Epilogue Sutton
Hunter’s hand is steady in mine as he leads me to our backyard. The grass squelches under my sneakers. The soft rustle of spring leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird punctuate the quiet. Aside from those sounds, the world is suspended.
“Keep your eyes closed.” Hunter murmurs against my ear.
He pulls me to his side and wraps his arm around me, but it does nothing to ease the butterflies in my stomach. Every nerve in my body hums with hopeful anticipation.
His hands sweep up my bare arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. The silk blindfold falls gently from my eyes, but, like the good girl I am, I keep them closed.
A sweet giggle reaches me from somewhere behind me, unmistakably Rowan.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Open your eyes and find out,” Hunter replies.
When I do, the sun brushes the horizon, painting the sky in pale pinks and golds. Lanterns sway gently from the trees, and the scents of freshly tilled soil and early blooms drift through the air. But it’s the pergola in the distance that stops me. My chest tightens. My breath catches.
“You finished it,” I say, completely in awe.
Hunter wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me into his warmth. “Want to go see it?”
“Is that even a real question?” I push against Hunter with my butt, and he grunts. “Of course I want to see it!”
He nudges me forward, and I take a tentative step. Behind me, I hear murmurs and stifled laughter of our friends doing a less-than-stellar job of hiding.
“So much for subtlety,” Hunter says. “Ignore them.”
He links our hands and leads me to my swing. It’s exactly like the drawing he gave me for Christmas, even down to the—
I gasp, swallowing back tears and run my hand over the heart etched into the post with H + S = FOREVER in the center.
“You remembered.”
He grins, and a slight pink hue appears on his cheeks that makes me smile.
“Someday,” he says, “you’ll believe me when I tell you I remember everything.”
Stepping under the pergola, I take in the handcrafted wooden swing hanging from thick ropes. Floral vines snake up the sides, but it’s the sea of wildflowers beyond that steals my breath away. Tears prick the corner of my eyes.
I turn and freeze.
“Hunter, I—” My voice catches as he drops to one knee.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“I haven’t even asked you yet,” he says.
We both laugh. Hunter gathers my hands in his.
“All those mornings we talked about the future,” he says softly. “All the almosts. All the what-ifs. All the waiting.”
His thumb brushes over my knuckles.
“For a long time, I thought loving you meant standing back and praying someday we’d find our way to each other.”
He gestures to the swing behind me.
“Turns out, finding our way to each other was only the beginning.” His voice softens. “The best part is what comes next. A life with you. A home that’s ours. Thousands of sunrises together.”
His eyes lock on mine.
“You’re my best friend. My home. My always.”
He releases my hands and pulls out a diamond ring from his shirt pocket. I gasp, my hands covering my mouth.
Time slows.
Every sound except the beat of my heart fades.
“Sutton Joy . . . will you marry me?”
The words hang in the air. Tears slip down my cheeks as my mind flashes through every memory we’ve ever shared. Every kiss, every touch, every lingering look, every moment of longing that led us here.
“Babe?” he asks.
“Yeah?” I blink, the world catching up to me.
He laughs, wiping at his own tears. “Did you hear me?”
I nod, unable to speak.
“And?”
I’ve imagined this moment a thousand different ways.
Somehow, none of them were this perfect.
“Oh,” I whisper, my voice trembling but certain. “Of course I’ll marry you, Hunter James. There’s no other person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
A slow, relieved smile lights up his entire face as he slips the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly. His hand is warm around mine. I pull him up to me, wrapping my arms around his neck, and we kiss. Soft at first, then deeper, teeth grazing, laughter mingling with tears.
“Get a room!” Navy shouts, breaking the spell.
Then, chaos erupts.
Rowan barrels through the yard, arms outstretched for hugs, and Hunter scoops him up just in time to prevent him from running straight into the swing post. I step back, taking in the scene. Everyone is smiling, cheering, clapping, and laughing. My heart feels so full it might burst.
This moment, right here, right now, is perfect.
“I told you, Sutton,” Rowans says.
I place my hand on his arm. “Told me what, Row?”
“That maybe you could find love with Hunter.” His little smile could light up the whole sky.
I nod as Hunter kisses my temple. “You sure did, Row. You sure did.”
“Okay, okay,” Vinnie calls, trying to get everyone’s attention. “This calls for a group hug!”
We collapse into a tangle of arms and laughter. Rowan squirms against Hunter’s hip, Navy smiles at me, and Greer’s arms hug around both of us.
Hunter leans down to whisper in my ear, “You’re amazing.”
I laugh through the tears, shaking my head. “You’re insane.”
“Insane in love,” he says, and I press up to kiss him again.
When we break apart, Luke claps his hands once. “We’d better get going if we’re going to make the ball game on time.”
“Ball game?” I glance between them.
Hunter grins. “Everyone got tickets so we could take Rowan to his first major league game.”
My chest warms. “You did?”
“It also seemed like a great way to celebrate our engagement,” he says with a shrug. “All of us together.”
I step into him again, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Have I told you lately that you’re the best kind of man?”
“Only all the time.” He leans down and kisses me. “And you are the best kind of woman.”
“Alright,” Luke says, “let’s get a move on.”
Everyone moves toward the driveway, voices overlapping, laughter carrying through the air.
Hunter squeezes my hand, the swing swaying gently behind us. We finally found our forever. And somehow, it’s even better than we imagined.
Hunter guides me toward the front yard, where Rowan’s already in the SUV, convinced it’s time for our next adventure.
“Give me the keys, Navy. I’ll drive,” Hunter says.
“Okay,” she replies absentmindedly, buckling Rowan into his booster seat.
As we merge onto the highway, Rowan squeals. “I can’t believe we’re going to a real baseball game!”
“It’s going to be so fun,” I tell him.
“Yeah,” Hunter adds. “And then we’ve got to get you ready for T-ball season.”
I glance back at Navy, who’s got her nose buried in her phone, scrolling and muttering under her breath. I catch her glance at me, and I swear I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes.
I raise an eyebrow. “You okay back there?”
“Yeah, just . . .” She waves her phone at me.
Hunter chuckles, reaching his arm across the console to grasp my thigh. “What’s she up to?”
“She is sitting right here.” Navy looks up at us. “And if you must know, she now has to find a date to bring to your wedding because she refuses to be the only single person.”
My heart skips again, but this time with a different kind of excitement. Greer and I have both found our love stories. Maybe now Navy will find her own.
Hunter squeezes my hand. I glance down at my hand. My engagement ring glints in the twilight, and I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.
“It was worth it,” I say.
“What was?” Navy asks from the backseat.
“Everything,” I say, covering Hunter’s hand with mine. “All the waiting. It was worth every second.”
I turn and meet Navy’s eyes as her phone buzzes in her hand.
I wink.
“You better answer that.”