she will be in another apartment my family owns in our building,” Julian says, staring down at me. Our building. I look up at him, eyes wide. “My guys are moving her stuff in as we speak.” My mom smiles and squeezes my hand again, then turns to him.
“I am forever grateful to you, Julian,” she says, then turns and walks back out the door, leaving us for a moment.
I feel the tears stinging my eyes as I look up at him, but before I can say anything else, he cups my face and swipes them away with his thumbs.
“I told you, baby,” he whispers, “I will never stop trying to make you as happy as you make me. Everything I have to give is yours. Everything that I am, is yours.”
I smile as I press myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“And I told you, that I don’t need anything else but you.”
He smiles and lifts me off my feet.
“Well, then you’re just gonna have to deal with this one last thing,” he says, then he takes my hand and leads me down the stairs. Tyler is waiting for us with the car, and my mom is waving as Russ is pulling away with my mom.
“Where are we going?” I ask him, but per usual, he just smiles and shrugs as we drive. I realize we’re headed in the direction of Bendmere, but before we turn off in the direction of Bedell House, Tyler veers off in the other direction. He turns down a private drive, and as we pull up, I see the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. It’s gorgeous, and not small by any means, but compared to Bedell House or even to Julian’s apartment, it’s modest. It’s a beautiful white farmhouse with a wrap-around porch. Tall trees stand around it in every direction, and as we get closer, I see an amazing porch swing blowing in the breeze.
“What is this?” I ask him as Tyler parks, and Julian hops out. He opens my door and helps me out, and as I stand in front of it, I start to love it even more.
“If you like it, I was hoping it could be ours,” he says as we approach the porch. I turn to him.
“Ours?” I ask. He nods.
“Want to see it?” he asks. I nod, and we walk inside.
The inside is also gorgeous, with perfectly kept hardwoods, huge windows letting in a ton of sunlight, and wood beams across the extra-tall ceilings. In the kitchen is the most perfect breakfast nook that overlooks the ocean down below. It’s a big house, but not so grand that it feels palatial, like Bedell House. It feels cozy, like I can put my feet up on the furniture here, and I wouldn’t get lost going to the bathroom. He leads me up the stairs, where there are three bedrooms, and two suites.
“I thought your mom could stay in one of the suites whenever we’re out here,” he says, “and then the extra rooms could be for…”
“For kids?” I finish for him. He nods. Every time he’s mentioned kids, it makes my stomach flip in the best way. I’m not ready yet, and God knows now isn’t the time for him, either. But the fact that he sees that with me, that he trusts me, that he wants to make the perfect little blends of him and I? I practically melt where I stand.
“And then this…” he says, leading me to the double doors at the end of the hallway, “would be ours.” The doors open and reveal the dreamiest suite I’ve ever seen. I can picture a huge bed in the middle, a desk in the little connected suite off the bedroom. I can see me nestled up against him in the massive tub that’s in the middle of the bathroom, or him bending me over in the rain shower in the corner.
I turn back to him.
“This feels like ours,” I say. He smiles as he bends down to kiss me.
“Then it is,” he says. “When all is said and done, I want to have a place that’s just ours. That’s not something that was passed down, or something fit for a king. I wanted something that we could start fresh with. You and me.”
“You found it, baby,” I say. He pulls me in and kisses me again.
“I sure did.”