Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
Sunbeams streamed through the floor to ceiling windows. We needed to get some blinds or curtains if we were ever going to sleep in past dawn, but both of us loved waking up to the sunrise and the light sparkling off the ripples on the lake.
I rolled over ready to bury my face into Ace’s back and wrap my arms around his body. We had made love every morning that summer, but today my hands met cool sheets. “Ace?” I sat up.
“Down here.” Cupboards banged downstairs in the kitchen. I slipped out of bed and padded to the edge of the loft.
“What are you doing up so early?” I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s not even seven.”
“Get back into bed,” he shouted. His footfall was heavy on the treads of the log stairs and Morton’s claws clicked as he followed behind him. I hopped back into bed, sliding under the orange and black tiger striped sheets I’d bought Ace as a housewarming gift. They were hideous and he loved them. We were spending the summer together in the A-frame cabin on the shore of Lake Casper that Ace had bought after the hockey season was over. Lake Casper is a big clear lake located outside of a small town called Laketown. Instead of the massive cottage in Muskoka, Ace decided he wanted something a little more rustic. It didn’t hurt that his hockey heroes, Jake McManus and Colton King, to name a few, had cottages on Lake Casper.
“You aren’t supposed to be awake yet. I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed.” He handed me a cup of coffee.
“It’s your birthday Ace. I should be the one up and bringing you breakfast in bed.” I sniffed the coffee and took a sip. “I can’t think of a better way to start the day.”
Ace grinned. “I can, and it’s my birthday.”
I squealed as he ducked under the sheets at the foot of the bed. “Ace, I’m going to spill my coffee.” I clutched the mug and tried to drink more as Ace’s stubbly cheeks raked up my inner thighs.
“Then you better not move.” He peeked out from under the sheets and then the warmth of his breath was on the front of my panties.
There was no way I could get through an Acegasm, as he liked to call it, without moving. I downed the coffee and set it on the nightstand. Ace tugged my underwear down my legs. I inhaled sharply as the warmth of his mouth, and then two of his fingers teased, not one, but two Acegasms out of me. It didn’t take long, and left my body a quivering mess. The striped sheets were heavily wrinkled from being balled up into my sweaty hands.
“It’s your turn,” I panted and reached for the waistband of his track pants.
“Later, G.G.” Ace kissed my cheek. He had put his own spin on Mel’s nickname. “We’ve got company coming and I have a few things to do before they get here.” He tucked the sheets under my body, pinning my arms to my sides and then padded across the hardwood floor to the ensuite bathroom. His gray sweatpants tented in front of him, as though the bulge was leading the way and the rest of him was following.
Steam billowed out of the bathroom. I ripped the sheets off the bed and ran into the ensuite.
“What are you doing?” he laughed as I burst into the bathroom. The sweatpants were gone and he was in his full naked glory.
“Like I said earlier, it’s your birthday.” I ran my fingertips down his eight pack. I took an exaggerated step, as though I was mounting a horse instead of his cock, and squeezed him between my thighs. He groaned and his hands fell to my ass.
“You’re the best birthday present ever.” He buried his face in my neck.
“That’s debatable.” I gave his cock another squeeze with my thighs. “I’m the lucky one - I got you for my birthday.” We had celebrated my twenty-sixth in the city a month earlier.
“We both know luck has nothing to do with this.” His voice was raspy. “This was meant to be, G.G. You, me, the Mortman, and this cabin in the woods.” He kissed me.
I no longer had any visions of me and Ace, or his hockey career, but I didn’t need them to know that the man was my soulmate. Would future concussions change him? Maybe, but I wasn’t going to let that get between us. My advisor had been fired from the University for misappropriating the donation from the hockey team. It was the catalyst for the shift in my work, I was now studying recovery and treatment. We had come a long way in the years since my dad played contact sports, but if there was anything I could do to protect and treat the two most important men in my life, I was going to do it. “I love you Ace Bailey.”
“I love you, Marigold Swanson.”
He kept one hand cupped on my ass while the other crept to my messy hair. He fisted it, tilting my head back to kiss me again. We were surrounded in steam and after our lips parted I stepped away from Ace, pulling him by the hand into the shower. “I can’t in good conscience let you out into the world on your birthday with this situation.”
“What situation, my dick?” Ace gave a hip thrust, his erection at its max, stood tall and stoic in the steamy shower air. Slick with water and sandalwood soap, I started Ace off with my hand, but he finished inside me, bringing my morning total to three Acegasms.
The A-frame was perched on a rocky outcropping with beautiful decks for enjoying the sunrise, but the real show-stopper was the rooftop of the boathouse. There was a full bar, outdoor kitchen, and a lounge area that could rival any fancy restaurant in the city. A red and white checkered tablecloth fluttered in the breeze, weighed down with summer salads, chips and salsa, antipasto, and way too many appetizers for the small birthday gathering.
I was at the boathouse getting the snacks ready when the sound of Ace’s flip flops interrupted me. “When are the guys getting here?” Ace’s wardrobe was still as bizarre as the first day we’d met on the ferry. For a man who could afford Gucci and Prada, he prided himself on wearing clothes from the thrift store. Today it was blue and white seersucker shorts with a matching button up top. A pair of blue Adidas slides and a backwards Toronto Tigers hat completed his outfit.
“You look like you robbed a grandpa in the Hamptons.”
He popped the collar and slid the mountaineering glasses down his nose while pumping his eyebrows at me. “Not just any grandpa, a southern gentleman.” Ace kissed me and then popped a tortilla chip into his mouth.
I checked my watch, my birthday gift from Ace, a retro pink Swatch with a moon behind its hands. “They should be here in about twenty minutes. Mel is getting here at noon.”
Ace grabbed my wrist and turned it to look at the hands of my watch. “Does that mean we have time for one more?”
“You’re insatiable.” I giggled. “And, no. I want to give you your gift before the guys get here.”
“What. Right here on the roof of the boathouse?” He turned in a slow circle with his arms spread wide. “What will the new neighbours think?”
I dragged him away from the snacks and down the stairs to the sleeping quarters that sat above the boat slips. “Close your eyes,” I whispered. The screen door squeaked as I pulled it open and Ace and I stepped inside.
Ace took off his sunglasses and put his hand over his eyes as I steered him to the bed. Standing on my tip toes I whispered into his ear. “Open.”
I moved away so I could see his face. He reached for me, but then noticed the box on the bed. “What is this?” He pulled me back beside him.
“It’s your present.” I placed my hand on the box with the massive orange ribbon.
“But, you’re not in it.” His cheeks were flushed, he was better at giving gifts than receiving them. I tugged at the ribbon’s tail, but not hard enough to undo it.
“Ace Bailey, just open the damn thing.”
He slung his arm over my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “I like it when you tell me what to do.”
“Open it.” I pointed to the box and tried to put on my best ‘air of authority’ voice.
A boat droned by and the waves from its wake lapped against the dock beneath us. Ace pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid off the box. “Goldie,” he croaked. “You didn’t have to do this.”
He pulled the guitar out of the box. The A-frame had come with all of its furniture, including an out of tune acoustic guitar. Ace had been plucking away on it for the last three months and had told me that if he wasn’t a hockey player, he’d be a rock star. I had laughed, but he picked it up like he’d been playing his entire life. The man was not only a gifted athlete, but also a natural musician. “It’s not an Angus Young,” I smiled. “You have to win the cup before you can get one of those.”
The guitar’s rich sound filled the small bedroom of the boathouse as Ace ran his thumb over the strings. Watching Ace step into his gifts made my heart swell. He was thoughtful, brilliant, and easily the best human being I’d ever known. Witnessing him realize his brilliance made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. He no longer referred to himself as a dumb jock. He strummed some chords and then plucked a few notes.
“I know that song, what is it…” I tapped my finger on my lips. Ace grinned and started singing the lyrics. It was a folked up version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun . He set down the guitar, “I’ve been practicing that for your mom.”
“She’ll probably cry.” I smiled.
A horn honked and Morton’s friendly bark echoed over the water. “Our guests have arrived. Want to place a bet on whether it’s my friends or yours?” Ace had insisted that I invite Mel to the party.
“Hmmm.” I tilted my head and closed my eyes.
“No fair,” he shouted. “You can’t keep winning the bets with your intuition.” He used air quotes and then the two of us bounded up the stairs to meet his friends.
Holmes, Banksy, and Ethan were already inside the cottage, filling up the fridge with beer. “Hey, can we take some of this stuff out?” Holmes held up a carton of eggs.
Ace took the box of perishables and put it back in the fridge. “There’s an entire beer fridge in the boathouse, and G.G. bought enough kegs to get ten teams drunk, not just the first line of the Tigers.”
“All the way down there?” Banksy pointed out the window to where the lake sparkled several hundred feet below. I slapped him on the back. “You can get both a lift and cardio in today.” As the guys filed through the cottage, their beer bottles clanking as they headed to the lake, another two cars pulled into the driveway.
“Dad?” I squinted at the SUV then looked at Ace. “What’s my dad doing here for your birthday? I didn’t invite him because I thought you and the guys would want to let loose without the coach watching.”
Ace shrugged. “It’s a mystery to me.”
Dad got out of his car and the door to the rental sedan that had pulled in behind him flew open. Mel got out and stretched her arms over her head. “What a drive!” She grabbed her bag from the back seat, but I was already at the car, wrapping her in my arms. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
She laughed. “I hope that Ace is okay with me crashing the party.”
I lowered my voice. “Don’t worry, for some reason my dad is here. That will kill their party faster than a couple of girls.”
Mel looked over my shoulder. “Oh, hi. Mr. Swanson.” She waved. My father came over and gave me a hug.
“What are you doing here Dad?” I asked.
“Come on, Goldie Girl.” Mel interrupted. “You’ve got to show me where to get changed.” She grunted as she picked up her full-sized suitcase.
“I’ll get that, you two go have fun.” Dad picked up the suitcase. “Geez, lady. How long are you staying? A year?”
Mel was going to be here for the weekend, along with Ace’s three closest friends from the team. There was one more person yet to arrive – one that Ace didn’t know about.
After getting Mel settled into the guest bedroom we headed down to the boathouse. As we navigated the rocky steps Mel filled me in on her work stuff, and I updated her on my new study. “What about dating? How’s that going?”
Mel adjusted the tie on her swimsuit coverup. “Non-existent. I’ve been working eighty hours a week, and I swear there are no good guys left in the city. I feel like they’re all just…boys,” she sighed.
Men’s voices and the sound of raucous splashing got louder as we got closer to the lake. We rounded the corner just as Banksy mooned the guys who were sitting on the lounge chairs and then did a backflip into the water.
“There’s a perfect example right there.” Mel laughed.
“Ethan’s pretty cool. Keep an open mind, you two might hit it off.”
“Which one is he?” Mel lowered her glasses to take in the scene. Ace and Mikey Holmes were setting up a flip cup table. My father was standing in the corner on his phone, one finger in his ear as though it could block out the guys.
“He’s one of the…” I pointed to the lake. Banksy and Ethan were treading water as Mikey poured beer from the top of the boathouse, two storeys down, where the defensemen were trying to catch it in their mouths. “Nevermind.”
Mel and I slid onto a couple of chaise lounges underneath an umbrella and I adjusted my hat. Mel dragged her chair from the shade to the blazing August sun and wound her long dark hair into a braid. “Were you able to convince Gideon to come?” she whispered, but it wasn’t necessary. The guys had regressed to their teenage years and were fully engrossed in their beer pong game.
“I did. He’s bringing Ace’s surprise.” My lips turned up. I was excited to give Ace the guitar, but I was doubly excited for the next part of his birthday gift. “If there’s anyone here mature enough for you, it’s Gideon.” I nudged her calf with my foot.
Mel draped her arm over her eyes. “He’s good looking, but far too serious.” She dropped her arm to her side.
“He’s not that serious,” I laughed. “And, I thought that you wanted someone mature. Gideon and I talk at least once a week, and he’s super well-read and into current events.” Since he was traded, he’d been watching games with Ace over facetime. I wasn’t sure the two of them talked about anything but hockey, but Gideon was the one who convinced me to get Ace the guitar for his birthday. “When they were kids Gideon wanted to play tennis and Ace wanted to be a musician and did you know that…” I paused and glanced to the guys, ensuring that they wouldn’t overhear the next part. “Gideon loves reading cozy mysteries. There’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.”
“Cozy mysteries? If you’re trying to get me intrigued in the man, that’s doing the opposite.” Mel pulled a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc out of her bag. “I’d say their backup plan of being hockey players worked out pretty damn well. I should put this in the fridge.”
“There’s no pleasing you.” I shook my head. “I’ve already got some wine on ice, I’ll pour us a couple of glasses.”
Mel disappeared into the boathouse and I shivered as I plunged my hand into the icy water to retrieve a bottle of her favorite wine. As I poured two glasses a droning overhead started to get louder. Mel joined me on the deck and we clinked our glasses.
“Is that who I think it is?” She held onto her straw hat as she looked up at the float plane.
“It is.” I grinned. “It’s the world’s most expensive pizza delivery.” I ran to the railing and waved to the plane. The pilot did a low circle. “Guys get out.” I shouted to the players in the lake. “That plane is coming here.”
As the plane taxied to a stop, my father finished his call and the hockey players stood dripping wet on the dock. “Come on Mel.” I led her from the rooftop.
The door to the plane opened. “Did anyone order some pizza from Chicago?” Gideon’s face peeked out from behind a stack of pizza boxes.
“No way!” Ace ran to me, picked me up and twirled me around. “Guys this is the best pizza in the country.”
Gideon got out of the plane and handed the stack of boxes to Ethan. He turned to face his brother. “Happy Birthday Buddy.” He wrapped his arms around him.
The brothers held their hug, slapped each other on the back and then turned to face me with matching grins. Gideon’s picture-perfect model smile, and Ace’s goofy one, weren’t the same, but the look in their eyes was – they were up to something. “Did you bring the champagne?” Ace asked.
“You two have expensive taste.” Gideon leaned into the plane and the pilot passed him a bag. He pulled out a bottle of the Armand de Brignac, the same kind we had drunk that night in Muskoka; and a small box with a bow. It seemed like a very feminine birthday gift for his brother, but Gideon had a sensitive side that he rarely revealed. He handed the box to Ace and then spread his arms wide. “Goldie.”
He squeezed me so tightly the air squeaked out of my lungs. I pulled back and held onto his biceps. “Wait. Ace knew that you were coming? It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Gideon’s dark eyes glinted with a sparkle that I’d never seen in them before. Florida had obviously been good to the man. He held up his hands like he was in a stick-up. “I didn’t say a word about the pizza. Ace called and asked me to come. I couldn’t make up an excuse to hide our little pizza party secret, so I agreed. It would’ve seemed strange for me to miss this…” his voice trailed off.
“Miss what?” I asked.
Mel tapped my shoulder. “Um. Goldie Girl. Turn around.”
Ace was on one knee in his southern gentleman seersucker outfit, a ring box in his hand.
“Oh my God.” My hands clapped to my mouth.
Ace’s eyes shimmered and the warble in his voice was subtle, but I heard it. “Marigold Swanson. Being with you has turned me into the kind of man I always wanted to be. You are the most incredible, thoughtful, beautiful, and…I can’t imagine my life without you in it, ever.” His voice finally cracked.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. The guys stood behind Ace. Dad’s hand rested on Morton’s head, and Mel was filming the whole thing. There was not a dry eye at the end of that dock.
“Goldie.” Ace regained his composure. “Will you marry me?”
I nodded, but words wouldn’t come to my mouth. Ace stood and paused with the ring, a yellow diamond, at the tip of my finger. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” I croaked. Then I cleared my throat and repeated it, but this time the words came out with the force that I was feeling. “Yes!” I shouted. Ace slipped the ring onto my finger. The cheering and barking faded into the background as Ace wrapped me in his arms and kissed me.
Gideon popped the bottle of champagne and handed it to Ace. We each took a swig and then passed it around the group. “You guys know that this is fifty-thousand-dollar champagne, right?” Gideon shook his head and then chugged from the bottle.
“Fifty-thousand?” I gasped.
“Whoops.” Ace shrugged and draped his arm over my shoulder.
I held out my hand and the sun’s rays caught the deep yellow diamond.
“It’s a marigold diamond, they’re pretty rare, like you. I hope that you like it.”
“I love it Ace, and I love you.” He pulled me around to kiss me again.
“Get a room you two.” Bansky leaned over the edge of the dock and kicked some water at us. I giggled and wiped it from my face. “Is this why my dad is here?”
“Of course.” Ace laughed. “He would never crash a player’s birthday party, but his daughter’s engagement, that’s another story.”
“And you.” I pointed to Mel. “You knew, didn’t you.”
“Of course I did.” Mel wrapped her arms around both me and Ace. “I love you both.”
Ace reached into the pocket of his ridiculous suit jacket and handed me a postcard. The Taj Majal was on the front. Congratulations Ace and Goldie was scrawled on the back. Ace pulled me aside. “She sent this before I told her.”
“Of course she did.” I tucked the postcard into his jacket pocket and patted his chest.
Ace held my hands. “She didn’t want to ruin the surprise, so she stayed at a meditation center. She said something about a clear mind and how it would be tricky for you to find her. I tried to get her to come, but she wasn’t having it. I’m sorry she wasn’t here.”
I closed my eyes and saw my mom’s, the same blue as mine, shiny with tears. “She was here, in her own way.” I smiled. “I love you Ace Bailey.”
“I love you, future Marigold Bailey.”
The plane pulled away from the dock and the guys started devouring the pizza. As the pilot revved the engine and started his takeoff, Morton launched himself into the lake, following a metal bird he’d never be able to catch.
“Morton!” Dad screamed. The dog ignored all of our calls and whistles.
“Here we go again.” Ace laughed. He dropped my hand and dove into the lake, but this time, I was right beside him.