Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
SAM
"Mr. Carlyle, you better hurry, or you'll be late for your own party."
"Denise..."
"Sorry…Sam."
"When you call me Mr. Carlyle, it makes me think of Joel. And you know how we both feel about that man."
Denise's eyes widen, and she nods her head. She, more than anyone, had to put up with my dad's shit, and for far too long.
A few months ago, I got a call from Denise asking if I was still willing to offer her a job at my landscaping company. I, of course, said yes and hired her immediately. It took her a few weeks to get up the courage to tell my dad she quit, but we eventually got her out of there.
She's been working as my secretary, and I don't know how I managed without her. Not taking so many calls or answering so many emails has allowed me to spend more time with Lou doing the things that I enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job, but I enjoy days at the beach with the love of my life better than getting sweaty and playing in dirt.
I start to walk out the door when Denise calls me back.
"Sam, you forgot something!"
I turn around and walk back into the office to where Denise is sitting, holding a little red box.
"Fuck, thank you! That is not a good thing to forget."
I asked Denise to hold onto it for the past few weeks because I didn't trust Lou not to find it. I could just picture her deciding to deep clean the house one day and stumbling across it, completely ruining the surprise.
She hands me the box and holds my hand a second longer, looking up at me. "Good luck. I know she'll say yes."
I'm not nervous about her saying no; I'm nervous about everything going to plan. I recruited B and Quinn to help me plan out the perfect engagement, followed up by a party with our close friends and family. Per usual, they crushed it. And B only almost spilled the beans twice.
I get in my truck and start driving to the restaurant.
LOUISA
It's my birthday, and Sam told me to meet him at Orion's for dinner since he would be running late. I told him a while ago that I didn't want to do anything big for my birthday, so we made these reservations at the last minute. Luckily, Matt was able to get us a table.
After running into Sam on my birthday a year ago, I texted Matt, telling him I’d found someone and that our little arrangement had come to an end. At that point, I didn’t even know if Sam wanted to be with me, but I didn’t care. I knew, for better or worse, nothing could be the same after we reunited.
Months later, Sam and Matt met at one of David Perez’s parties. They actually get along really well, and I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet. Sam knows about my previous relationship with Matt, and he doesn't seem to be jealous. It could have something to do with the fact that Matt has doubled Sam's business by hooking him up with several wealthy clients. Daniel Perez also hired Sam for a job, which led to several doors opening for him. I'm so happy he hired more help; otherwise, I would never see him.
I walk into the restaurant and wait for Sam in the entryway. I have his location, so I know he's only a couple of blocks away, likely parking.
When I see him walk through the doors, I smile and give him a hug. He's wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit that makes me want to drag him back to the car and lay the seats all the way back.
"I was wondering if you would be clean." I kiss him and feel him laugh on my lips.
"You think I would show up to a place like this in my work clothes?"
"I wasn't up when you left this morning, so I didn't know if you had brought a change of clothes with you. You said you had to work late, so I brought you some in case you didn't have anything."
"That was nice of you, but I had it covered. I wouldn't show up to your birthday dinner all sweaty."
He kisses me on the cheek and tells me how beautiful I look. We hold hands as we're escorted back to our table. Even after a year of being together, he still gives me all the affection I need.
After dinner, he says he has a surprise for me. As we walk toward the kitchen, I genuinely have no clue what to expect. I know he asked me for Matt's number to make the reservation, so maybe they conspired to surprise me.
We get to an elevator, and I give him a skeptical look as we step in. He pushes a button, and my mind starts racing with ideas. Why do I have to be so nosey?
"The roof?"
"Mmmhmmmm." He manages to keep a very neutral face the whole ride up.
The doors open, and we walk down a hallway to the door leading out to the roof. I walk through it, and a warm summer breeze rushes in, lifting the skirt of my dress. I laugh as I flatten it back down and step out onto the roof.
When I look up from my dress, I see a blanket laid out with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Two glasses sit next to it, along with a speaker. It's dark outside, and despite the city lights, the stars are out.
"It's the picnic I promised you."
"Sam, this is so sweet."
I turn to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He leans down and kisses me.
We walk over to the blanket, and Sam turns on the speaker, connecting his phone to it. He starts playing a song that he knows I love. I've made him dance with me around the kitchen to this song many times, and I always joke with him that we're practicing for our first dance at our wedding.
Sam stands up and reaches out a hand to me. I place my hand in his, and he twirls me around and pulls me close. We dance slowly, and my cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling so much.
Looking into his mesmerizing eyes, all I can think about is how happy I am. A year ago, I was at an all-time low, but Sam came into my life again and changed everything. My eyes start to fill with tears.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"Everything is perfect. I just love you so much, and I'm so happy I get to share this life with you."
He twirls me again, but this time, he doesn't pull me in close after. He holds my hand and stretches out his arm to keep me at a distance. He's beaming from ear to ear, and I can't help but blink away my tears and smile back at him.
"It makes me incredibly happy to hear you say that."
As I start to take a step toward him to continue our dance, he stops me and starts to kneel.
Holy shit. Is this really happening right now? My heart starts to race, and I get a little dizzy. He reaches over behind the bucket of ice, pulls out a little red box, and opens it.
"I want to do forever with you, Lou. Will you marry me?"
The tears return to my eyes, and I choke out my answer with not a single doubt in my mind.
"Yes, of course."
SAM
After she said yes, I felt like I could breathe again. We celebrated by popping some champagne and spent a little more time on the roof together, dancing under the stars. I don't recall ever being this happy in my life.
The elevator reaches the main floor again, and we step out and walk through the kitchen. She thinks the surprises are over and that we're just headed back to the car. But when we step out into the dining room, it's been completely transformed in the 30 minutes we spent on the roof .
Lou jumps back, startled by all the people standing around waiting for us. Everyone yells surprise, and she looks like she just had a heart attack. I didn't want to scare her like that, but she loves surprises, and I wanted to make tonight as special as possible.
She turns to me and rests her forehead on my chest while the shock settles.
"You...." Her eyes glare at me, but her mouth spreads into a huge smile.
"Happy Birthday, Lou."
She looks around at all the people who came to celebrate with us, and people start to come over to wish her happy birthday and to congratulate us. All three of our parents are here, as well as several of our friends. I was so happy when people told me they could come. I only told the family that I was planning to propose; everyone else just thought it was for Lou's birthday. But based on the mixed decorations, I'm sure everyone has figured it out by now.
We're chatting with B when I hear a familiar voice behind us.
"Congratulations, you two! And Happy Birthday, Lou!"
We turn and find Sarah, the woman who used to live above Lou in her old apartment. She wraps Lou in a big hug.
"I'm glad you could make it."
"Me too! I was so glad when Sam said I could bring the kids. I didn't have anyone to watch them."
I look over and see her kids chasing each other around one of the tables. It looks like the oldest boy is trying to smash a cupcake into his sister's hair. I chuckle to myself before turning back to the conversation.
"You know, I heard you scream that first night."
Lou almost spits out her drink and gawks at Sarah for making such a bold comment. "Excuse me?"
Sarah nods and looks at me. "Oh yeah. I was genuinely concerned you were going to kidnap her, so I listened. I heard screams." She looks at Lou. "But you told me you'd yell my name, and I never heard it, so I just let it be. So, you're welcome."
Sarah has never shared those details with either of us, and I'm shocked she has kept it to herself for this long. In the year I've known her, she's never been able to keep many of her thoughts to herself.
Lou is laughing so hard, but I can tell she's dying on the inside at the thought of someone overhearing us.
I think back to that first night we spent together, and I have to shake the thoughts from my mind because I start getting hard at the memory of Lou riding me. Now is not the time to be getting turned on. We have plenty of time for that once we get home, and I fully intend to properly celebrate Lou's birthday. Thoroughly. Fast. Slow. All the ways she likes it.
Fuck. As happy as I am to be surrounded by loved ones celebrating us, I can't wait to get my fiancé back home.