Epilogue
EJ
Two months later
EJ would be the emcee for both of the ETC children's triathlons. The one in Chicago was first on the calendar, and it was happening today. It was officially underway.
Savannah was in town, and she had been at the gym all morning, helping out. EJ made sure she was with him at the starting line when the event was set to begin. He made a three-minute speech to the contestants and crowd before Dominic sounded the starting pistol to mark the start of the race.
The course was all on campus at the ETC, and the path had been cleared for the racers with volunteers working at every turn.
The race began at the pool, where the athletes had to complete a certain number of laps in multiple pools before moving on to biking and running.
There were nearly two hundred children competing, so everything was carefully organized and done in heats.
It was the third time they had put on this race, and it was bigger and better than ever.
EJ was normally comfortable with a mic in his hand and often volunteered to speak when there was an event.
Today had gone fine, but he was nervous about other things, and he had to work to focus on the race. He was nervous for something that was about to happen right this… very… moment.
"Hey, EJ," Becca said, walking up to them. "I can't find my whistle anywhere!"
"I have some in my office, on my desk," EJ said, glancing at her and being careful not to overact. His eyes quickly cut to Savannah, and yes, she was paying attention to them.
"I don't have time to go over there," Becca said, looking worried. "I have to go get the bike stations ready. I'm leading that crew. I need a whistle, though, because last year I had to use it like twenty times."
EJ patted his pockets, wearing a serious expression as if to check for a whistle that he knew was not there.
"I'll go to EJ's office and get you a whistle," Savannah offered Becca, just like EJ knew she would.
He had to work to hold in a smile.
"Would you?" Becca asked hopefully. She was a good actress, and EJ made a mental note to thank her for the great job she was doing at this moment.
EJ gave Savannah the key and asked her to get the whistle from his desk. She easily agreed, and as she took off and headed that way, he stared at her, thinking about how precious and adorable she was, scurrying off so easily to do a favor.
EJ knew this was it.
Savannah was about to stumble onto the blueprints for the house he was going to build for her. They were in his office, on the whistle-less desk. She would find them, and then she would know how serious he was when he said he wanted her in his life permanently.
EJ was on pins and needles for her to find it. But he was at the epicenter of the action for the event they were hosting, and there was no time to speculate about Savannah finding the surprise. He was on the move, and his attention was being demanded constantly.
It was about fifteen minutes later when he saw Savannah walking toward him. He was at the edge of the final pool area, and he watched as she headed his way. She always had a fresh-looking hairstyle, and she was adorable, smiling absentmindedly as she watched the racers swim while she walked.
She caught sight of EJ and her smile broadened.
His chest ached. She had seen the plans and she was happy about them.
She knew they would build in Chicago, and she was happy.
His brother was next to him, saying something to one of the parents, and EJ turned to Savannah with a smile as she approached them.
"Hey," he said to her.
"Hey. Done deal. I got Becca a whistle." She handed him his key, and he took it from her, feeling like he was in a dream.
This was not the reaction he expected. The noise, splashing, and chaos of the event was happening all around them as he was trying to decipher whether or not Savannah was joking. Her dark eyes sparkled as she beamed at him.
"Did you find the thing in my office?" he asked, waiting for her to mention the blueprints.
"No, actually. I looked all over and didn't see a single whistle anywhere.
But then Stef was in the hallway, and I hollered at him and asked if he knew where I could get one.
Long story short is that I followed him to a couple of different places looking for one, and then once we found one, I took it over to Becca at the bikes.
How's it going here? It looks like the third group's coming through…
or is this the second? I know they're going in heats, but I can't see their colors while they're all underwater. "
"It's the second group. But Savannah. In my office. Did you see the thing that was on my desk?"
She made an adorable, confused expression with her eyebrows furrowed, lost in thought. "I saw a phone and a couple of pens."
"Did you see a thing that said top secret… like a folder thingy?"
"Yeah."
"Did you not look in it?"
"Well, no."
"Why not?" EJ touched the side of her arm and pulled them out of the way. They took a step to the side so some parents could go along the edge of the pool. "Did you not think to look inside?" he asked.
"Of course not. It's a secret."
He smiled. His hand was still on her arm. Touching her felt like home. Her skin was so soft.
"Savanna, the top-secret thing was a joke. It was set up to be over the top so you would see it and find it and look at it. There was no whistle."
"There was no whistle? I mean, I know there was no whistle, but that was on purpose? No wonder Becca looked at me like I was crazy."
"That's hilarious that you didn't open the folder. The whole thing was set up as a surprise."
"It looked so professional that I just trusted it was a secret. It was, like, leather-bound. I would never have thought that was fake. I thought you were part of the CIA or something."
He laughed. "The folder being so over the top was supposed to be funny. The name plate at the bottom had our names engraved… the Real Australians."
"No, it did not!" she said.
"Yes. Did you not see that? Our real names are on it, too. Along with a bunch of funny stuff. I can't believe you didn't open it." He laughed and shook his head. "Becca was probably freaked out when you showed up with a whistle."
"She was. She said 'thanks' like it was a question. And she already had a whistle on. I thought it just took me too long. That folder looked so official. I saw that it was top-secret, and I tried to turn my eyes away. What was in it? Should I go back?"
"Yes, but you don't have to right now. It's the blueprints of our house."
"It's the what?"
"There are house plans inside. There are plans for a salon, too—a separate structure.
We have to talk about where we want to put everything, as far as land goes—whether or not you want them connected.
I was thinking maybe we could build the salon over here by the gym and the house somewhere else.
We'll have to talk about it. I have some property saved for you to look at, but we'll talk about it once this is all said and done. "
He could see her start to take him seriously. He saw her gorgeous sparkling eyes get glassy as tears filled them. Then he spoke to her in a quick tone because he knew he had to give his attention to the action around him. He leaned in and spoke near her ear.
"I want you here with me, Savannah. I couldn't get the plans done fast enough.
I want you here faster than I can build the house.
If you like the plans, I'll show you some property and start building the house right away.
I would also like to go ahead and get you an apartment or something in the meantime, because building it will take about a year.
I can't believe you didn't look at it. There were clues on that folder telling you to look inside. That's hilarious."
"I averted my gaze while I was searching all around for that whistle." She shook her head. "Probably better this way because I'm already holding back bawling as it is."
"Probably shouldn't tell you it's your dream house, then."
They had talked about things she liked and dreams she had, and so many of them were in the plans for that house. EJ could not help but smile. It was hilarious that Savannah hadn't even looked at the plans, and yet she still came up to him smiling from ear to ear after delivering the whistle.
They would look at the house plans together later, after the events of the day had finished. For now, the gym needed him.
"Thank you, EJ," she said.
He grinned at her.
His shoulder was being actively tapped from the other side.
He smelled the chlorine and heard the chaos, and there she was, outshining all of it.
EJ squeezed her hand. He knew she'd be there until the race was finished.
Then he'd take her into his office and show her the plans.
He considered her reaction, and it made him think maybe they needed to talk to a Justice of the Peace at their earliest convenience.
The End