Epilogue
Candy
The bell rang over the door as a customer walked in. I waved without looking up.
“Welcome! Can I help you with—“ My voice drifted off to nothing when I saw my husband standing there wearing his usual flannel shirt and dark jeans. That wasn’t what took me off guard. Nope. It was the Santa hat on top of his head that made me think he was up to something.
And just like that, wetness coated my thick thighs.
His dark eyes locked with mine as his hand reached behind him, and the sound of the lock being put in place felt like it echoed around us.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I watched him slowly walk towards me.
My husband was definitely up to something.
I mean, I had been almost positive that today of all days, he’d show up at some point, but I never figured he’d close the hardware store at ten in the morning and lock the world away behind him.
Husband. I still couldn’t believe we were married.
Not that the band on my finger I never took off would ever let me forget it.
I ran my fingers through my curls and smiled.
We had finally, according to him, said I do three months ago.
If it had been up to Onyx, we would have gotten married the day after our first official date. But I had wanted to wait.
Not that I hadn’t trusted how he felt for me.
It was impossible not to believe in him and what we had when every touch and kiss was sealed with love and respect.
Even when we got dirty behind closed doors, and we did that a lot, he never loved and treated me in any other way.
He was the man I’d known he was. Probably even better.
I’d just wanted to take our time.
And thankfully, Onyx understood. So, we had dated for two years and engaged for one before I walked down the aisle on my mom and Uncle Rusty’s arm before I reached him.
In the last four years, I had taken over at the hardware store. Yup, right before New Year’s, Uncle Rusty stopped at Pine and Grind and told me to quit while I was on shift. When I wouldn’t just do what he said because, um, I was me, and that wasn’t enough, he explained it all.
From dating Pearl and getting her to retire and even booking his first Alaskan cruise for them to take that spring.
That, plus a really heartfelt apology, was enough for me to say goodbye to my barista days.
I’d been sad to let it go but excited to start a new, yet old, adventure running the shop on my own.
To my surprise, Uncle Rusty had been true to his word. The moment he signed everything over, he was done. I’d still see him, but it was almost a whole year before he even came back into the store to say hi.
As two business owners, finding time hadn’t been easy at the beginning for Onyx and me.
The first four months had been hard. Until one night, Onyx convinced me to move in with him.
I might have been tied to the bed and sexually coerced into giving in, since he had edged me and not let me come until I agreed, but I had never been happier to live with someone.
Life was good. Great, actually. Busy and a little chaotic but more beautiful than I could have imagined.
“What’s with the hat, Santa?” I asked even though I had an inkling of why he was here.
“Hmm…” He rounded the counter, something he hardly ever did during the day, and cornered me at the end of it. “Do you know what today is?” I pretended to think, but his arms reached and snatched me up, lifting me and setting me on the counter before he moved his body between my legs.
I loved how we fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle coming together after being lost in a box with others that didn’t quite match up with anyone else.
“Snowflake,” he warned, but it was his eyes and the way he looked at me that made me smile.
“Happy anniversary, Onyx,” I whispered before leaning forward and kissing him.
A kiss he didn’t let me control for too long before he deepened it, his tongue licking the seam of my lips for them to part so he could plunder my mouth.
It wasn’t until our lungs burned from the need for oxygen that he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.
“Four years,” he said before moving to kiss my cheek then the other. “How can it feel like I blinked? It feels like it went so fast yet I don’t remember anything before you?”
“Because we’re lucky,” I whispered, believing it completely. How couldn’t I when it felt like I had somehow found not just the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with but one of my bestest friends ever.
“You had hot chocolate,” he murmured, stealing little kisses here and there. I smiled against his lips.
“I knew you would stop by, and I know they’re your favorite.”
“Hmm,” he groaned with appreciation, pressing something very hard and long against me. “Delicious.”
“I wanted to sweeten you up before I addressed something.” He stilled in my arms and pulled away. Concern flashed in his eyes for a moment before he caught my smile. “I was wondering what you would think about changing one of the guest rooms.”
“To what? An office?” His brows bunched together. “I thought you didn’t want us to work at home.”
“I don’t,” I confirmed, grabbing his hand and tangling his fingers with mine, then bringing them up to my lips.
Pressing a kiss to each knuckle while I looked up at him, I could see his wheels spinning in overdrive.
And being me, I let him get a smidge spun out until I slowly guided his hand lower until it rested on my belly.
His eyes flared with understanding before they turned glassy, and I lost them as his hands wrapped tightly around me, his face in the crook of my neck.
“I really hope you’re not playing some kind of joke on me right now, Candy.”
“I would never,” I answered, just as softly and gruffly as he had. “Not about this,” I added. His breathing changed against my neck, turned heavier. I felt him press a kiss against my pulse point before he pulled back and looked at me, his hands cupping mine.
“Are we?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Looks like your swimmers were stronger than we thought they would be when we were on our honeymoon.” I’d still been on the pill at that time.
“Honeymoon?” He looked confused as he tried to do the math. All I could do was nod.
“Yeah…” Emotion clogged my throat. I’d waited to tell him today because it was our anniversary, but now I was getting worried I’d made the wrong call.
“Wait, how far along are you?” he asked, obviously confused.
“So, you know how I went to the doctor last week to get my routine stuff done?” He nodded almost impatiently, like he was waiting on pins and needles.
“I went in and asked about getting off the pill, and when the test came out positive, they did an ultrasound there. He or she is measuring fifteen weeks.”
“He or she.” He swallowed. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from giggling at how freaked out he looked.
Onyx was never the freaked-out one. Me? Totally. Him? Never. Not until now. Then worry got to me.
“I waited to tell you today because of our anniversary. We get to go in tomorrow for another ultrasound to find out the gender, if we want. Good surprise or bad surprise?”
“Best surprise,” he muttered. “Fuck, I love you,” he groaned, kissing me harder than before then pulling back apologetically. “Shit. This is happening. We’re having a baby?” I laughed as happy tears rolled down my face, and I got lost in another hug.
“We’re having a baby,” I confirmed before he sealed it with a hot chocolate kiss neither one of us would ever forget!