Epilogue
EPILOGUE
S ix Weeks Later
“Are you ready for your massage?” Sloane asked when she walked up front to see Dane standing there for his appointment.
He had both Tyler and Tiffani with him and Shiloh was in her office. She knew Tiffani was coming for a pedicure and Shiloh was going to get one too. The two girls would get it side by side and then hang out in her office while Dane got his monthly hour massage.
“I am,” he said. “Thanks for doing this with the kids. I guess I must have messed up my schedule.”
“Not a problem,” she said. He’d never done that before, but she didn’t think anything of it. It seemed they were always running wild and stuff happened.
The kids all got along great .
If Thanksgiving was exciting for Shiloh, Christmas has been an eye-opener.
Dane didn’t have his kids on Christmas Eve and didn’t get them until eleven on Christmas morning. In a way she was happy about that because she knew that she wanted to spend Shiloh’s first Christmas at home.
Dane stayed with her and she had to admit it was a Christmas of her dreams.
Putting all of Santa’s gifts under the tree right before bed. Then letting Shiloh wake her up and rush down the stairs to see what was left for her.
She and Dane watched while Shiloh acted like a normal five-year-old opening up clothes and toys and so thankful for it all that she cried and hugged them both.
Dane left to get his kids and she let him have his time with them to open gifts while Shiloh played with her stuff. Then they all went to Chloe’s house for dinner.
New Year’s Eve, she’d stayed at Dane’s and they had all the kids as Mel had plans with Ethan and asked to have the night with no kids. Dane and his ex didn’t have the same relationship they always did. They weren’t as close, but they were making it work for the kids.
Sloane wasn’t jealous over any of it. She knew Dane loved her and no one else.
It was the family she always wanted in her life and never even knew.
“Are you going to stay as I get undressed?” Dane asked when they were in her room.
“You know I like to,” she said, winking. “Or I can go check on the kids quickly. Poor Tyler.”
“He’ll be happy playing his video games,” he said as he unbuttoned his shirt and hung it up. He’d come from work .
When Dane was naked and on the bed, she started his massage like she always did.
They talked through it all. About their days. The kids. Anything and everything.
When he was done, he sat up and got dressed.
She went to open the door, but he stopped her. “I’ve got to give you your tip,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. It always bothered her when he did that, but she stopped arguing over it.
“Sure,” she said.
She put her hand out but rather than cash going in it, he dropped to one knee. “I’ve got something better than money today.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I know what I want to do, but by the look on your face I might have misjudged it.”
“Oh no,” she said. “You didn’t. It’s just...this is soon.”
He laughed. “I’m getting older. I want more kids. You do too.”
“I do,” she said. They’d talked about it. She wanted at least one of her own.
“Well then,” he said. “Let me continue. “Six months ago today we went on our first date after my second massage.”
“Oh my God,” she said. “You remembered that.”
“I remember everything,” he said. “When it’s important. Just like you are. I love you. I love the way you love my kids. I love that my kids love you the way I do. I want us to be a family permanently. Not running back and forth. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“I will,” she said. “Because I want all the same things you do.”
He slid the ring on her finger, then stood up and kissed her. “I really didn’t forget I had the kids today. But I wanted today to be the day.”
“You’re sneaky,” she said.
“Not in a bad way. Should we go tell the kids?” he asked.
“Do they know?” she asked. Maybe doing this here wasn’t a good thing. Maybe his kids wouldn’t be happy about it.
“They do. I told them yesterday. I didn’t want them to tell Mel so I waited until the last minute. I told Tiffani if she didn’t say a word to you today she could have monthly pedicures for six months. Tyler got a new game he’s playing.”
“See, sneaky,” she said. “But I love it.”
She knew he’d tell Mel himself but was glad this was between them.
They left to go to her office knowing the kids would all be there.
“Did you do it, Dad?” Tiffani asked, jumping around.
“I did,” he said. “She said yes.”
Tiffani charged her and hugged her waist, then pulled Shiloh over too and said, “We’re going to be sisters. Dad and Sloane are getting married.”
There was no reason to correct the kids on what their relationship would be.
Dane winked at her. “Told you it was all good.”
“You were right, once again. Now I’ve got a call to make.”
“Hello,” Diane said when she answered. She had Sloane’s Spa saved in her contacts but didn’t know why she was getting a call.
“Hi, Diane. This is Sloane. I don’t suppose you can get Carolyn on the call with you right now? ”
“She’s here with me,” she said. “She just walked in the door. It’s Sloane.”
“Hi, Sloane,” Carolyn said.
“I just wanted to let you both know that...ready, everyone?”
Diane had no idea what was going on.
“You were right!” a chorus of voices yelled.
“We were?” she asked. “About what?”
“Daddy’s getting married.”
“Oh my God,” Carolyn screeched. Good thing they were on speaker or it might have blown Sloane’s eardrums out. “Is that Tiffani?”
“It is,” Sloane said. “With Shiloh, Dane and Tyler.”
“Dane asked Sloane to marry him,” a quieter voice said. “And she said yes.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said, looking at Carolyn and giving a thumbs up. “I told you that we knew what we were doing.”
“Well, you did say he was a great guy, but we know you didn’t have anything to do with this.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe not as much as we would have liked. Do your parents know, Dane?”
“We just told them,” Dane said. She looked down and saw the call coming in on her phone from a number she didn’t recognize. “That would be my mother calling you right now to tell you the good news. You can all argue who had a bigger hand in it. Have a good night.”
Just like that, the phone disconnected and she answered the other call. “Hello?”
“Diane, this is Doreen Grey. I’m sure you heard the good news.”
“We did,” she said. “I’ve got Carolyn here with me. ”
“Perfect,” Doreen said. “I’ll only say this once. I don’t believe in matchmaking, but maybe it can work.”
All three women laughed.
“It’s all about the couples,” Carolyn said. “And the mothers. We just have to keep that part to ourselves.”
To Be Continued...for Zander Conway
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