Epilogue
Miles
“You are the best person I’ve ever known. You can make me laugh no matter my mood, your inherent kindness melts my heart, and your drive to make your dreams come true fills me with pride. I’ve never been this happy, and I know there’s so much more to come. Roxy, I love you.”
“Bruh.”
“Come on, man. Help me.”
Riggs is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind as he pushes the bar up and rests it on the frame of the workbench. Sitting up, he mops the sweat from his face as I move from my position as his spotter to stand in front of him.
Looking up at me from beneath lowered brows, he sighs. “It shouldn’t be this hard. Just speak from the heart, and you’ll be fine.”
I’m already shaking my head before he finishes speaking. “We’ve only been together, officially, for two weeks. Do you think it’s too soon? Is she going to freak out if I say the “L” word? Oh, God, now I’m freaking out.”
I take a few deep breaths while Riggs rolls his eyes. “You’re both obviously in love with each other. Time doesn’t matter. I’m telling you, Miles, just be honest with her. It doesn’t have to be some melodramatic soliloquy.”
“Stop using big words. It makes you sound like a douche,” I say, feeling some of the nervous tension drain out of me as he laughs.
“Sorry. Tessa is rubbing off on me, I guess.”
“How did you say it to her the first time?”
“I said ‘I love you, too’ after she confessed her feelings and hit me with the perfect football pun,” he says with a smirk.
“Lame,” I drawl, and he snaps his towel in the direction of my junk.
I leap back just in time and bark out a laugh. “At least your proposal made up for your terrible declaration of love.”
Riggs gets this dreamy look on his face like he’s remembering asking Tessa to marry him in the middle of the football field after we won the division championship. I have to admit, it was pretty epic, as was the moment Tessa tackled him to the ground and said yes.
Roxy deserves an epic moment like that, and while I’m nowhere near ready to propose marriage, I am in love with her. We’ve admitted our feelings, that we’re falling for each other, but we’ve never said the actual words before.
And I want to make the first time I say it out loud special.
“I’m telling you, man, just speak from the heart,” he says again. “If you make up some grand speech, it’ll sound practiced and won’t hit right.”
We’ve finished our workout, and I think about Riggs’ advice while I shower and change into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved button down. I’m meeting Roxy for lunch, and I intended to say those three little words today. But I haven’t found the right way to say it, so I guess I’m just going to have to wait.
I don’t care what my best friend says. It has to be perfect. Roxy deserves nothing less.
The drive back to Sublime from Branston is smooth and uneventful, and I arrive at the restaurant to see Roxy’s car already in the parking lot. My lips curl up into a grin when I see the Branston Bandits sticker on her back windshield.
Roxy wasn’t much of a football fan before she met me, and in all honesty, still isn’t. But she’s a fan of me, and wants to support me and my team. I park next to her and hop down out of my Jeep. She’s not in the car, so I head inside to find her already seated at a table for two.
“Hey, you got here early,” I say as I approach, leaning over to kiss her lips before sliding into the chair across the table from her.
She takes a bite of garlic bread, chewing and swallowing with a groan of pleasure before answering, “I was at the bakery all morning with the contractor, designing plans for the new display counter and the booths I want to install on the western wall. And I missed breakfast…” her eyes darken as she remembers our activities before I left for the gym, “…so I’m starving.”
“You weren’t complaining this morning,” I tease, my cock thickening as the memory of her coming all over my mouth streams through my mind.
“I’m not complaining now,” she says with a wink before taking another huge bite of bread.
“So, things are moving along with the location?” I ask, reaching down to subtly adjust myself before taking a sip from the glass of water at my place setting.
“It’s going awesome,” she says with a bright smile. “Tessa is still selling samples of my work, and ever since I got the website for Moxy up and running, requests for special events have been flooding in. Baby showers, birthday parties, and even a wedding, in addition to a huge influx of requests for the X-rated stuff. I’m going to be a very busy girl for the next few weeks.”
“I hope you’ll still have time for me,” I say, faking a sulk.
“Always,” she says with a smile, then pushes the last of her piece of bread between her lips with a moan. Then, lifting her hand to hide her mouth full of half-chewed food, she adds, “As long as you keep waking me up like you did this morning, I’ll make time.”
Her eyes gleam as she continues to chew the crusty bread, and my heart explodes as I lose my mind and what little filter I possess.
“God, woman, I love you so fucking much,” falls from my lips before I can stop it.
Roxy’s eyes turn into wide saucers as she gasps. Her face immediately fills with panic as her eyes go from wide to completely bugging out. She makes a choking noise and slaps a hand against her chest before leaping to her feet.
I’m out of my seat in an instant, darting around the table. Moving in behind her, I circle my arms around her and grab one fist with the opposite hand. I learned to perform the Heimlich during a first aid class I took last year, and perform the maneuver to the best of my ability considering the panic coursing through me. Roxy grunts with the first pulse, then coughs with the second as a piece of bread flies from her mouth to land on the table.
I turn her in my arms, and she clings to me as she gasps for air between deep, rough coughs. I rub my hands up and down her back as regret floods in to replace my earlier panic.
“Shit, baby, I’m sorry. I promise, I wasn’t trying to kill you. I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that.”
“Shut…up,” she grunts, coughing again, then looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “Don’t apologize unless you didn’t mean it.”
“I meant it,” I breathe, and her face lights up with pleasure.
“I love you, too, Miles,” she whispers, making my chest puff up with love and pride.
I dip my head and press a warm kiss to her lips. A second later, a cacophony of applause rings out, breaking us apart. The other diners and the waitstaff are clapping and a few whistles ring out, making me chuckle. When I look back down at Roxy, she’s smiling, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment and joy.
I take a bow before helping Roxy back into her seat. Leaning over, I kiss her cheek before whispering in her ear.
“At least we’ll never forget the first time we said ‘I love you’ to each other.”
She chuckles, her eyes filled with love as she says, “We certainly won’t.”