Epilogue
ROBERT
I stare at my wife standing at the end of the aisle, and for the first time in my life… I’m nervous.
I’m actually really nervous, and I pull at the hem of my jacket.
After everything we’ve survived together, after thirty-five years of marriage, after raising our boys and building an empire and nearly losing each other… my damn hands are sweating.
Knox notices too because he mutters beside me, “You look terrified.”
“Shut up,” I mutter back.
Cole laughs quietly while Bennett smirks.
They’re assholes, and if I was in my office, I’d give them hell. But we’re at my vow renewal, and now is not the time or the place.
Eleanor starts walking toward me, and fuck, she’s so beautiful I can’t take my eyes off her. Her beige dress is simple and elegant. It hugs her body perfectly and reminds me exactly why I’m so obsessed with her.
She’s clutching a bouquet of wildflowers, and there are a few chuckles as she walks quickly down the aisle and stops next to me.
I take her hand and hold her to me. “You in a hurry?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “I love that you wanted to do this, but I don’t need it, Bobby. I know how you feel about me.”
“I’m doing this for you, for us, and for our family. There is nothing fractured about our family, Ellie. I want the whole world to know that we are as committed to each other as we’ve ever been. I want people to know that nothing will ever tear us apart.”
She goes to her tiptoes and kisses me softly. “Okay.”
The ceremony is small. We only invited family and people that we trust.
But none of that would matter. I would renew our vows with just the two of us in the room because more than anything, it’s Ellie that I want to impress.
The officiant starts talking, and I know I should be paying attention, but all I can do is stare at my beautiful wife and think about what I want to do with her when we’re done here.
I still can’t get over the fact that she came home to me, and there won’t be a second that I don’t savor with her by my side.
Eleanor squeezes my hand gently, and I realize that everyone is staring at me waiting for my vows.
Shit.
There’s a laugh, but I ignore it.
I clear my throat and look down at my wife. “I had a whole speech planned.”
Knox groans behind us. “Oh, God.”
The guests laugh softly, but my gaze never leaves Eleanor.
“But then I saw you walking toward me and forgot every damn word,” I admit honestly.
Her eyes immediately fill with tears.
I brush my thumb across her hands, which I’m holding. “This year has been the hardest of my life.”
She tenses, and so I start to ramble quickly. “But after today, I can say it’s also the best.”
I take a deep breath. “Thirty-five years ago, you married me, and we really didn’t know what we were getting into.
We raised our boys, built a business together, and made our life.
” I pull her closer. “But one of my biggest mistakes was taking it all for granted. My promise to you is that for the next thirty-five years or however many we’re blessed with, I will start and end each day with you.
You are the best part of my life, Ellie, and I will love you, protect you, and have you by my side for the rest of my life.
” I lean down and kiss her, breaking off the kiss way sooner than I want. “I love you, my Ellie.”
A tear slips down Eleanor’s cheek, and I wipe it away immediately. Eleanor lets out a shaky breath. “I love you too, Bobby.”
She clears her throat. “Well, now I feel bad because my vows aren’t nearly as good.”
I grin. “Impossible.”
She takes both my hands in hers. “Bobby, loving you has never been the hard part.”
That hits me square in the damn chest.
“I think somewhere along the way we forgot we were supposed to be partners,” she whispers. “But even when I left… I never stopped being yours.”
My throat works hard.
“And I never stopped loving you.” She steps closer. “You’re my home, Bobby. You always will be.”
Fuck.
I pull her against me and kiss her before the officiant even finishes speaking. Everybody laughs and whistles, but I don’t give a damn because my wife is back where she belongs.
Hours later, during the party at the house, while everything is still going strong downstairs, I carry Eleanor into our bedroom.
She laughs softly against my neck. “You know people are going to notice that we disappeared.”
“Good.”
I kick the bedroom door shut behind us and lower her slowly to her feet without letting her go.
There are candles lit around the room, and petals are supposed to be on the bed, but the only thing I see is her.
My wife reaches up and loosens my tie slowly. “You’ve been staring at me all night.”
“I’ve been staring at you for thirty-five years.”
Her cheeks turn pink, and hell if that doesn’t make my heart feel like it’s going to explode right out of my chest.
I slide my hands down her waist. “You happy, Ellie?”
She looks up at me softly. “I am now.”
A calm comes over me.
I kiss her slowly, taking my time.
Her fingers slide into my hair as she melts against me.
I back her toward the bed, brushing my mouth across hers between words. “You know…”—kiss—“…you looked so damn pretty walking toward me today.”
She smiles against my mouth. “Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” I slide the straps of her dress down slowly. “Almost dropped me to my knees.”
Her laugh turns into a gasp when I kiss the sensitive skin beneath her ear.
“Bobby.”
God, I love hearing my name from her mouth.
I ease the dress down her body inch by inch until it pools at her feet. Then I step back just long enough to look at her. With each passing year, she gets even more beautiful to me.
“You know what my favorite part of today was?” I ask quietly.
Her hands move to the buttons of my shirt. “The vows? Yours were really good. I was impressed,” she guesses.
I shake my head.
“The kiss?”
“Nope.”
She laughs softly. “Then what?”
I cup her face gently. “Getting to marry you all over again.”
I lay her back and hover over her. “I wasn’t lying today, Ellie. I’m going to love you for the rest of my life.”
She circles her arms around my neck and pulls me down to her. “Ditto.”
And then we take our time exploring each other’s bodies because we know that we have a lifetime together.