Epilogue
GISELLE
“Thanks for coming in,” I said, handing the bag of clothes across the counter to a mother and her daughter.
“Masie Abbott has like three pairs of these,” the girl gushed as they made their way out the door.
Apparently, tweens weren’t just into trendy makeup. They were into trendy clothes and accessories—especially when one of the world’s most-followed influencers wore them. To say my new shop had been busy would be an understatement.
I took advantage of the lull in customers and slipped off my heels. I’d been working long days, though Shay had been a huge help when she wasn’t off at one of her internships.
A howl pulled my attention to the open-door connecting Jesse’s shop with mine. Laughter ensued, and I gathered it was my brother entertaining the guys, as usual.
The bell on the front door chimed, and my eyes quickly shifted to it—an instinctual reaction that I’d unfortunately never be able to shake, even with the guys next door and working cameras in all corners of the store.
Thayer strolled through the door all confident and handsome, his Olympic gold medal hanging from his neck.
I laughed. “You’re getting as bad as Kason.”
“That’s never gonna happen,” he said before stepping up to me and pressing his lips to mine.
Even after a year, I’d never get used to his constant affection. But I loved every sappy second of it. “What’s with the medal?”
“I let the kids at the hospital wear it and take some pictures.”
I tipped my head to the side, loving him even more than I thought possible. He was going to make such a great dad one day. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going? I would’ve gone with you.”
“I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful,” he said.
I lifted my hand to his cheek, and my fingertips grazed over the stubble on his jawline. He leaned into my touch, like he always did. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”
“Go on,” he urged.
“And a better snowboarder than my brother,” I said, raising my voice so Kason could hear me in Jesse’s shop.
“Fuck off, Giselle!” Kason yelled from the other side of the wall. “He beat me once.”
“Twice, dude!” Thayer called back.
“Asshole,” Kason said, though it wasn’t as loud.
Thayer and I laughed.
“What are you thinking for dinner?” I asked, knowing we didn’t have much food in our fridge.
“About that…” he began. “I kinda had another idea.”
“Oh yeah? What?”
“Well…it’s not a fancy restaurant,” he said.
“Good.”
“And I think sleigh rides are overrated.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing I was never living that suggestion down.
“I was actually thinking…” He lowered himself down onto one knee and reached into his pocket.
I sucked in a sharp breath at the same time my hands clutched my chest over my heart. I stared down at Thayer as he gazed up at me with a ring box in his hand.
“G.”
“Thayer,” I whispered, stunned that this was happening. This was really happening.
“You are everything I have always wanted,” he continued.
Tears glazed my eyes as my heartbeat quickened.
“You are kind and beautiful, sassy and fun. And, above all, what you always should have been. Mine.”
A cross between a laugh and a sob rushed out of me.
“This last year has been the best year of my life. And I’m not talking about this medal. There has always been something about you, G, that I couldn’t shake. And, even when I wanted to because it seemed like such a lost cause, I couldn’t.”
“Thank God,” I said.
He chuckled. “There is nothing in this world that would make me happier than being able to say that you’re mine forever.” He opened the ring box, and a beautiful square diamond ring sparkled inside. “Marry me, G. Let’s do this life together.”
Tears trailed down my cheeks as I stared into his pretty blue eyes, a snapshot of forever flashing in them. “How did I get lucky enough to be the one you want?”
His brows shot up. “The one I want? You mean, the one I fucking love more than anything in this entire world.”
He’d left me no option.
I was—and had been for longer than I even realized—his.
Wholeheartedly his.
I nodded. “Yes, Thayer. Let’s do this life together.”
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he thought I might have said no. When he opened them, happiness filled them, and he slipped the ring onto my finger. He stood and wrapped me in his arms, lifting me right off my feet.
Applause broke out, and we looked to the adjoining doorway where my family stood smiling.
“You planned this?” I said, meeting Thayer’s eyes.
“Since I was ten years old,” he assured me, before capturing my lips in a much-needed kiss.
Somewhere in the distance I heard Kason groan, but he was going to have to get used to it. Thayer was going to be his real brother now. And he was going to be my husband.
My husband.
I got to keep Thayer Caruthers for the rest of my life. And there was nothing in this world that made me happier.
If you enjoyed Thayer and Giselle’s story,
be sure to check out Kason and Shay’s story in
Something About You.