Epilogue II
Thanksgiving
One Year Later
Nora
“Nora, this is officially too many pies.”
“Hardly. It’s ten pies,” I said, pulling a second box of pies out of the back of the truck. It might be too many pies, but I was never going to let him know that.
“That’s too many.”
The driveway was already filled with cars. Everyone was here. We were late because right as we got into the truck to leave, Nick said he forgot something for his mom and ran back inside.
We were already running late because baking ten pies took a long ass time and I was trying to make videos while I did it. So two had just come out of the oven and needed time to cool before I could put them into the box to carry.
“Nick, there are more people here this year. Don’t blame me your half-brothers are producing children at an alarming rate.”
Wyatt and Sydney had twins three months ago. And Liam and Kit welcomed their first child together just last month.
“They can’t eat pie. They’re little babies.” Nick stepped up beside me. He wore a very nice grey cashmere sweater over his black t-shirt, and he’d gotten all the grease out from under his nails.
We also might have been late a little bit because he was so handsome and I felt compelled to show him.
“Don’t forget, Charlie’s bringing her boyfriend and Julian is bringing his boyfriend. More boyfriends mean more pie,” I said. I tugged my new red coat down with one had. Jeanie McNeil was opening a thrift store in town and she let me take whatever I wanted after doing a series of videos for her.
“If you say so,” he grumbled. The driveway had iced over in an early freeze and my heels were no good, so Nick put an arm around my waist and basically pushed me up the driveway beside him. I started laughing.
“Don’t laugh,” he said, watching the ground carefully. “Or we’ll go down.”
I was hoping someone would have heard our truck pull up, and like last year, would take the initiative to come greet us.
Because, no joke, pies were heavy.
Just thinking about last year brought a smile to my face. It was one year ago today, that Nick had officially asked me to move in with him. One year of fighting over closet space, fighting over whether or not he should open a second garage and expand his business, one year of amazing sex, incredible cuddles, a new kitten (one of Calico Cove’s feral mammas had given birth to an all orange litter and I could not resist) and love.
All the love I could have ever wanted.
Nick was stubborn, sometimes difficult to pry information from, uncaring about anything related to accounting, and hated taking pictures with me. He absolutely refused selfie videos too, despite having once been a viral sensation.
And yet, I loved him more than any other person I could ever imagine.
“What?” he asked me.
“What?”
“You’ve got a funny look on your face.”
I smiled. “I was remembering last year. Remember when you got down on one knee to ask me to move in with you and everyone freaked out?”
“Yeah, hysterical. Your sisters were disappointed with my lack of romance, your father was pissed at me all night because I didn’t have a ring and RJ kept threatening to beat me up anytime he was in earshot. Lots-o-fun.”
I laughed. “Well, at least we won’t have that problem this year, since I already live with you.”
“Oh, hold on. I forgot,” He put his box of pies down on the driveway, but they started sliding. “Shit!” I cried. “Catch them.”
He caught them and set them on the frosty grass. “What are you doing, Nick?”
“Here, give me that box too.”
He took my box and set it down on top of his. “Nick, we’re already late. What did you forget…”
He got down on one knee.
“Oh my God, did you slip? Are you slipping?” I grabbed onto his shoulders like I could pull him up, but I fell down on my ass.
“You’re kind of ruining the moment here, babe,” he muttered and pulled from his back pocket a small jewelry box.
“Nick,” I breathed. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
The front door to Antony and Birdie’s place opened, and everyone poured out the front door. All of them with phones in their hands pointed at us.
“Why are they on the ice? Did they fall? Did you fall?”
“Did he do it?”
“He’s doing it now, shush.”
“You’re not recording, Dad. Hit this button.”
“This is soooo romantic!”
“Oh shit, my nipples are leaking, Wyatt, keep the camera on him while I go get the babies.”
All of the noise from our family blew right past me. I was locked in on Nick, who was still kneeling in front of me. While I sat on my ass on the ice.
No. Nope. It wasn’t going down this way.
“Nora Barnes.”
“Stop.”
“Stop?”
“Yeah. Help me up.” He gave me a boost up and I fixed my hair and smiled down at the love of my life. “Go ahead, I’m ready now.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve waited my whole life to say these words to you,” Nick said with a voice that trembled a little, and the hand holding the ring box shook. “Will you please make me the happiest man who ever lived, and agree to be my wife?”
He popped open the box and I gasped. It had to be a three carat square cut diamond set in beautiful yellow gold.
“It’s good, right?” Liam shouted. “I helped him pick it out.”
“It’s gorgeous,” I whispered. I looked from the ring, back up to him. “It’s…mine?”
“Only if you say yes.”
“Say yes already! I’m hungry.”
I laughed and nodded and cried. “Yes, Nick Renard, I will be your wife.”
“Roy, you owe me another fifty bucks!’
“Me too!”
Nick stood and slid the ring on my finger. “Apparently, I’m a sucker for tradition.”
“I’m okay with that,” I said, as I brushed the tears off my cheeks.
“I love you, Nora. With everything I am.”
I reached up to cup his cheek and could see the twinkle of the ring he’d just gifted me. “And I love you, Nicky. Forever.”
He pressed his forehead against mine, while we breathed the same air.
“Don’t call me-”
“Nicky, I know. Now kiss me and let’s make this official.”
And he did, while Will, my now fifteen-year-old brother, still felt the need to make vomiting noises in the background.
Oh, in case you were wondering, yes, I did post the video to my social media page and we did go viral.
Again.