Epilogue
Green shoots were poking through the melting snow all over the gorgeous valley and mountains, and some spring flowers were even trying to make an appearance on the lodge’s grounds.
It was Saturday morning, and Kari was just coming back from a run up one of the trails with Ella, who was visiting for a few weeks.
Kari felt like she was almost a Colorado native at this point, as she was running in a T-shirt and three-quarter-length leggings in barely sixty degrees.
The past two months had been incredible.
She could admit to anyone that she was head over heels in love with Gavin and Austin.
They made life fun, interesting, and exhilarating.
She was still churning out books during the weekdays while Austin was in school and Gavin worked, but every evening and weekend she focused on her “real people,” and she loved it.
She saw Austin running toward them. “My dad needs you,” Austin panted, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the spa.
Kari’s heartbeat took off. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Ella hurried by her side.
“He just needs you,” Austin insisted.
She’d found that though Gavin was a pretty serious guy, he had a fun, teasing side too, and Austin brought it out more than anyone.
Gavin was also patient, smart, kind, and thoughtful.
She loved the way he treated her and his son.
Especially how he tried to put her and Austin first, not one in front of the other, but definitely both before work or any hobby or other person.
Ella stopped at the door to the spa and ushered her inside. “Go.” She had a secretive smile on her face that Kari tried to decipher.
She ran on with Austin. He bypassed the hair, nail, and pedicure stations, all quiet as the spa wasn’t open yet. They raced past the therapy rooms, and he pushed her toward the women’s locker room. “He’s in the therapy pools. Hurry, go.”
“Okay.” Kari put her hands up and laughed. “I’m hurrying, buddy.”
“Thanks.” He gave her an impish grin and went into the men’s locker room.
Kari jogged through the plush women’s locker room and entered the therapy pool room. She loved all the different pools with the assorted jets and temperatures, especially the bubble bed, where she and Gavin had cuddled and shared more than a few delicious kisses.
Gavin stood by one of the warm pools in his swimsuit. The sight of his broad chest and defined muscles still took her breath away. She loved him for all that he was, but she wasn’t about to complain that he looked amazing as well.
He saw her, and his lips turned up in his sexy half smile. “There you are.”
“Hey. Everything okay?”
He nodded. “I have something important to ask you.”
Kari’s throat swelled, and she had a hard time swallowing.
Austin appeared from the men’s locker room. In his small hand were two velvet boxes. He waved happily. “Can I call her Mom now?”
“I hope soon,” Gavin said.
Kari gulped, and joy filled her. This was happening … now? “You can’t ask me something important when I am all sweaty and stinky.” She couldn’t resist teasing him, as he’d often teased her about going to take a shower instead of kissing him when he’d come for her in Arizona.
Gavin’s smile grew. He slowly walked toward her. “I was betting you’d say that.”
She didn’t want to interrupt this moment, but he was supposed to ask something like this while the three of them were on a helicopter ride above the resort, a hike to the falls, or having dinner at a beautiful restaurant with a view.
The only thing he’d gotten right was having Austin be involved.
And how adorable was the little guy that he wanted to call her Mom?
She wanted to be his mom. Thankfully, the biological mom had disappeared when her own lawyer had explained that the evidence was stacked against her and she would never win a case against Gavin and Mama.
Kari wanted to be Gavin’s wife. But she also wanted to shower before she and Gavin sealed the deal with a perfect kiss.
Gavin swept her off her feet and up against his chest. Kari squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned in close and whispered, “You don’t stink to me.”
“That’s because you’re a guy. I’m all sweaty and gross.” This wasn’t the perfect moment for him to ask her to marry him, but she suddenly didn’t care. Real life wasn’t always perfect, and that was part of the beauty of it.
“Don’t worry. I’m planning on fixing that.” He ran toward the nearest pool and jumped.
Kari screamed in surprise and barely got her mouth closed before warm water encased their bodies and they plunged underwater. They surfaced, and he still held her close against his chest. Water streamed from her face and hair. She heard Austin laughing loudly, and she joined in.
Gavin chuckled softly and wiped water from her cheeks. “Now you’re not sweaty and stinky.”
“True. Now I’m a drowned rat.”
“You’re a pretty one.” His eyes swept over her and heated her up much more than the water in the pool could. “Are you okay if I ask you that important question, or do you want to wait until you’ve showered and put makeup on?”
Kari smiled, studying his deep brown eyes. “I’m ready for your important question. I don’t care what I look like if you don’t.”
Gavin’s full smile came then, and she quivered with anticipation. “You look beautiful to me.”
She returned his smile.
He let her feet go; her tennis shoes were heavy in the water, but he held her against his side with his left arm. He reached out to Austin with his right. “You ready, bud?”
“Can I jump in too?”
“Sure, just give me the ring first.”
Austin nodded, as serious as he ever got, and handed over the ring box. He set the other box onto the pool deck, then leapt into the pool, screaming “cannonball!” and making a terrific splash. Kari laughed. Life with these two would never be boring.
Gavin released her to flip the box open and pull the ring out. Her jaw dropped as she took in the gorgeous princess-cut diamond in a white gold and diamond-studded setting. Even the low lights of the spa made it glitter as if it had its own source of light.
Gavin took her left hand in his. “Kari Love … will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she yelled, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. Gavin kissed her long and slow, his strong arms surrounding her and his lips lighting her up from the inside out.
When the kiss ended, she waited as Gavin slid the ring on her left hand, and then they both turned to Austin. “You’re okay with me being your mom?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course!” He grinned at her, grabbed the other box off the pool deck, and popped it open. Inside were an exquisite pair of princess-cut diamond earrings. “Kari Love,” Austin said, as serious as he ever got, “will you be my mom?”
Kari couldn’t blink fast enough to stop the tears from coming. “Yes!” she yelled.
Gavin took the box from Austin’s hand and snapped it shut so they didn’t lose the earrings in the water as Kari squeezed Austin tight. She planned to put those earrings in and never take them out, but it might be a little dangerous to do so with slippery, wet fingers.
“Love you,” Austin said.
“I love you too.”
Gavin’s arms came around both of them. “I love you,” he said to Kari, kissing her tenderly on the temple. He smiled at his son. “And I love you.”
Austin grinned and squeezed Kari tighter. “Best family ever!” he shouted. He lowered his voice and said, “I have another question … Mom.”
Kari’s heart filled with joy. “Ask away, my boy.”
“Can I have a little brother?”
Gavin chuckled, and Kari’s body filled with heat. Her future husband looked to her for the answer. “How about a brother and a sister?” she asked.
“Sweet!” Austin yelled.
Gavin’s full smile appeared again. “I also have one more question,” he said.
“Okay, I’ve liked your questions today.”
He grinned and said, “Can we elope?”
Kari laughed.
Austin’s brow wrinkled. “What does that mean, Dad?”
Gavin ruffled their son’s hair. “It means we fly the whole family to Kauai and get married on the beach. The sooner, the better.”
Kari’s heart thumped faster. “Well, that’s not exactly eloping, but close.”
Gavin’s voice lowered and he whispered against her ear. “Then it means Austin stays with Trey and Ella for a week while we never leave our very private beach house.”
Kari’s heart was racing out of control. “I’m in. Let’s elope!” she screamed.
“Kauai, here we come!” Austin echoed.
Gavin winked and gave her another lingering kiss.
“Okay, okay, I know you’re into my new mom, but enough with the kissing,” Austin said. “You’re squishing me.”
Gavin chuckled and let Austin squirm from their embraces. He hurried over to the bubble bed, turned it on, and was soon murmuring, “Ah,” as it massaged him.
Gavin focused fully on Kari. “Are you really okay with eloping?”
“Are you really planning on a week in a private villa?”
His eyebrows lifted. “Or longer.”
“Eloping sounds brilliant.” She pulled his head down for a kiss, knowing she could never write anything this brilliant or beautiful, and that was okay, because her story surpassed any other.
Don’t miss any of the Strong Family Romances:
Don’t Date Your Brother’s Best Friend
Her Loyal Protector
Don’t Fall for a Fugitive
Her Hockey Superstar Fake Fiance
Don’t Ditch a Detective
Don’t Miss the Moment
Don’t Love an Army Ranger
Excerpt: Don’t Love an Army Ranger
Mary Coulter flew down the mountain trail.
Jumping over rocks and tree roots, she felt more alive and carefree than she had in years.
Glorious pine and aspen trees surrounded her, yellow and blue wildflowers peeked out here and there through the snow that was still melting in the Colorado mountains.
The bright spring sun filtered through the trees to kiss her face and bare shoulders and arms.
Wearing her pink Athleta t-shirt and swirled black and white tights, she was comfortable and stylish.
Yet it made her smile that she even thought of that, nobody in those woods cared that she had an extremely profitable business selling deals and discontinued lines for the top clothing brands and department stores in the nation.
“I’m home!” she yelled to the birds. “I’m really home!”
A deep chuckle came from down the trail then a man jogged around a thick copse of trees.
Mary’s heart started racing and her spine seemed to be rubbing against ice.
This trail was a popular one, north of the Angel Falls Retreat ski resort, but she knew the Strong family let mountain bikers, hikers, and runners have access to all the trails throughout their resort and beyond.
She’d fancied herself alone on this afternoon run, but obviously she wasn’t.
She didn’t recognize the chuckle, so at least it wasn’t Blake coming after her.
Holding her head high and trying not to make eye contact, she planned to sprint past the man and keep on going. She knew few men were straight-up jacktards like her most recent ex-boyfriend, Blake, but she still didn’t need to be alone with the opposite sex in the mountains.
“You’re home?” the man questioned with laughter in his voice as she quickly approached him.
Ignore him, just another guy trying to pick up a girl, but her hands were tingling and her legs feeling weaker.
Blake’s harassment and refusal to take no for an answer had really messed with her mind and made her overly cautious and panicky.
She hated that, as she’d always felt like a confident, business-minded woman, until lately.
She ran right past him and would’ve kept going, but the man yelled, “Mary! You can’t just ignore your best buddy.”
Mary glanced back over her shoulder, but before she could see who was speaking her foot hit a rock or a root, and she launched forward. Flinging her hands out to break her fall, she slammed into the ground. Her palms and knees stung from the impact. She skidded to a stop, panting.
“Mary!”
The man raced to her. Mary tried to climb to her feet, but he was too quick.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her the rest of the way.
Mary felt the sensation of a strong, muscular body next to hers and inhaled a clean, crisp scent.
It felt incredible to be held by this man, but she still wasn’t comfortable with some guy who claimed to be her “best buddy” manhandling her.
She glanced up to tell him to release her, but her jaw dropped open. “Nick?”
Nick Strong indeed was holding her close.
The happy-go-lucky smile that she always remembered on Nick’s handsome face had been traded for a look of concern.
The face that she’d remembered as so perfectly appealing was now marred by puckered scars that started at his right temple and went down the side of his cheek, jaw, and neck, disappearing under his t-shirt. What had happened to him?
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Are you okay?” he asked at the same time.
Nick laughed and held her even closer. The heart hammering caused by fear was now caused by the fact that her lifelong friend, and lifelong crush, was holding her close. His body felt mind-bogglingly tough, and he smelled so good. What had he asked her?
“Yes, I’m fine,” she admitted, brushing the dirt off her hands. “You can, um, let me stand on my own now.”
“Oh.” Nick released her and stepped back. “Glad you’re all right, that was a nice tumble.”
“You shocked me when you called my name.”
“Were you just going to run right past me?” He lifted his eyebrows.
“I didn’t even look at you. I try to avoid eye contact with strangers on deserted mountain trails.”
“Smart.”
She hadn’t been that smart when she’d fallen for a deceptive loser like Blake. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Am I okay?” He put a hand to his chest. “Always. Nothing wrong with me.” His dark eyes had a challenging look in them.
Was he not even going to acknowledge that he’d obviously been burned or blown up or something?
Last she’d heard from her mom, he was an elite Army Ranger, and his family was super proud.
She didn’t ask follow up questions on too many details about Nick as it always made her long for what she could never have.
“But you’ve been … injured.” Internally as well as externally, if she were guessing correctly. The always optimistic man, who nobody could knock down, had been hurt all the way through. Could she be there for him not only as a friend, but maybe, as more than a friend like she’d always hoped?
Nick gave her a devil-may-care grin, making her second guess that he had un-healed emotional injuries, and made a dismissive sound in his throat. “Naw, just a little scar to add to my good looks.”
Keep reading Don’t Love an Army Ranger here.