EPILOGUE
MADDY
Eight months later
“It’s going to be another half hour or so.” Ben frowns down at the breakfast casserole he’s been slaving over all morning. He puts it back in the oven before adding time to the stove timer.
After the Otters were eliminated from the playoffs in May, Ben decided he wanted to take cooking lessons. It was a steep learning curve for him. He didn’t know how to crack an egg, let alone cook one. But gradually, over the weeks and months, his skills and confidence have grown.
“I don’t mind waiting,” I tell him as I reach for my coffee cup.
I don’t mind watching either. Ben turns and gives me a slow smile like he knows I’m checking him out.
In my defense, it’s impossible not to. Ben Michaels looks good in anything and everything, but Ben Michaels in an apron? It’s so sexy, it’s not even fair.
“When you’re done ogling me, could you grab a roll of paper towel from the hallway closet?”
“Sure.” I don’t move, just continue to look him up and down appreciatively. “Any minute now.”
He sighs deeply. “Can’t a man cook for his woman without being objectified?”
“I guess not!”
He shakes his head, laughing. “The paper towel, Madness?”
I hop down from the stool and salute him. “Ay, ay, Captain.”
His eyes darken as he looks at me over his shoulder. “You know I get hard when you call me that.”
“Do you?” I blink innocently at him as I back away. “I had no idea.”
It’s been my favourite kind of Saturday so far–-the lazy kind. We slept in and made the bed, after thoroughly messing it up with morning sex. Ben started preparing his latest culinary creation while I showered. After we eat, we’re planning to head downtown for some shopping for the week ahead.
I’ve been loving having Ben home so much. Now that it’s the off-season, he’s no longer on the road for days at a time.
The summer is already flying by. After Alyssa was let go, Ivan applied for and got her position. It’s amazing how smoothly things have gone for me at work without having an employee actively sabotage me at every turn. I just have one more week of work before a three-week vacation.
We’re starting in Nova Scotia for a week with my mom.
Then Ben will head home to Prince Edward Island while Mom and I do our annual bike trip.
When that’s over, I’ll meet Ben in PEI where we’ll stay another ten days.
Beth and Foster will be there along with the rest of the Michaels clan and I couldn’t be looking forward to it more.
I pass by the spare room that we’ve nicknamed Wonderland because that’s where we’ve set up my book collection and something catches my eye.
“Hey,” I call to Ben in the kitchen. “You put the lights up!”
The tall bookcase is glowing with soft pink led lights.
It bathes the books in almost a cotton candy haze.
Stepping closer, I admire how beautiful the different books all look together.
I’ve also displayed my prized Alice-themed possessions: a vintage teacup, a pocket watch, and a silver top hat.
There’s also a framed photo of my grandmother and I having tea.
“Do you like it?” Ben asks as he enters the room behind me. He leans on the doorway, sans apron which makes me want to pout.
“I love it,” I tell him, gingerly running my fingers over the shelf.
That’s when I notice a book I’ve never seen before sitting on top of my carefully arranged treasured editions.
“Where did this come from?” I pick up the paperback that stands out because…
well, because it’s so very ordinary. A mass market book that looks completely out of place on the shelf.
When I open the cover, my heart stutters in my chest. A large hole has been carved in the center of the pages; in it, a rose gold ring rests on a light topaz pillow. The diamonds, a large one in the center surrounded by a halo of smaller diamonds, glows in the pink shelf light.
I spin around, my eyes already clouding with tears to find Ben down on one knee in front of me.
“Madelyn Alice Clairmont.” His voice is thick with emotion.
“I have spent half of my life loving you. I loved you long before I ever said it out loud. You are my best friend, my Wonderland, and the girl of my dreams. I know I call you Madness, but sometimes I feel like my love for you is the one thing in this world that makes perfect sense. I want all of my adventures to be with you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes, of course I will.” I bend my knees to join him on the floor, but he springs to his feet, lifting me into the air. I wrap my arms and legs around him, clinging to him tightly as I whisper, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, baby. Always have.”
“Always.” I press my forehead to his, our breaths syncing as our chests rise and fall together.
As his lips take mine, one of my favourite Alice quotes comes to mind.
“When I used to read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one.”
THE END