Epilogue
FOUR MONTHS LATER
ZOEY
"I'm very excited to start the job," I assured my boss.
"You don't even want a break?" he asked.
"No, really, I'm good to go.” I'd finished my placement at Whitley Biotech last week, much earlier than we expected. I was already looking forward to my next project.
"All right, then. I'll tell her you'll be there first thing Monday morning."
I smiled as I disconnected the call, then put down the box I was carrying, glancing around. I couldn't believe I was moving into Colton's apartment. I still remembered how judgy I was the first time he told me he lived here.
Over the past few months, we'd decided to wait until my placement in his office was completed before I moved in.
Even though I didn't much care what people said about me, I didn’t want things to be awkward for him.
And watching me descend from the penthouse to the office would definitely have qualified as weird.
"Where do you want us to put these?" Dean said.
Alex was right behind him, and they were carrying three boxes each. Dad was here too. Mom was holding a bunch of dresses in her arms. She'd insisted I put them in hanging bags, and she was right.
"Mom, you can go right through to the bedroom and hang the dresses in the closet I showed you."
I glanced at the boxes. "Why don't you put all of those here in the living room, and I'll sort through them later?"
"Works for me," Dean said, setting down the boxes.
Colton joined us a few seconds later.
"Got the last ones in?" Alex asked, and Colton nodded.
Mom came back from the bedroom.
"Boys," Mom said. "If you brought up everything, then let's go."
"Why so soon?" I asked. "I figured you guys could stay for a snack or something. Colton and I only have plans in the evening.”
We were going to Jeannie and Abe’s house. They were leaving for Martha’s Vineyard tomorrow and wanted to see us all before they went.
Mom looked sternly at my brothers and Dad. Alex opened his mouth, and I bet he was about to say he'd take me up on the offer, but Mom said, "No. We have something planned this afternoon."
I blinked. That was odd. I figured they’d blocked the whole day for this since we didn't really know how long it would take to bring up all the boxes from my apartment.
Colton had offered to pay for a moving company, but I'd flat-out refused.
That man liked to spoil me with extravagant gifts, sure, but I wasn't going to take advantage of his wealth.
I so loved that he was getting better and better at delegating.
He had more time for himself, for me, and his family.
And as a plus, his newest research project was progressing much faster than anticipated.
Browning apologized profusely numerous times for overstepping his boundaries, but Colton didn’t hold a grudge.
"Oh, right," Dean said.
"Of course. Well, see you. And call if you need help with anything," Alex said.
"We're all good," I assured them.
I glanced at Colton, surprised he wasn't insisting for them to stay. Maybe they'd shared with him what plans they had. Who knew? My parents were staying in the city and then traveling again next month, and I planned to enjoy as much time with them as possible. But today I had to unpack.
Once they left and Colton closed the door, I smiled, looking around.
"I want to pinch myself. I can't believe this is happening. I'm here. I finished consulting at Whitley Biotech, and I'm starting a new placement on Monday."
"What?" Colton asked sharply, coming up next to me. He put both hands on my shoulders, looking sternly at me. "You aren't taking time off at all?"
I shook my head. "No rest for the wicked."
"Who is it for?"
"Why does it matter?" I asked, a bit miffed about his question.
That glint in his eyes. Wait a second, I recognized it. Was that jealousy?
"Tell me about the guy," he said.
"What guy?"
"The CEO."
I burst out laughing. Guffaws reverberated through my body. I pressed my boobs against his chest, wrapping my arms around the base of his neck.
"Right. Well, as much as I would enjoy continuing this little jealousy show and see where you're going with it, the CEO is a seventy-four-year-old woman who's a veteran in her business but is stubbornly refusing to use technology properly.
Everyone who works with her is at their wit's end.
And my job is to convince her that adding a little tech to her life will make things easier.
Between the two of us, I have full confidence I can do it.
Considering my previous client was the grumpiest CEO I'd ever met, and I even won him over," I teased. Colton was fun to banter with.
"A grumpy CEO, huh? You seem to like him."
"I love him," I said, rising on my toes and kissing his jaw.
He relaxed a bit. I loved bringing out his inner caveman.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "But I didn't appreciate your full-blown jealousy scene. You need to curb that, boyfriend of mine."
He trailed his hands from my arms up my neck and twiddled his thumbs against my earlobes. "I'm so glad you’re moving in."
"So am I," I whispered.
He kissed my forehead.
His phone beeped the next second. He took it out, checking it, and put it back in his pocket.
"I'm going to grab the last box."
"But my brother said you brought up everything."
"No, we had one more," he said, avoiding my gaze.
"Okay. I can get started unpacking.”
The task was monstrous, but I was determined to get through it as fast as possible. Maybe it wasn't my best idea to have them all stacked here in the living room because it made the place look messy. But that motivated me even more to finish everything today.
I opened the first one. Ah, my books. Crap, I didn't think this through. I needed a bookshelf for them. I closed the box, putting it on the floor. It was super heavy too. I'd find a place for it later.
I'd started on the next box when I heard the elevator ding again and looked over my shoulder. Colton came out of it, carrying a gift box—red with a bow on top.
"Wait a second. Where did that come from?" I asked.
Sounds came out of the box.
Is that wailing?
"What's that?" I asked. It could be a sound machine. Maybe something that produced white noise.
"Something you've wanted for a long time," Colton said.
Ha! I mean, that list was endless. But then it hit me. The wailing… and the fact that something was moving in it.
"Holy fuck, Colton, is that a…?"
I took the box from him and started to undo the bow before I realized it was just decorative. I removed the top and squealed.
"Oh my God, you got me a Labrador!" The puppy was completely white and looked up at me, wiggling his tail. I immediately scooped him up, putting the rest of the box on the floor. I squeezed him to my chest and looked up at Colton. "This is the best day ever."
Colton stared at me with warm eyes. Then he stepped in front of me, kissed my forehead again, and lowered his mouth to the corner of my lips. "I love you. I'd do anything to make you happy."
"Does he have a name?" The little pup was squirming in my arms, then nuzzling my neck. Oh. My. God. I loved this little bundle more than anything… well, except for my amazing boyfriend.
"No. And it's a girl. You get to name her. She's potty-trained and even knows basic commands."
"How old is she?"
"Twenty weeks."
"That's a great age," I said. "It's not too soon. You spent enough time with your mom, huh?"
She licked my face, and I squeezed her in my arms again. "Do you want some water?" I said before realizing, "Oh, we don't have any doggie supplies."
Colton smiled. "I took care of everything. You'll find supplies in the cabinet under the sink."
I dashed to see, puppy in my arms, Colton hot on my heels. Then I turned to face him. "Hey, is this why my parents didn't stay? Did they know about this?"
"Of course they did," he said.
"But I mean… I could have enjoyed this little beauty even if they were here.”
At the sink, Colton opened the cabinet and took out the bowls.
He wasn't kidding. He'd bought puppy food as well.
"We can choose a bed together for the dog, if you want," he said as he filled one bowl with water and one with food before putting them on the kitchen island. We’d move them on the floor later, but for now I wanted to keep her at our level.
"Did you hear that? You're going to get a bed today. You're going to be the most spoiled dog ever," I informed my puppy. Well, our puppy.
I was about to set her on the island when I saw she had a box hanging from the collar around her neck. How on earth did I not notice it?
"What's this?" I asked. "It looks like a small present." It was a blue box with a white bow. I looked up at Colton. "You bought our puppy something from Tiffany's?"
"You're so cute," he said.
Colton took the puppy from my arms, putting her on the island, and said, "You do the honors."
Is it my imagination, or is he a bit on edge?
I immediately took off the box and opened it.
Oh my God. It wasn't something for the puppy. It was an engagement ring!
I looked up at Colton, then back at the ring.
"Damn it. I didn't plan this right. I was supposed to get down on one knee," he said, berating himself.
He started to bend, but then the puppy started crying, and Colton instantly straightened up. Then he took the ring out of the box.
"It's so beautiful," I whispered. The diamond was huge. "That's why my parents left."
Colton smiled. "Zoey, I love you. I cannot put into words how much you mean to me. How much I care for you."
"Oh, I have an inkling. You’re my dream man.”
"And I will strive to be that every day for the rest of our lives. I'll show you the best I can be, how I feel about you."
He slid the ring on my finger. I cleared my throat. "You’re not going to pop the question? I think that comes before putting on the ring."
He swallowed hard. I realized he couldn't get the words out. Then he cleared his throat and asked, "Will you marry me?"
I opened my mouth, but now it was I who couldn't speak properly. I finally managed a strangled "Yes."