Bonus Epilogue #2
Tears filled her eyes as she laughed, the contradictory emotions feeling right at home inside her. If you couldn’t feel more than one emotion at the same time as a man you loved was proposing, when could you?
“What a coincidence,” she said, wiping under her eyes carefully, working hard not to look like an actual raccoon this time.
But the man was making it difficult. So many wonderful emotions swirled inside her.
“I don’t think it was,” he said, as he shook his head. “Call it fate. Call it spiritual. Call it whatever higher power you believe in. Call it a coincidence, but it was too perfect. I lost Amber. I was letting her go. Then I found you. Again.”
“Again.”
He cleared his throat. “And so, Kylie, I don’t want to lose you. I want you all for myself. All mine, forever. Second chances are rare, and this one is even rarer. Will you make me the happiest man on earth by marrying me and Harriet? We’re a package deal.”
“I know,” she said, her voice shaking, the words hard to form even if the emotions were crystal clear. “And yes, I will marry you, Harriet, and Jester!”
All she wanted in that moment was to kiss him, but Luke’s steady command meant first things first as he pulled the beautiful marquis diamond ring from the jewelry box and slid it on her left ring finger.
It fit perfectly, as if it were custom designed for her.
“Moore had that custom-made for you,” he said as if reading her mind. “Dumb luck that my best friend happens to be a jeweler,” he said with a laugh that made her nearly levitate.
Their eyes met, and Luke moved closer, Kylie still sitting, his hands sliding into her loose hair, their mouths connecting as she kissed him with every fiber of her being, the Yes looping in her head over and over, her sense that all was right with the world growing stronger as he held her, their tongues playing with each other, the kiss deepening to a connection she didn’t know was possible.
If it felt this good to be engaged, how much better would it feel when they were wed?
“Mrs. Kylie Luview,” he said softly as they broke the kiss, Kylie jolting at his words.
“I – wow. Haven’t thought of that name since I was fifteen and wrote it nine thousand times all over my notebooks.”
“What?”
Her turn to laugh. “You seriously didn’t know that?”
“Hell, no, I didn’t. I had no idea. We were seventeen and fifteen?”
“Maybe I just knew.”
He squeezed her hand, his gaze piercing her even deeper. “Seems like you did.”
“Kylie Luview. Wow. That’s… a lot.”
“You don’t have to take my name.”
“I want to! I certainly did when I was younger. Everyone who isn’t a Luview in this town wants to be one!””
“You do?”
“I – I feel like it’s meant to be.” She looked around, laughing as they both stood, the embrace warm and full, Luke’s chin on her head, her arms around his shoulders, their hug a lifeline.
“Like finding you in here.” He stroked her hair, need rising up inside her, her arousal swift and sudden, giving her another kind of clarity.
“Do you know what I want?” she asked, moving her left hand up his thigh, the metal ring unfamiliar but thrilling.
“I can take a very good guess by the way you’re touching me there,” he said in a low, passionate voice.
“How about we have dinner after.”
“After… what?”
She gestured around the small box.
“You know.”
“You want to… in here?”
“Why not?”
“Kylie Hood! You want to have sex in a metal donation box!” he said with faux outrage as his hand cupped her breast and he did something delicious to her nipple.
“It’s kind of perfect,” she said, holding back a moan as he kissed her neck. “No cell phone signal gets in here. No one will interrupt.”
“And no dog will break into the room and nose my naked hip,” Luke said bitterly.
“That only happened once. And boy, did you scare poor Jester with all that yelling!”
“Good!” He kissed her deeply, one hand going up her back, unclasping her bra like a pro. “Damn dog.”
“And the yelling made Harriet come running and nearly get an eyeful.”
“Can we please stop talking about Harriet and Jester and focus on us.”
“Us?”
“Are we really doing this?” he asked in an amused voice. “It’s not too weird to have sex in a metal donation bin?”
“Is it any weirder than finding your future wife in one?”
“I guess not.” He laughed softly. “Confession time: I brought a camping mat just in case.”
“Just in case – oh! Just in case I magically wanted to have sex in this bizarre little tin can?”
“Yep.”
“You’re always prepared.”
“It’s not just my job, ma’am – it’s my personal credo.”
She groaned and laughed at the same time, loving him even more as he pulled away, found the small mat, and set it down on the floor with a flourish.
“There are no kids in here. No dogs. No unexpected trees falling across state highways. No power outages. No police emergencies,” she murmured. “Why, Mr. Luview, it’s as if you planned the perfect proposal.”
“More like I planned the perfect place to get laid.”
“Then quit talking and start doing.”
And so he did.
THE END
Keep flipping the page for Love You More, Colleen and Moore’s book!