Chapter Thirty-Five
Epilogue: One Year Later
Aubrey
“Aubreeeeeey, we’re gonna be late!” Theo called from her living room as she finished putting on the last swipes of makeup. It wouldn’t take as much time if she did it more often. She chided herself internally, giving one last glance in the mirror. Bouncing curls, light, neutral makeup. All good things, all good things. Noah was being nominated for a public safety award after handling an incident last month and she couldn’t be more proud of him.
Her own small business providing support and finding and sharing resources for families affected by addiction—now expanded to include gambling and other addictions outside of drugs and alcohol—had been growing like crazy the last year. Soon, she’d need to bring on help to manage the research and consulting load. But her business kind of felt like her first baby, and finding someone to trust to help manage it was more than she could bear at the moment.
A memory of Bree and Jess playing in their backyard when they were little crossed her mind, and she felt her heart squeeze painfully. The grief of losing Jess hadn’t gone away. Some days, it was barely there, just a light kiss of the wind in moments that she would have loved to share with her sister. Some days, it was a category five hurricane, and it was all Bree could do to hold on to the present moment…and to Noah.
Bree grabbed her wallet and phone and shoved them into her pockets before slipping into her trusty black sneakers. She walked out and did a little spin, laughing as Theo gave an encouraging round of applause like any good big brother would do. Exasperated with just enough ‘she’s adorable’ to make it tolerable.
“I’m ready,” Bree said, skipping over to him.
“Perfect. We can—” Theo’s phone dinged, and he looked down to read the message quickly. “Ah, can you go start the car? I need to make a quick call.” He said, frowning.
“Sure.” She said. Bree walked over to the key bowl and picked up her keys. She walked out to the driveway to start her car only to find that it had a flat tire.
“How is this my luck?” She muttered under her breath, thankful she always budgeted extra time to get places. Bree opened the car door and placed her homemade coffee in the cupholder. She definitely didn’t want to spill a drop of that. She needed the caffeine for all the socializing she was going to have to do today.
She shut the door softly and pushed the button to open the trunk where her jack, spare, and the tire-changing tool were. Did it have a name? Probably. Did she know its name yet? Nope.
She loosened the lug nuts on the tires and had just gotten the jack situated when a pair of men’s dress shoes appeared in her field of vision.
“Would you like some help?” A deep voice asked in a tone that hinted at bemusement. Noah.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at City Hall?” Bree asked, looking up at him and appreciating how delectable he looked in his suit.
He smiled at her as though she was missing her cue. “Would you like some help?” He asked again pointedly.
“Thanks, but I know how to change a tire,” Bree said, using the scissor jack to lift the car up so she could get the tire off.
“I can see that,” Noah said. “It’s a good skill to have. Your dad teach you?”
She laughed at that while eyeballing the car and making sure it was both high enough and steady. “No, my dad wasn’t the type to get his hands dirty.”
“Ah,” Noah said. “Husband?”
“Nope.” Bree said, popping the ‘p.’
“Fiancé?” He asked.
She laughed, “Nope. Noah, You’re off scrip—”
Bree turned to look up at Noah and found him on one knee in front of her, a ring box in his hand.
“Aubrey Elizabeth Gray, you had my heart the moment you told me a Cistercian monk taught you how to change your tire.”
“You said that.” She mumbled, a giant smile on her face.
“Semantics.” He said with a wink. “You are the love of my life, and I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. Would you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes!” She said, throwing her arms around his neck. Her heart raced, and a huge bubble of joy overwhelmed her as she nuzzled into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tightly.
“I love you, Bree.” He said, his voice warm and deep in her ear, sending delicious shivers down her spine.
“I love you too, Noah,” Bree replied.
Noah pulled away slightly and took her left hand in his, carefully slipping a beautiful silver band with a solitaire diamond over her ring finger.
A chorus of whoops came from various places around her house and she laughed as Theo stuck his head out the front door and Eli and Zach populated from one side of the house. Peter stood up on the roof and gave Noah a thumbs up.
“I got it!” He said, waving a camera around in the air and losing his footing momentarily. Bree breathed a deep sigh of relief when he was steady again. “I’m okay!” He called.
Noah kissed her hand and pulled her close. “Let’s get this tire aired back up and get down to City Hall. Then I’m taking my fiancée on a date. How does Mexican food sound?”
“That sounds perfect,” Bree said. “Come on y’all. Let’s get this over with.”
“Wait, how come you’re not buying Mexican food for all of us?”
“Yeah, we’re all going to this shindig. It’s all or nothing, man.”
“You know we could just follow you and show up—”
Noah sighed. “Fine lunch together. But dinner is just with Bree. “
The guys high-fived and got to work airing the tire back up on the car.
“They’re incorrigible,” Noah grumbled.
“And you love it,” Bree said, nestling into him. He squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
“I do.” He said with a smile and shake of his head. “For some reason, I do.”