Epilogue – Ellis
Holy shit, I’ve never been so nervous in all my life.
We’re in Hawaii—literal paradise—and I’m pacing the length of our hotel room like... well, an anxious bull. Because I’m not angry. Nowhere close. Just anxious.
“Okay, ready,” Scarlet says, stepping out of the bathroom dressed in a white string bikini.
And now I can add hard to the list. Because, holy shit, my dick’s trying to punch a hole in my swim trunks.
“Princess.” I bite down on my knuckles. “You look... wow.”
She twirls, showing off her cheeky cut of her bottoms. Pretty sure the white fabric shows off far more than it covers. “You like?”
Those two little words sending my mind reeling back to four weeks ago with her standing at the foot of my bed looking like a dream in her Blair Waldorf inspired lingerie. Loved her in that. Love her in this. Pretty damn sure I’ll love her in anything.
But the thing I’m really hoping to see her in is currently secured in a little velvet box, burning a hole in my pocket.
She runs her eyes down the length of my body, a saucy little grin curling her lips. “Oh, yeah. You clearly like. Now, let’s hit the beach.”
“Ready whenever you are.”
“Just gotta get my bag.” She proceeds to throw on a sheer cover up before throwing things into her beach bag—a water bottle, a scrunchie, sunblock, lip balm, a hairbrush, some sort of spritz bottle, and finally her e-reader. “Okay, let’s go catch some rays, Sunshine.”
“That was delightfully nerdy,” I say, sliding open our door. We lucked out, and they upgraded us to a beach-walkout bungalow. We even have a private lap pool.
“You must be rubbing off on me.”
I rub my hands together like an evil genius. “All part of the plan... more or less.”
“Now who’s the dork?”
“If I’m a nerd, you’re a nerd,” I say, riffing on the iconic line from The Notebook.
“C’mon, Wilder. We’re burning daylight.”
I snort. “It’s barely eight in the morning.” We’ve been here three days, and she’s been up with the sun every single one of them.
I keep telling myself today’s the day—today I’ll pop the question, but I keep losing my nerve. It’s not that I think she’ll say no. It’s that she deserves the best of everything and—fuck, I don’t even know that is.
If not now, when? My dad’s voice—or at least the way I remember it—filters through my brain, and I decide to say fuck it. Because he’s right. If not now, when.
I slide the box from my pocket and drop to one knee right in the middle of the sandy path. “Scarlet.”
“Yeah?” She whips around to face me. “Oh my god.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispers, fingers covering her mouth as tears fill her eyes.
“No, like, I love you. So much so, that the intensity of what I feel for you shocks me sometimes. You’re every good thing in this world.
You make me a better man. You challenge me.
You intrigue me. You complete me. And I know this might seem fast, but you’re it for me.
I know it. I’ve known it for a while. You’re end game.
The woman I want in my bed for the rest of my life.
I want to share more than my name with you—I want to build a life with you.
To start a family. I want you to be my forever. So...”
I carefully flip open the box revealing the ring I painstakingly selected after scouring her Pinterest board for days on end.
It’s a radiant cut pink diamond nestled in a hidden halo on a diamond encrusted white gold band.
It’s both modern and timeless and will look absolutely perfect on her slender finger.
Assuming she says yes. Please let her say yes.
“Will you do me the immeasurable honor of being my wife?”
“Yes!” she shouts, kicking up sand as she runs to me, tackling me to the ground. “A million times yes.” She peppers kisses all over my face and despite there now being sand in mouth, all I can do is smile.
“Love the enthusiastic reply, Princess.” I brush her hair away from her face and draw her lips down to mine, kissing her deeply, fully, like we aren't laid out on a resort walking path. Thank fuck it's adults only, so at least no children will be scared for life if they stumble upon us.
Not that we're actually doing anything—not really. Just some celebratory kissing. But...
“Let's get my ring on your finger, yeah?” I ask against her lips.
She scrambles off of me and sticks out her hand. “Yes, please.”
I retrieve the ring box from where it landed next to us. It’s now coated in sand, but a quick blow and shake, solves that problem. I pluck the ring from the box and slide it onto her finger. She turns it this way and that, watching as it glistens in the sunlight peaking in through the palms.
“I love it so much. It's perfect, Ellis.” She kisses me again. “Thank you.”
“If anything, I should be thanking you. You have, no lie, made me the happiest man on earth.”
Scarlet's blinding grin somehow grows brighter. “Wanna be even happier?”
“Not possible.”
“Sure it is. Let's get married now. Here. Today.”
“Today?” I damn near choke on the word. But I don't hate the idea, not even a little.
“Yes! Today!” She hauls herself up off the ground and then extends a hand to help me up.
“Let's be real, there's no part of me that wants anything to do with a traditional wedding.
I don't even want to see another wedding dress, much less wear one.
But I do want to marry you. So, let's do it here. Now.”
“Okay,” I find myself nodding. “We need to look into the requirements.”
Her grin turns downright devious. “What if I told you I already did and was hoping this white swimsuit and cover up would be what I wore when I took your last name?”
“I'd say you're fucking perfect.”
“Then I'm fucking perfect.” She turns back toward our bungalow. “Now, c'mon, they accept walk-ins, and we already have everything we need.”
“Holy shit,” I murmur, delight zipping through me. “You really did plan this. How did you...”
“I found the ring a week ago in your underwear drawer.” She winks.
“And you didn't say anything?” I ask in faux outrage.
“And ruin your beautiful proposal? Fat chance. I'll swoon over that for the rest of my life.”
“You minx.”
“Your minx,” she corrects me. “Now c'mon. Let's go!” She grabs my hand and drags me the rest of the way to the room, where we quickly throw on more appropriate footwear.
“So,” I start as we walk to the front of the resort to wait for our ride share. “What exactly are the requirements to marry here?”
“Really, it couldn't be better.” She spins in a circle, her cover up flaring around her, and begins rattling off the requirements. “First, we have to apply for a marriage license. Then, we have to marry in front of a licensed officiant within thirty days to obtain the marriage certificate. Boom. Easy. I’ll officially be Mrs. Wilder.”
“How do we go about finding someone to perform the ceremony?”
“Already taken care of. I might have a licensed agent on standby already.”
“Holy hell, that's the hottest thing you've ever said to me.”
“Hell yes.” She pumps her fist into the air. “I want forever with you. And doing it like this, here on our terms, sounds like the absolute best way to start our forever.”
“Sure does,” I agree as our ride pulls up. “Let's do the damn thing.”
And do the damn thing we do.
We exchange vows with our toes in the sand, waves gently lapping at our feet, as the sun dips below the horizon. Promises of love, fidelity, compassion, trust, friendship, and respect while our mothers hoot and holler from video calls on phones propped in the sand.
It’s not traditional, but it’s ours and it’s perfect.
Now and tomorrow. Forever and always. I’m the luckiest man on the planet to be able to call Scarlet Wilder my wife.
THE END