Epilogue
Knox
Two Years After the Accident
Sawyer has her phone wedged between her shoulder and ear, laptop balanced on her knees, typing furiously.
“Just received the custody evaluations. Yes. I have everything here.” She pauses while her boss speaks on the other end of the line.
“If he’s hiding income, we’ll find it before the hearing.
” Her mouth curves, and voice trembles with excitement.
“Great. We’ll get the bastard. I’ll have it in your email tonight. ”
We said no work on this trip, but hell, I can’t blame her. She’s so damn happy helping her boss bring pieces of shit to their knees in a courtroom. After what she’s gone through, I’d want to burn it all down too. And I have in my own ways.
I linger in the doorway, eyes darting between her profile and the gorgeous crystal lake in front of us.
Not Lake Mercer. We decided we needed to start a tradition somewhere new and landed on a rustic cabin at gorgeous Lake Tahoe.
Another perk, it’s pet friendly, and our newly adopted black cat, Squish, is loving the fenced in back deck just as much as he’s loving stealing my girl. Major cockblock, that one.
Taking a deep breath to ward off the jitters, I watch her eyes light up as she types, a smirk curving her lips.
Almost feel bad for the poor bastard she’s set her sights on.
But damn, she’s never been more beautiful.
I think that a lot, but every time it feels true.
I’m the luckiest fucker in the universe.
I leave her to it and quietly head out to the Jeep. Seems like a good time as any to get what I need. Knowing myself, if I stand here watching her any longer, she’ll end up getting no work done at all.
It’s ten minutes into town, a small homemade ice cream shop called Swirls. I wait in line for ten minutes behind a family of four who sample every flavor. That would normally have me clenching my jaw, but today, nothing can piss me off.
I buy one large chocolate milkshake, smiling at it the moment the ice cream slinger slides it across the counter into my waiting hands.
When I get back, she hasn’t moved off the chaise, but her laptop’s closed and on the deck next to her and Squish has claimed the space instead, curled up in a black puff against her stomach.
She’s watching the rippling lake, sunglasses pushed up into her hair, bare feet pointing toward it in a stretch.
She’s wearing a slight scowl, probably something work related, which only makes what I’m about to do that much more exciting.
I can’t help myself from taking a few extra minutes to watch her, waiting to see if the scowl disappears. It’s my favorite hobby, after all.
It’s been two years since the accident. Two years of nightmares that come less often now, of her name in my mouth first thing every morning, frantically checking that she’s real. She is, and most days I can hardly believe we walked away scarred but whole.
We’ve helped each other move forward, win cases, start fresh.
She was with me every step of the way as I started my own development company, with my mother’s financial help.
We made sure every cent of Aldrich money was used to help correct my father’s fuckups, and two years later, I’m still not even close to scratching the surface.
I know my mother’s spoken to him a handful of times since he’s been in prison, mostly to rub how well she’s doing in his face.
I’m sure she’s told him that I’m thriving too.
Not that I care what he thinks, he’s on borrowed time.
If Moretti’s guys ever get him alone, he’s done.
Sawyer shifts, petting Squish’s back, and I’m pulled back to the present. This is where I want to be.
We don’t need a spectacle. No fireworks or string quartet. Just the two of us, plus Squish, and a quiet moment that belongs to us.
I’ve had the ring in my pocket for a few days, worried she’d find it somewhere in the cottage. And right now feels like the perfect time.
I grab it and drop it onto the straw, smiling at the way the ruby glints in the sun.
“Hey,” I say, crouching down next to the chaise so we’re eye to eye. Squish cracks one eye open, decides I’m not interesting enough to move for, and goes back to sleep. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to keep buying you rings and milkshakes?”
“What are you—” She looks up with a raised brow. I hold the milkshake out to her. When she sees the ring, her eyes go wide. “Oh my God. Is that?”
For a moment, the only thing I can do is smile as she takes it in. The ring I designed with a jeweler to match the one I gave her so many years ago. Except this time, it’s not from a claw machine, and she won’t be wearing it on a chain around her neck.
“Sawyer Thorne,” I say, trying to keep my voice from wavering. It’s fucking hard since a lump has made its way into my throat. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this for so damn long.” I reach out and pluck the ring free of the straw, holding it between two fingers. “Marry me? Be mine forever?”
Every second that she quietly takes it in feels like an eternity. She’s studying the ring, then my face. Almost like she’s afraid none of this is real. Like moments this good don’t happen to people like us. I’ll change that, even if it takes a lifetime.
Finally, she leans in, pressing her lips to mine, tears falling down her cheeks, and a burst of hope shoots through me. Her lips move over mine as she says, “Of course I’ll marry you.”
I pull back an inch to look into her blue eyes, making sure I didn’t hear it wrong. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” she says, as I wipe her tears away with my thumb.
I slide the ring onto her finger before she can change her mind and decide she still can’t stand my ass. Not that I think she would, not after everything it took to get here.
She holds her hand up to the light, letting it catch on the ruby’s facets. “It’s just like the one—” Her eyes dart to the milkshake, then back to the ring, and realization blooms over her features. “You remembered?”
“Every detail,” I say, taking her hand and running my finger over the band. “What you don’t know is it took me like five bucks in quarters to win that thing for you.”
She laughs. “Wow, a whole five bucks? I’m honored.”
“Hey, five bucks was a lot for a broke teenager.”
She kisses my palm. “I’m kidding. I loved it then and I love it even more now.”
Squish, finally having enough of his interrupted slumber, finally deigns to jump down from Sawyer’s lap, and I slide in beside her. “Thank you,” I say, running my knuckles down her tear-streaked cheek.
“For what?”
“For staying,” I say. “For fighting like hell for this life we have when it seemed impossible. For choosing me when you had every reason not to.” I swallow hard. “For loving me when I did everything wrong.”
Her hand comes up to cup my cheek. “It was never a choice. I loved you since the moment I knew what love was.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, you stubborn ass.” Her laugh is a puff of air against my cheek. “Now kiss your fiancée.”
“There she—” She cuts me off with a searing kiss that undoes something in my chest that’s been wound tight for as long as I can remember.
Her lips on mine, my ring on her finger—it all settles over me like a weighted blanket.
The realization that she’s really mine. That she chose me, and I get to keep her.
“The lake’s looking pretty good out there, Aldrich,” I say when we break for air. “I think we need to cool off.”
“Aldrich?” she asks. “Jumping the gun, are we?”
“Nah,” I climb off the chair and shed my shirt and boxers. “My ring, my woman, my name.”
“You’re—”
I don’t let her finish. I’m already making my way down to the dock, crooking my finger for her to follow. I know she will. She never backs down from a challenge. My girl. My Sawyer, in every way that matters now. It feels so fucking good to say that.
And whatever comes next, we’ll face it exactly like this. Together, and never looking back.