Epilogue
November
Keep it simple.
Damon
“So, I don’t know how you will feel about this because I know you’ve picked out so much for the house, but my mom suggested that we don’t go see it over the next three weeks while all the final pieces are put into place.
She said they did it with their house and it was so much fun to walk in and see the finished product.
Said it felt like she was on one of those house shows.
What do you think? Should we do the final reveal like that? ”
“I don’t know. I’ve been there constantly during the whole process.
But honestly, it does sound fun. Plus, you know work is crazy busy right now, and when we get moved in, we’re going to have to immediately decorate for the holidays.
” She grins at me. “Especially since you have been promising Summer the biggest tree ever.”
“Well, the biggest tree I’ve ever had. I mean, it is kind of your fault.”
“My fault?” she asks.
“Yeah. You showed me exactly where you imagined the tree going, and it happened to be right at the tallest point in the ceiling. So, of course, I have to fill that up.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “It’s fourteen feet tall. You can’t get a tree that big.”
I shrug. “Not going to share my secrets. Also, we’ll keep it simple. It’s all about the lights for me.”
“Me too, actually. And with Summer crawling and cruising and getting into everything, we’re going to have to be careful what we put on it. At least down low.”
“The good news is that the house will be done a few weeks ahead of schedule. So, we’ll have time to decorate.”
She takes a deep breath, and I can tell that she’s wondering if she can do it. If she can give up control.
“Jadyn will be personally overseeing everything,” I add. Which kind of seals the deal.
“Okay, let’s do it,” she says.
December
Always love me.
Ainsley
It’s been three weeks since we last saw the house. I’ve spent the better part of this year planning every single element that has gone into its design. I envisioned spending most of this month doing nothing but moving in during my free time.
But free time has been hard to come by lately.
We broke ground on the Archibald Residences, the shopping area, and the park, and things have been quite busy.
I don’t know what it is about construction, but they are always finding some reason to stop work.
Like there was a protest over some pheasant.
Bones discovered buried in the dirt. At first, they were thought to be historic or possibly related to a cold-case crime, but in the end, they realized that they were neither.
Add to that a shortage of sand. Who knew? Apparently, it’s possibly a global crisis.
Mix that up with a baby that is crawling and suddenly into everything—meaning it was time to fully baby-proof.
Did I mention that not only is Summer a crawler, but she’s also a climber? I’m talking spider-monkey level. She’s managed to get herself out of her crib already a few times. Which is not typical for a child of her age.
Of course, Damon loves that she’s athletic at the same time we’re trying to figure out how to keep her wrangled and safe.
My mom and Hayes offered to babysit for us tonight while we drive out to the house to see it all completed. They sold his house this summer not long after they were married and have decided to buy the one Mom’s been living in from Uncle Van.
Damon and the team finished the season undefeated, won their conference championship last weekend, and are going to the playoffs. Both he and Chase have had record-setting years.
Apollo and Sammy are officially in a relationship and have moved into an adorable apartment together. We’ve started calling them the Funcles because whenever they see Summer, she screeches at them in delight, possibly because they always surprise her with a new toy.
Damon reaches over and grabs my hand as we pull into the driveway. I look over at him, thinking about how handsome he looks. How much a year and a half has made him look even older. Not to mention how hot he looks when he’s playing with our daughter.
“I sure hope you like everything,” I tell him.
“Of course I will. I’ve liked everything I’ve seen in your plans and in person so far.”
“Yeah, but … confession time,” I say.
He turns and looks at me, his eyes boring into mine. “What did you do?”
“I might have added some, um … we’ll call it a slightly bold wallpaper in the dining room and maybe changed a few things in the game room too.
Which I feel a little bad about since that’s been considered your domain, but there’s a bar down there and a pool table.
It’s a game room, not just a shrine to Damon Diamond. Right?”
“And here I thought, we were supposed to tell each other everything,” he says, teasing me.
“Do you think it’s going to be weird that we have so many empty rooms?”
“Not at all. That’s our growth space. If we’re going to have more kids, we’ll need it. Speaking of that,” he says, giving me a wink.
“You ready for another baby?” I ask.
This causes him to smirk. “Well, we could at least start trying to have one. Often.”
“You make me laugh. You know our sex life is amazing. It’s always been the easy part of it. The rest of it …”
“Hasn’t always been easy, has it?” he says softly.
“It hasn’t. And even though we’re moving in, you have another season of football after this one is over. So, we’ll be apart for a while still.”
“Do you think we can handle it?” he asks me.
“I hope so,” I say, but he frowns, which makes me suddenly think he’s not so sure anymore. And that worries me.
“Just promise me that whatever happens tonight, you’ll always love me,” he says. “That you and Summer will always be in my life.”
And this hurts. He’s almost making it sound like he’s going to break up with me.
But then I wonder. “Wait. Did you make changes?”
He shrugs. “Maybe a few.”
“Damon Diamond! I’m the expert, remember? You said you didn’t care what I did.”
“I didn’t, but maybe I had some ideas of my own that I thought might incorporate well into our lives.”
“That sounds like a cover-your-ass answer,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
He takes my hand and says, “Come on. Let’s go inside. And we’ll see.”
We step into the two-story entry and are greeted by my gorgeous floors. Literally, I think they are singing in unison, Welcome home.
“Well, I see you already got the tree in here,” I say with a laugh, taking in the massive tree in front of the windows overlooking the water.
“I did. Do you like it?”
I turn toward him. “It’s beautiful, really. If that was your idea of a change, bravo.”
He bows. “Thank you.”
Then he leads me into a den, where I find another smaller tree. “What the heck is this?”
“An early Christmas for you.”
I stare at all the designer handbags decorating the tree, like little works of art. But …
“Wait, are they real or just ornaments?”
“Maybe you should try one on?” he offers.
I touch one of the bags and realize they are real.
“You remembered? When I talked in the hot tub in the Ozarks about me coveting your mom’s and sister’s designer handbags?”
“I do remember. You also said that, someday, you would buy one for yourself when you earned it. Look at this house. The hotel in Fort Worth. Champ, you have deserved one for a while, but you haven’t bought one.”
“I know. I just … they seem so frivolous. Even though they are gorgeous. And I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“Yes. You said that, someday, you’d buy them all for me when you earned it.”
“And with the shoe endorsement, I have. So, I did. They are for my future wife.”
“I’m not sure that’s in our destiny,” I say with a pout. “Unless I could ever get you to stop winning football games so that we could have a New Year’s Eve wedding.”
“Back to the bags,” he says. “Which one is your favorite?”
“Are you truly saying these are all for me?”
“I’m saying that.”
“Hmm, well.” I walk around the tree and point out a bag. “Maybe this one. No, wait, this one.”
“Take one off and try it on,” he suggests.
I take the one I think is my favorite off the tree carefully so as not to scratch it and put the golden chain over my shoulder as he slides a portable standing mirror out from the corner.
“Ohmigosh, Damon. Isn’t it amazing? Did you know each bag is numbered and … and it would look so cute with—well, everything? It’s such a classic.”
I set that bag down on a chair and try on another one.
“This is such a crazy splurge, Damon, but I love it. And I love that they are smaller. I think I will use them all the time.”
“You don’t like bigger bags?” he asks.
“Oh, well, sure I do, especially for travel and stuff but—”
“Good.”
“Good?” I question.
“Yes, you just said the magic words. That means you get the second part of your gift.”
Just as he’s about to lead me somewhere else, I slip up against him and kiss him. Deeply.
“What if I’d rather do this?” I ask, running my tongue down his neck and wrapping my leg around him.
“Um, how about we put a hold on that? For now.”
My eyes about pop out of my head, and I look at him, eyes narrowed, pupils shooting back and forth, trying to understand.
Damon laughs. “That’s a first, huh?”
“Yes. Most definitely a first.”
He gives me a charming smile. “Maybe I think you’ll be even more, um, enthusiastic after you see the second part of your gift.”
“Thank goodness there’s more. I thought you might be sick. Or fell out of love with me.”
“Not a chance,” he says, taking my hand again and leading me down the hall and to our bedroom.
My natural inclination would be to stop and see everything that’s gotten done since the last time I was on site. Like, I’m dying to see everything, every detail, every piece of furniture and artwork, and see if it all looks as good as I imagined.
But at the same time, he’s leading me to the bedroom. And I am not going to complain about that.