Epilogue #2
Macallan 25 Year Sar Obair.
Only one hundred and sixty-eight bottles had been produced. Aiden had been crowing about snagging the bottle at auction for a thousand dollars. He'd refused to let any of us taste a single drop. And now Lucas had it.
"How?" I asked.
"We're celebrating," he said.
"With Aiden's whiskey?"
"Forget the whiskey for a second." Lucas lifted me to sit on the island, sliding my skirt up my thighs so he could stand between my legs, bringing us almost eye to eye. His green eyes roamed over my face, resting on my lips, my hair, my chin, before finally meeting my own.
"What's up?" I whispered. He was being weird. Almost like he was nervous, but Lucas didn't get nervous. He was the most confident man I knew. Nothing scared him.
In answer, he kissed me, pressing his lips to mine and leaving them there, our breath mingling for a long moment before he nipped my lower lip and broke the kiss.
"Before we open the whiskey, I wanted to give you this," he said, pulling a blue velvet box out of his pocket.
My heart stuttered in my chest. My breath froze.
Was that what I thought it was?
Speechless, I looked into Lucas's eyes and saw his heart exposed, overflowing with love, tinged with nerves.
"Lucas?" I managed to ask, afraid to hope too much.
He flipped open the box to reveal a ring.
The ring.
The most gorgeous ring I'd ever seen.
A classic emerald-cut diamond with a halo of pavé diamonds and matching pavé diamonds on the band. Vibrant blue sapphires ran around the sides of the raised mount. From the top, the sapphires gave just a hint of blue, bringing life to the ice of all of those diamonds.
It was gorgeous and sparkly and just on the elegant side of too much. Exactly the ring I would have chosen for myself.
In explanation, Lucas said, "There isn't a gemstone the color of your eyes, so I had to settle for sapphires. Maggie said you liked sapphires."
He'd taken Maggie with him to buy me a ring? I opened my mouth to tell him it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but no sound came out.
I looked from the ring to Lucas, unable to speak.
"You changed my life, Charlie Winters," he said. "I never thought I could love anyone the way I love you. Every morning, I wake up next to you and think I must be dreaming. There will never be another woman for me. There's only you. For the rest of my life, there's only you. Will you marry me?"
Tears spilled over my cheeks as I nodded, my throat too tight for words. Lucas let out a breath and pulled the ring from the box. He rested his forehead against mine as he slid the ring on my finger. It was a perfect fit. More tears slid down my cheeks.
I'd been wondering, hoping, secretly imagining our future. I'd had no idea Lucas had been doing the same thing.
"I love you, Lucas."
His forehead still against mine, we both looked at the ring on my finger.
"What do you think about a Christmas wedding?" he asked. I gave a watery laugh.
"That's only six weeks away," I said.
"Do you want something big?"
I knew if I said I did, Lucas would agree, though he'd hate the circus of a big wedding. I shook my head, rubbing my forehead against his.
"I really don't," I whispered. "I just want to be married to you."
Jacob and Abigail were planning the wedding to end all weddings, and just the thought of all that work gave me hives. Vance and Maggie's wedding hadn't been huge, and it was beautiful, but it was still more than I wanted. Lucas interrupted my thoughts.
"I want to get married at Winters House," he said. "At Christmas. After Gage is home."
My heart lurched in my chest and I sat back to study his face. "What?"
"I got a call this morning. Aiden will get official word eventually, but my contact told me Gage is in a military hospital. He's injured and not in great shape, but he's going to be okay. And he's coming home. Soon."
I started crying again and launched myself into Lucas's arms, sobbing in relief. I hadn't thought anything could make this moment any better, but Lucas had done it.
Gage was coming home.
Alive.
And in time to watch me marry Lucas Jackson in a Christmas wedding at Winters House.
"I don't think I could be any happier than I am right now," I said into Lucas's neck.
He squeezed me tight before leaning back to wipe my tears with one of the work rags in the box beside me. I took over, trying to keep from smearing mascara all over my cheeks.
I'd never been a crier before I met Lucas. Not since my parents died.
I'd locked my heart away where no one could ever hurt it again. It had taken Lucas to break through. To make me feel again.
Lucas was worth the risk of love.
Lucas was worth everything.
He picked up the crystal decanter of whiskey and twisted off the top. From somewhere in the box, he pulled out a glass from the set I'd stolen the day Aiden had fired me. Cracking the seal on the bottle, he poured a healthy slug in the glass.
"Does Aiden know you have this?" I asked, taking a sip. Amazing. Not as good as the bottle I'd stolen, but nothing was. Lucas shrugged and took the glass, tasting the whiskey.
"Damn, that's good."
"How did you get it?" I asked.
"I went over this afternoon to tell him about Gage and ask for his blessing."
My heart melted. Aiden and Lucas got along better than I'd expected, but I wouldn't have guessed Lucas would talk to Aiden about marrying me.
"You asked Aiden for his blessing and then stole his best bottle of whiskey?" I asked, torn between a laugh and more tears.
"Of course I talked to your brother, Princess. I wanted to do this right."
I looked from the ring on my finger to the bottle of Macallan.
Nothing could be more us, more right, than Lucas proposing over a bottle of stolen whiskey.
Somehow, I thought Aiden would understand.
I took the crystal glass from Lucas and set it on the counter, sliding it and the bottle a few feet away. Then I pulled his mouth down to mine.
The day we met, we'd stopped with a kiss. One kiss, but it had changed my life. Since the moment Lucas's lips met mine, nothing had been the same.
Here we were, six months later, with another bottle of stolen whiskey.
This time, I wasn't drunk.
This time, we were so much more than two lost strangers.
And this time, we weren't stopping with a kiss.