Epilogue
Eighteen Months Later
“Are you kidding me?” I screech as I flop down on the couch in Seth’s living room.
Although it’s been over a year since Seth and I finally became a couple, we’re still living on opposite ends of town. Seth has been hinting at wanting to sell one of our houses and move in together, but I’m just not there yet. It’s not that I don’t love him with every fiber of my being, but I want to have a ring on my finger first. Call me old-fashioned, but I want our lives to be tied to each other in every way before we take that next step.
“What are you grumbling about?” Seth asks as he comes around the corner into the living room, followed closely by Rebekah.
“Audrey just canceled. She said she can’t watch the little one today,” I grumble, shooting off a text to Selina, hoping she’ll be able to watch her for a few hours.
Seth and I were going to spend today planning our little girl’s second birthday party, and we were hoping to not have the distraction of our toddler for a little while.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t have canceled at the last minute for no reason.” Seth kisses my forehead gently before turning around and wrapping his arms around Rebekah.
She squeals in delight as he lifts her in the air, blowing raspberries on her belly. These two have been thick as thieves since they first laid eyes on each other. I have a feeling that if I wasn’t the one with the milk, she’d have completely forgotten that I even existed. It’s taken some getting used to, but having Seth here for us whenever we need anything has been amazing. Having a partner to share worries with and celebrate the happy things is something we were both missing. With his job at the sheriff’s office, Seth has been here for mostly all her major milestones. He even makes sure he’s home every night for dinner, even when he’s on duty. He wants to ensure that both Rebekah and I know we’re the two most important people in his world, and he would do anything to make us happy.
And he has. Made us unbelievably happy, that is. Now, if he would just get off his rear and propose, everything would be perfect. It’s not that we haven’t talked about marriage, because we have, but something is holding him back from popping the question. I’ve tried talking with the girls about it, but they all assure me he is just waiting for the perfect moment. When is this man going to learn that I don’t want perfect? I just want him to be mine… forever.
“I have a feeling it has something to do with the guys having a day off today for the first time in months.” Seth takes a seat on the couch, placing Rebekah on his knee.
He bounces her up and down a few times before she crawls between the two of us, snuggling into my side as her eyes droop.
“Audrey and Connor never got a honeymoon. Let them have some time together. I highly doubt they get any alone time with two teenage daughters in the house.” He leans back on the couch, draping his arms across the back.
Vance and Connor’s construction company has been doing even better since they finished the project in Magnolia. Leia also convinced them to do some renovations to the cabins at Tranquility Retreat last year. Both those projects helped them land a few huge contracts to build custom homes on the empty land outside of town, a big deal for them and the town.
“Connor was complaining about the boys coming around for his girls recently.” We both laugh as Seth plays with the tips of my hair. “I guess I can cut him some slack, but he needs to let those girls be teenagers. They both have good heads on their shoulders. Neither of them has to worry about Jade or Love doing anything too reckless.”
My phone chimes, and I unlock it. “Dang it.”
A text from Selina is waiting for me, telling me they have plans to head to The Willis Farm Sunflower Field about two hours east of us. But at least she invited us along, too.
“Seli asked if we wanted to go to the sunflower field with them. She promised a picnic and said she’d watch Rebekah for us for a few hours when we get back.”
“Sounds like a plan. We planned on taking Rebekah there after her birthday anyway.” Seth smiles at me, then slides his arm off the back of the couch, and heads toward the back of the house. “I’ll go pack her a bag to take to Seli’s house, and then we can grab some lunch on the way out of town. Hopefully, the princess will sleep the entire drive and save us some tears.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan to me,” I say with a smile as I quickly text Selina back. Although this isn’t going how I originally planned, things seem to be looking up.
It doesn’t take us long to get the truck packed up, buckle Rebekah into the car, and make a stop at Culver’s on the way out of town, and we take the two-hour trip to reach the sunflower fields. Thankfully, today is a perfect day to be out in the fields. The sunflowers are in full bloom, and a light breeze blows around us. There aren’t too many families here, which is great because, with just our two families and strollers, we are a force to be reckoned with.
We walk around the field for a little while before the girls get fussy, and we stop to take a break.
“Picnic time!” Vance shouts, rubbing his hands together in delight.
“You would have no idea I fed this man on our way here.” Selina shakes her head at him as she pulls containers of fruit from the picnic basket.
Since it was already past lunchtime, we decided to just pack some snacks for the kids and finger foods for us.
“We’re growing boys. We need to eat frequently.”
I spin around at the sound of Connor’s voice as Audrey takes a seat beside me on the blanket.
“I thought you couldn’t babysit today?” I squint my eyes at my friend.
Something strange is going on, and I’m determined to find out what it is.
“No one could babysit today because Seth asked us all to be here,” Jade chimes in as she unstraps Rebekah from her stroller, propping her up on her hip, while Love grabs Vance and Selina’s daughter, Brittany.
“I don’t understand.” I look at all my friends for a hint as to what is going on when I feel a light tap on my shoulder.
I spin around quickly and come face-to-face with a huge sunflower. Tears fill my eyes as the light shimmers off a heart-shaped diamond ring sitting perfectly in the center.
“Bristol, I have traveled the world searching for the piece of my soul that was missing, but I never imagined I would find it in a small town in Tennessee.” Seth grips the ring in between his fingers and lowers onto one knee, holding it out to me as a gift. “Now that I finally have you and our princess, I will never be alone again. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I shout before launching myself at him, and we both go tumbling over on the blanket.
My lips instantly connect with his as I pour all my happiness into this one kiss. Our friends erupt into cheers as we celebrate our happily ever after, but I’m not ready to face them just yet.
“Good reason to cancel on babysitting, don’t you think?” Seth whispers in my ear as he pulls me tightly into his chest.
“You can say that again.” I giggle as I bury my nose in his chest, but something suddenly occurs to me. “Where’s Leia?”
“She got stuck in traffic but should be here soon.” Seth sits up, lifting me with him and placing me in his lap.
I know that our beginning was far from the typical romance, but now we’ll finally have our happy ending.
Thank you for reading Waiting to Love You from Myself! I hope you loved Vance and Selina’s story. If you did, or even if your didn’t, I would be so grateful if you could please leave a review.
Want to find out how Brady manages to win Emersyn’s heart? Check out Love You Always coming September 2024!
Looking for something to read while you wait? Start the series from the beginning with Before I Love You
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