Epilogue
One Year Later
“T he trick is to get a running start and just go for it.”
I glare at Oliver, then look back up at the steep trail ahead of me. “It’s not that simple.”
He groans. “You did it last time.”
“I was running on adrenaline last time. I basically had superpowers.”
I take a deep breath, clench and unclench my fists a few times, trying to work up the nerve to run up this hill.
Last time we were here, we were running through the woods, convinced that Ryan was about to propose to Tina on top of the summit.
This is the first time we’ve been back. It’s just me and Oliver this time.
Tina and Ryan are on their honeymoon. I was the maid of honor and Oliver was the best man.
I might be a little biased but I think their wedding was pretty great.
It’s probably the most beautiful wedding and reception I’ve ever been to, but then again, I haven’t been to any other weddings with a budget as big as theirs.
I’ve planned seven other weddings this year and I have several more in the books for the rest of this year and next. I’ve also helped plan multiple proposals, but none have been a dual proposal like Tina and Ryan’s—or had quite as high of a budget.
I don’t have much free time with everything else I’ve taken on.
Between company parties, charity auctions, and even school events, my plate is full.
I’m thinking about cutting back on the number of clients I take on.
I can afford to be picky about what type of events I coordinate.
And to think there was a time when I was worried about losing Malcolm Ridges as a client. I laugh when I think about that now.
I guess it’s a little ridiculous that I can do all of that, yet I can’t bring myself to climb up a steep path on a trail that no one else seems to have a problem with.
“You’re overthinking it,” Oliver says. “That’s why you were able to get up without a problem last time. You were only thinking about getting to the top as quickly as possible.”
I know that he’s right, but it doesn’t help much to be told this.
“I’m going to leave you behind,” he warns me.
“Can’t you just carry me up?”
“I’ll carry you back down, but I want to see you do this,” he says. “I know that you can.”
I sigh. I turn around and walk the other way, pacing the path a few times before I turn and, without any more thought, I charge toward the hill and run up. When I make it to the top, I jump up and down, cheering for myself. Oliver laughs, then follows me up without even needing a running start.
“I hate how easy you make it look,” I tell him.
When he reaches me, he leans down to kiss me, resting his hand on my lower back. “I guess not everyone can be as agile as I am.”
I stick my tongue out at him. We continue up the trail.
It’s mid-summer, and it’s warmer than it was the last time we were here.
By the time we make it to the top, I’m tired and sweaty and all I want to do is sit down.
I look at the bench, but all I can think of is what we caught Tina and Ryan doing on it.
“I’m sure the rain and sun have sanitized it by now,” Oliver says, reading my mind.
“Thanks for the reassurance,” I tell him. I sit down and pull a bottle of water out of my backpack. I take a long sip while Oliver drinks his own water.
He steps up to the edge of the cliff, looking out at the valley below.
I can’t get the full view from my spot on the bench, but it’s still an amazing sight.
We’re both quiet for a long moment, listening to the rustling of the trees in the breeze, the chirping of birds, and the complete absence of technology and human voices. It’s perfect.
“I love it out here,” he says.
“It’s beautiful,” I agree.
“And I love you,” he adds.
I smile. “I love you, too.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve said these words to each other, but I still feel giddy and get goosebumps whenever he tells me. I feel like a lovestruck kid who just found out her crush likes her back—except it’s so much more than that.
I get up and join him at the edge of the cliff. I sit down, my feet hanging off, and he does the same.
“Maybe when we get back, we can finish what we started in the hot tub last time we were here,” I suggest.
“I like the sound of that.” He smirks, then looks back at the bench behind us. “You don’t want to see what all the fuss is about over there?”
I grimace. “I’d rather not get a splinter in my back.”
“Fair enough,” he says. “The hot tub sounds way more comfortable.”
“It was certainly very comfortable last time.”
He watches me, a smile teasing the corner of his mouth. “If you keep it up, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and get you back to the cabin as fast as I can.”
“I’m all for it if it means I don’t have to do any of the work.” I pause, then add, “On the trail, that is. You know I love putting in the work with you.”
He nudges me with his elbow, then stands up. I’m half expecting him to pick me up like he promised, but instead he walks back over to the bench. I stand up and follow him.
“I still can’t believe Ryan put his dog’s initial next to his on here,” I say, tracing the letters on the wood.
“You don’t think me just putting an O all by itself is more embarrassing?” he asks.
I laugh. “Well, it is a little—” I cut myself short when I look at Oliver’s initial and see that it’s not all by itself anymore. Where there was a lonely O before, it now says O + P. I frown. I turn to look at Oliver. “When did you come back here without me?”
He shrugs. “I haven’t.”
“But the P… it wasn’t there before and you didn’t write it now. I would have noticed.”
“I added it after we all came up here last time. When we were all back on the trail, I ran back up here to grab my water and I carved your initial.”
I shake my head, smiling. “But we were only fake dating at that point,” I remind him. “And you didn’t do this for show, or else you would have made sure that we all knew you did it.”
“I knew that I wanted the real thing with you,” he says. “And I guess I hoped that one day I would be able to bring you back here and show you. A year later is better than never, right?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me all this time,” I say with a laugh.
He clears his throat. “I needed it to be the right moment. I wanted it to be just the two of us up here in our own little quiet world without an audience.”
I smile. “That’s very deep for a pair of initials.
” Even as I say it, I get the sense that he’s talking about more than just the initials.
He clears his throat again, and that’s when it occurs to me that he seems a little nervous.
He’s always so confident, never wavering even on our hike up here, that it strikes me how anxious he suddenly seems.
“Priscilla,” he says through a breath. “I love you so much, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you.”
I stand up a little straighter, watching in awe as he drops down onto one knee and pulls a small box out of his pocket. He opens the box, showing the ring inside.
“Will you marry me?” he asks.
I nod. For a moment, I can’t seem to get the words to come out of my mouth, but then I hear myself say, “Yes.”
He stands up and slips the ring onto my finger, then wraps me in his arms. His lips meet mine.
I feel like my knees might collapse beneath me.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk again when he lets go of me.
Over my shoulder, he shouts out at the valley, to no one and everyone all at once: “She said yes!”
And I can’t think of a more perfect proposal or a more perfect man to spend the rest of my life with.