Epilogue
. . .
one year later
“Why am I wearing a blindfold?” Piper shifts uncomfortable as I drive away from her house.
“Because I have a surprise for you.” This is something I’ve been working on for the past month. It’s a good thing we live in a small town and Starlit Fields makes large donations to the school district. Otherwise…I never would have been able to pull this off.
“Did you finally get an office space so you can stop working out of your living room?” Her voice is filled with excitement and it’s contagious.
I left the firm six months ago. Now I help small businesses make their mark on social media and small-scale events to get their name out there.
It’s turned more into coaching. While I don’t make quite as much as I did at the firm, I’m happy.
This is my passion and I couldn’t have done it without Piper’s encouragement and support.
“Not yet.” I chuckle. “But I have an idea for that coming soon.”
“Well, are you going to tell me about it?”
“Not yet.”
“Fine.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
I know she’s trying to go for angry, but it’s adorable. Mostly because I can see the small lift of her lip while she tries to hide a smile.
She sighs and reaches for the radio. She misses the button and accidentally hits the air condition knob.
“Would you stop fidgeting? We’re almost there.”
“This is a good surprise, right?” She moves her hands to play with her hair at the ends of her braid. “Last time there was a surprise it caused a whole thing. I don’t want to argue with anyone today.”
“It’s a good surprise. Have a little faith in me.”
“I actually have a lot of faith in you. Don’t ruin it.”
I come to a stop down the road from Starlit Fields Winery. The place our story began. After turning off the car, I unbuckle my seatbelt. “Stay right there. I’m coming to lead you out of the car.”
“Okay,” she holds her hands up. “I won’t move.”
That lasts all of ten seconds. By the time I make it to her door, she’s unbuckled her seatbelt and is reaching for the handle to open it. “You are so impatient.”
“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
She’s right. It’s one of the things I love about her.
I glance at the yellow school bus pulled to the side of the road in front of us.
Our family fills as many of the seats as they can except for one.
Parker is trying to get everyone to be quiet.
Paula waves the bouquet in her hands. I’m putting it all on the line right now and I hope like hell everything plays out the way I’m hoping.
Our steps to the bus are slow. She’s wearing wedges and I keep trying to lead her while not throwing her off balance. Once we’re to the doors, I stop. “I’m going to carry you for a bit. Wrap your arms around my neck and don’t let go.”
“Um, okay. This is weird, but I’ll go with it…for now.”
As soon as her arms are secured around me, I lift her around her waist making sure her feet aren’t going to hit the steps. This is harder than I thought it would be. I don’t want her to figure out where we are just yet.
“Why does it smell like a gym locker room?”
Damn. I probably should have had the bus barn air it out a bit. It’s too late for that now.
Philip stands behind me and guides me backward until we’re in front of the exact seat we were in on the day we met. Turning, I slide Piper into the seat. She lifts her hands to the blindfold, but I wrap my fingers around her wrist. “Not yet.”
“Okay, but whatever I’m sitting on feels vaguely familiar.”
“Because it is.”
Paula hands me the bouquet and Peter hands me the book I was reading on the day that forever changed my life. Pierce stands in the aisle with his phone held up and gives me a thumbs up.
“You can lift the blindfold now.”
She doesn’t waste any time ripping it off her head and her eyes widen at scene before us. “Wh—what is this?”
I hand her the bouquet. And she stares at them before looking over at me and the book in my hand.
“Is this the bus we rode when we were in school?”
“Yep. Though the seats seem a hell of a lot smaller.”
“Why is my family here?”
Setting the book down, I slide off the seat and do my best to get down on one knee. I’ll regret this tomorrow because I can see sticky areas all over the floor.
“Piper, this is the day I fell in love with you. Even though I acted annoyed with having to share my seat, you showed me nothing but kindness. You became my best friend after that one interaction. I knew in that moment I didn’t want to spend a day of my life without you.
Most people don’t believe in soulmates, but I know for a fact you are mine.
We may not have always made the best decisions, but we always stuck by each other. ”
Her free hand moves to her mouth, and her eyes are watery.
“Will you do me the honor of making poor decisions and backing each other up for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes!”
She tries to toss the bouquet, but I grab it before it flies over the seat. There are ten white roses surrounding a yellow and red one in the center. Those are the two I pull out. Tied between is the engagement ring her mom helped me pick out.
“These symbolize us.” I say as I untie the string and let the ring fall into my hand. “We will always be friends first. It’s the foundation of our relationship, and know I will love you every day just as much as I did when we were thirteen.”
Piper holds her hand out and I slip the ring onto her finger. Her family claps and cheers in the background as Piper throws her arms around me nearly knocking me to the floor.
“I love you, Beau.”
“I love you, too.”
She kisses me long and hard, not caring that we’re surrounded by her siblings. At least, until Parker starts making gagging noises as if he’s going to throw up.
She sits up and pulls me with her. “I’m not even going to ask what strings you pulled to make this happen. But can we please get off this bus? It smells like school memories.”
“Hey, they weren’t all bad.” I grab her hand and help her out of the seat.
“No, they weren’t.” She squeezes my hand as I lead her off the bus. “They brought me you.”
“I need a drink.” Parker announces as they file off after us.
Pierce puts his phone back in his pocket. “I’ve got a spread set up on the back patio.”
“We’ll meet you there.” I wave as they all head to their cars. “Oh, Peter, can you call the bus barn and let them know we’re done with the bus.”
“You’ve got it.” He presses a button on his phone as he slides into the truck with Pierce.
Piper turns toward me, stars in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I pull her closer to me.
“All this and having my family be a part of it.”
“They’re my family too.” I laugh before kissing her forehead. “And when are you going to realize, I would do anything for you.”
“We aren’t even married yet, and you’re spoiling me with all my favorite memories.”
“And it’s never going to stop.” I wrap my arms around her waist and mold my lips to hers. This feels like home and family. Things I never thought I’d have, but Piper gave me.