Epilogue
West
The house is dark as I unlock the front door and step into the main foyer.
A frown tugs at the corner of my lips, and I pull my phone out of my pocket as I step inside.
“Babe?” I call into the dark house as I close the door behind me.
There’s no answer, and I open my texts to make sure I haven’t made a mistake.
Today is Anthony’s twenty-fifth birthday, and just like every year, I’ve planned a night out with our friends. But because this is a milestone birthday, I made sure to plan a night he’ll hopefully never forget.
Everything is in place and ready to go, but I got a text from him this afternoon asking if I could meet him at the house an hour and a half before my original time.
That request isn’t exactly unusual, but the fact that I’m almost ten minutes late yet he’s nowhere to be found is weird.
“Babe?” I call again and quickly re-read his text to make sure I didn’t mess up the new time.
Nope, I got it right. Where is he?
More confused than a cat at a laser show, I shove my phone back into my pocket and flip the foyer light on, already gearing up to call for him again.
Anthony is one of those people who can move around in the dark like it’s nothing, so it’s not exactly unheard of for him to leave all the lights off when he comes home.
My call dies on my lips, and I blink a few times to make sure I’m not seeing things.
Our foyer isn’t fancy, just a small area separating the front entrance from the main part of the house. The only thing we keep in it is a table where we put our keys, mail, and any other odds and ends we want to take out of our pockets when we get home.
Right now, instead of the various piles of our stuff, there’s a crystal vase holding a single long-stemmed rose. But what really catches my attention is the trail of rose petals on the shiny tile floor leading to the staircase.
My mind sort of ping-pongs as I look between the petals and the stairs.
Did Anthony set this up for me? But why would he do that if it’s his birthday?
Shaking off my surprise, I follow the trail up the stairs, then down the hall to our bedroom.
The door is closed, and I pause in front of it like a dumbass. After a moment of thinking way too hard about what I should do, I gently twist the knob to see if it’s unlocked.
It turns in my hand, and I push the door open and step into our room.
Unlike the rest of the house, our bedroom is lit up with what looks like dozens, if not hundreds, of different-sized candles, all flickering and creating a warm glow and giving the room an almost ethereal feel.
But it isn’t the candles, the trail of petals leading into the room, or the small table near the bed that’s been set up with what looks like takeout boxes that catches my attention and makes my breath catch in my throat.
Standing a few feet from the bed is Anthony in a pair of dark jeans and a black tank top, looking as handsome as I’ve ever seen him, and my heart skips a few beats as I drink him in.
Even after all these years together, I still get a little thrill every time I see him, and I’m reminded of just how gorgeous he is, even if it’s only been a few hours since the last time we saw each other.
“Babe?” I ask, still hovering in the doorway.
He holds out his hand, and I hurry over to him, almost tripping over my feet in my haste to cross the room.
He’s smiling affectionately when I reach him, and his grip is tight when I take his offered hand.
“You’re late,” he teases before pulling me in for a kiss.
“Sorry,” I start, but I’m quickly silenced when he kisses me again, this one long and deep and so sensual my head is spinning when he finally pulls away.
“Strike two.”
“Two?” I ask, a bit dazed from that kiss. “When was strike one?”
“Three days ago.” He drops another kiss against my lips. “When you were late getting home after work.”
I’m about to argue that I was only late because of traffic, but I manage to stop myself before I can start.
I only got stuck in traffic because I left late, and this doesn’t really seem like the time to argue semantics.
“What’s all this?” I ask instead.
“Your surprise.”
“My surprise?” I blink at him. “But it’s your birthday.”
“I know.” He grins.
“So wouldn’t that mean that all of the surprises today should be for you?”
“You’d think so.” He gently runs his thumb over the back of my knuckles. “But I guess you could say that this surprise is for both of us.”
I bite my lip so I don’t start peppering him with questions and let him finish.
“I have three questions for you.”
“What are they?” I ask before I can stop myself.
So much for letting him talk.
Ant lifts my hand and presses a kiss against the back of it, and something inside me melts a bit.
Anthony isn’t the most demonstratively romantic person, but that’s never been an issue. He’s not into flowery words or grand gestures, but he shows me how much he loves me in so many little ways that I’ve never wanted more.
He takes care of me, but more than that, he supports me and constantly makes me feel seen and cherished. And right now, I could melt into a puddle at his feet from how out of the ordinary a gesture like this is.
“First question,” he says, his voice soft and a little sultry. “Are you happy?”
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” I say truthfully, my voice a bit thick as I’m hit with a wall of emotion.
“Do I make you happy?” he asks.
“Obviously,” I say with a grin, some of my nervous energy getting the better of me.
He smiles, but I can see the seriousness in his eyes, and I try to rein in my nerves so I don’t ruin the mood or mess things up.
“You make me happier than I’ve ever been,” I repeat so he knows how much I mean it.
“My third question is,” he starts, and there’s an undertone to his voice that I’ve never heard before.
He sounds nervous, and I bite my tongue so I don’t cut him off before he can finish. Anthony is the most confident person I’ve ever met, and the fact that he’s nervous about something is concerning.
“Would you do me the honor of marrying me?” he asks, his voice hitching slightly.
The world sort of flickers in and out of focus a few times, and it feels like someone dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head as his words fully register.
Holy shit.
Did Ant just ask me to marry him?
“Yes!” My voice loud and a bit panicked as I realize just how long it’s taken me to answer. “I mean, yes,” I say, my voice at a more normal volume. “But…”
“But?” he prompts gently.
“Are you sure?” I blurt.
He smiles and holds my hands a bit tighter.
“I’ve loved you since that first night back at school, and I’ve loved you a little bit more every day.
You didn’t just show me that love is real, you taught me that it’s the most precious and incredible thing you can experience.
I’m proud to be with you, West, and I want to fully be yours for the rest of our lives.
” He tugs me a bit closer. “So I’m going to ask again, just so you know how much I mean it. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I croak, my throat tight as it feels like my chest is going to explode from happiness and love.
Anthony lets go of my hands and pulls me in for a sweet kiss, his strong arms wrapping around me as he hugs me tight.
I cling to him and try to process what just happened.
Anthony and I have talked about marriage, but it was always in an abstract way.
Back when we first got together, Ant made an offhand remark that he had no plans to ever get married.
I knew that going into things, but it didn’t matter because I was perfectly happy to just be with him.
I don’t need a piece of paper to make it more official or real.
He had mentioned a few times over the years that he wasn’t opposed to marriage anymore, and I’d told him I was open to getting married at some point, but that it wasn’t a priority or something I needed in my life.
I’d figured that was the end of things, and we’d maybe talk about it again when we were older. Being married might be beneficial from a legal standpoint, but I never expected him to plan such a perfect proposal.
“I love you,” I whisper, my heart so full it feels like it might burst.
“I love you too.” He squeezes me a bit tighter.
We hold each other for a long time, just enjoying the moment, and I’m grinning like a fool when he eventually pulls away.
“Come on.” He takes one of my hands. “Let’s have some dinner before we get ready to go out.”
“Dinner?” I ask, my stomach rumbling before I’ve finished speaking.
“Do I even need to ask if you had lunch?” He tosses me a teasing look.
“No comment.”
Laughing, he pulls out one of the chairs at the table, and I slide onto it. He sits next to me and hands me a box from my favorite Thai place and a pair of chopsticks.
“I didn’t get you a ring,” he says and picks up another of the containers. “But that’s only because I’m having my grandfather’s ring sized for you and there was a delay with the jeweler. I didn’t want to wait until it was done to pop the question.”
“Your grandfather’s ring?” I ask. “You mean the one that’s been passed down in your family for generations?”
He nods and opens his takeout container.
I blink rapidly to clear the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. “Your dad is okay with that?”
“He suggested it.” Anthony stirs his food with his chopsticks.
“But it’s a family ring.”
“And you’re family.” He gives me a patient smile.
I open my own container, too choked up to say more.
Things with my family didn’t really change after I told them about Anthony.
They were obviously surprised, but they didn’t really make a big deal out of it beyond asking how serious we were and if I was sure I wanted to be with him considering the issues we’d have to deal with as a queer couple.
I don’t know if their easy acceptance had anything to do with Anthony’s family and who they are in both the business and Keeper worlds, but it was a huge relief to finally be honest with them.
And just like he said they would, Anthony’s family, especially his parents, made me feel welcome from the first time I met them, and we’ve become incredibly close over the years.
It means everything that they see me as one of them.
“I’m taking your name,” I tell him when I can speak again.
He grins. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“This is so insane.” I fish out a big hunk of beef with my chopsticks. “How am I supposed to eat my food and go out with everyone tonight like nothing happened after getting engaged?” I shake my head and drop the piece of beef back in the container.
He shoots me a sly grin. “Who said you have to act like nothing happened?”
“I mean, obviously we’ll tell everyone, but tonight is about you and your special day.”
“And my special day isn’t just that it’s my birthday. It’s the day I asked the man I love if he’ll marry me, and he said yes.” Ant nods to my dinner. “Now eat your food so we can go out and celebrate our engagement, which just so happens to also be my birthday.”
A big grin slides over my lips, and I dutifully dig into my food.
Anthony isn’t just my best friend. He’s my biggest supporter and the person I love more than anything. And as of tonight, he’s also the man I’m going to marry.
I already knew he was my forever person, but now I get to share not only Anthony’s life, but also his name, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving him the way he so freely loves me.