Epilogue
Kate
One Year Later…
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I stretch as my eyes flutter open, my lips lifting into a sleepy smile when I see Tucker standing beside the bed with a tray. Sitting up, I fluff my pillow behind me while he sets the tray on the bed beside me. A bagel spread with cream cheese, fresh strawberries, coffee, juice, and a small vase filled with Bush Monkey flowers complete the platter. I pluck a strawberry from the bowl before meeting Tucker’s gaze again.
“What’s all this?” I ask before popping the berry into my mouth.
“We’re celebrating,” he says, his voice vibrating with warmth. When I only stare at him like I have no idea what he’s talking about, he adds, “Today is Logan and Penny’s one-year anniversary. ”
“O-k-a-a-a-y,” I say, drawing the word out like a question.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Don’t you remember the promise you made me one year ago, today?”
The fog of confusion thins, and I stop breathing as my heart begins to pound. “That I would give you one year to prove we’re perfect for each other.”
“And now that the year is over, have you been sufficiently convinced?” he asks with a grin.
Sufficiently? More like completely and unerringly convinced. Tucker has been wonderful and damn-near perfect, making me happier than I’ve ever dreamed for the last year. He checked out of the B&B right after the wedding and moved into my house–– our house––that very night. We’ve spent the last year in a state of near-constant bliss, and even when we’ve disagreed or argued, we’ve always made it right with each other before the day was over.
“I am thoroughly convinced,” I say, and his grin widens.
“Good thing, since I resigned from my position at Rizzle Seltzer Company fifteen minutes ago.”
My eyes go wide. “You did?”
He nods. “It’s a done deal.”
“What will you do now?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“I still own 25% of the company, and it’s doing very well, so I don’t have to work at all if I don’t want to. I can spend all day, every day, coming up with new ways to make your life perfect.”
I laugh and shake my head. “My life is already perfect because I have you. ”
He leans in for a kiss, then changes his mind and pulls back before our lips make contact. “Is it? Perfect, I mean?”
“It really is,” I say with a smile and a nod.
He tilts his head. “You can’t think of a single thing that would make it even better?”
“No, I can’t,” I say, scrunching my eyebrows. “All I want is you, Tucker.”
“Good,” he says, leaning forward for a quick peck on the lips before straightening again. Then he bends over and comes back up with a medium-sized white box tied with a blue bow. “I got you a present.”
“A present?” I ask as he sets the box on my outstretched legs. “What for?”
“Because I love you. And it’s kind of our anniversary, too. Open it.”
Excitement peppers through me as I pull the end of the ribbon to release the bow. When I pull off the box’s lid, a laugh barks out of me. Nestled inside is a stuffed animal––a monkey. Pulling it out of the box, I read its little t-shirt with a laugh.
“Beware of the Bush Monkey.” I look up at Tucker. “I love it.”
Memories of the scavenger hunt trickle through my mind as I hug the monkey to my chest. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed so hard as I did that day, trying like hell to keep a straight face while Tucker thought he was in real danger of being attacked by fictional monkeys. It was the start of a real friendship that quickly grew into more, and Tucker’s gift is a perfect token of his affection.
I squeeze the monkey harder, then freeze when something small and hard pokes into my chest. Holding the toy up, I study it and find a thin gold chain around its neck that disappears beneath its t-shirt. My eyes dart up to meet Tucker’s, and his are swimming with emotion as he gives me an encouraging nod.
Swallowing thickly, I slip a fingertip beneath the chain and tug it lightly. A small bulge moves beneath the fabric, and when I finally pull it free, I start to cry. Dangling in front of my face is an exquisite, very large diamond set in a ring and surrounded by tiny sapphires.
I’m frozen as tears drip down my cheeks, staring mutely at the ring while Tucker leans in to release the delicate clasp of the necklace. He closes his fingers around the ring and blocks it from sight, breaking the hypnotic spell I’d fallen under as I stared at it.
“Kate Reid,” he says, plucking the box from my lap and tossing it aside before sitting on the edge of the bed next to me, “you are my reason for living. The only woman I’ve ever loved, and the only woman I ever will love. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you’ve made me. I want to have babies with you. Raise them together into awesome humans and watch them soar. I want to grow old with you by my side, always smiling just like you are right now…though maybe with a few less tears.”
He pauses to reach out and dry my cheeks, and a chuckle bursts out of me, unbidden. Tucker smiles, then takes a deep breath.
“Make me even happier than I’ve been this entire last year, Kate. Say yes. Say you’ll marry me.”
I’m nodding before he finishes, fresh tears pouring down my cheeks in twin trails of love and devotion. “Yes, Tucker. I want to marry you. I want to be your wife.”
Tucker barks out a laugh as his own tears start to fall, and he takes my left hand. I hold my breath as he slides the cool metal onto my ring finger. It’s a perfect fit.
Just like the two of us.
“I love you,” he breathes. “Forever, Kate.”
“I love you, too, Tucker. Always."
Thank you for reading The First Best Man!