EPILOGUE
After Briar was abducted and I killed her father, we decided we should probably get out of the city for a while. Briar acknowledged that she wanted to move out altogether, so we’ve been visiting other forestry across the United States. We have been on no set deadline, just choosing to move to the next spot when we feel like it. Since I’m head of the Mafia now, I can work from basically anywhere. I can fly back to the city at any point if I’m needed. I have my men back home to take care of any heavy lifting that needs to be done and my number two can take care of the day-to-day that takes place.
We’ve spent the last two months in the Redwood National Forest in California, the longest place so far in our two-month adventures. The way River looks as we hike and go to see landmarks makes me fall harder for her every time, and I think this is going to be our home. Plus there’s plenty of space for games of chase. She has become better at playing our game. I have to track her more closely now. She’ll never outrun me, but she has given me a run for my money.
I have a surprise for her today, hopefully, she likes it. I’m currently staring at her while she sleeps, the morning sun causing a halo effect around my angel. I love her. I just haven’t told her yet. She freaked out when I said I think I do, I wanted to make sure before I shortened it to three words.
I can’t resist not touching her any longer, so I lean in and kiss her lips. She slowly opens her eyes and smiles when she sees me. She closes her eyes and snuggles back into her pillow.
“Good morning, angel,” I say.
She chuckles. “I’m angel now? What happened to River?”
“You’re looking very angel-esque right now. It seemed fitting.”
She tries to snuggle back into the covers, but I rip them off her and haul her on top of me. She screams and laughs and tries to fight me off but gives up quickly. She flattens herself on my body while straddling my hips, and my dick takes notice of how close she is. I could thrust up and impale her right now, but I take to kissing the top of her head instead.
“I have a couple surprises for you,” I tell her. This gets her attention.
“You do?” She sits up.
“Yep. Go get ready. Wear something comfortable.”
She scurries away, and I lie back to stare at the ceiling. Today is going to be a great day.
Not long after, we’re both ready to go. We get in the car and I take her to Arcata. She chose good tennis shoes, and I’m glad since we’re going to have a strategically planned chase. I went through and cut down some trees and shrubs in a way that made it look like it hadn’t been planned. It makes a path that goes directly to a very large stump where I will be waiting for her.
We pull off the road and I put the car in park. She looks at me with knowing eyes.
“Run.”
That’s all I have to say before she pushes open the door and is running out of the car. She loves this little game we play. The sun is still trying to break through the canopy so the floor level is almost a purple color. There’s just enough light that she’ll see what’s going on, but not enough to give away my plan.
I stroll through to my spot. I have it all set up. There are battery-operated tea lights everywhere around the stump since fire and forests don’t tend to mix well. She’s still running out there somewhere, her path is much longer than mine, plus she’ll take breaks every so often to try to quiet her breath. She really has picked up some tricks.
I sit down on the stump and pull out the ring I had custom made for her. It has a thick band with a river engrained on it. There are tiny diamonds that are set to make it look like water is glistening. There’s a 2-carat cushion-cut diamond in the middle, surrounded by other little diamonds. It’s low profile, so it won’t stick off her finger much. She mentioned at one point that she wouldn’t want a big ring because she’s afraid of getting it caught on something.
I never gave her one at our forced marriage. I hope she’ll marry me now of her own free will. It’s not like I’ll let her go even if she says no though.
She comes running through the other side, just like I expected. She’s looking behind her as if someone is supposed to be chasing her and stops hard when she finally looks forward. There I am, sitting on a stump in the middle of the forest like a goon.
“Ezra—what is going on?” she asks me.
“Come here, River.”
I stand and she meanders over to me sheepishly.
I hold out my hand, and she takes it.
“Our story may not have started out the way it should have, but we’re here now. There’s nothing else standing in our way, so please do me the honor of marrying me…again.”
I get down on one knee and hold out the ring to her.
With tears in her eyes, she squeaks out, “Yes.”
I put the ring on her finger and lift her up into a hug. I spin her around and tell her those three magical words.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she replies, and I stare at her. I turn around to look behind me like she’s talking to someone else, and that makes her giggle.
“Me?” I ask.
“Yes, you loser.” And she keeps laughing.
I kiss her. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” she says as she kisses me again.
“Good, because I have another surprise.”
“What?”
I take her hand and walk down the original path I took, and it takes us to a sliding glass door. I open it since I left it unlocked earlier, but she doesn’t need to know that part yet.
“Ezra, you can’t just walk into people’s homes,” she scolds me. I continue to walk and go into the kitchen.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.” She looks around. She goes into the living room and starts to meander down the hall before I continue.
“I found it and thought it’d be cool to raise a family in.”
“What?” She pops her head out of the room she just walked into.
“Yeah, it’s like five rooms with six baths. I figured it’d be big enough for a family. I’ve always wanted to have a true family dinner, so the dining room is pretty decently sized, and we’re sitting on twenty acres of forest—” And next thing I know, she’s jumping into my arms and squealing.
“It’s ours?” she asks.
“It’s ours,” I reply with a genuine smile.
“But you said family. There’s your brother, but we don’t have a kid, Ezra.”
I place my hand on her stomach and look at her face. I get lost in those same blue eyes, and my heart swells.
“When was your last period, baby?”
“Well I should start on the fifteenth.”
“And what day is it?”
I wait for a moment before I answer. “The twenty-ninth.”
Her eyes start to tear before I pull her to me.
“How did you know before me?”
“Because I know your cycle, and you refused my waffles last week. You never refuse waffles.”
“I really do love you,” she says with tears in her eyes.
“I love you.” I bend down and press my lips against hers. “I hope that wasn’t a poisonous kiss.”