Epilogue
Liv
One Year Later
As Liv felt Quinn’s body press hers into the back of the door, she tried to keep her head. Their friends were going to be there any second, and they did not have time for this, no matter how much she wanted it.
And she wanted Quinn, there was no denying that. No matter how often they touched, how many times they explored each other, Liv’s body responded to the brush of Quinn’s with unrelenting excitement, each and every time.
It was so much more than that, though.
Opening up to Quinn, allowing her to get to know this version of Liv, had made their connection stronger than ever before, and that bond was still growing.
They’d intertwined their lives together in a way that, while Liv wouldn’t call it seamless, was working for them.
Liv had never in her life existed in a space that felt like such uncomplicated happiness , all because of the woman standing in front of her right now.
Well, not standing, exactly, as much as leaning, full body into Liv.
“Babe,” Liv said, groaning into Quinn’s cheek as she suckled on Liv’s neck, nipping at her pulse point. “Mel and Emma are supposed to be here already. We have to stop. ”
“I know,” Quinn acknowledged, sounding as if it was causing her great pain to pull away, though she couldn’t resist a quick flick of her tongue to Liv’s ear. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Liv replied.
It was Liv who’d said it first, only about three months into this iteration of their relationship.
She was, frankly, proud of the restraint she’d shown in waiting that long.
Even on that first date, she’d wanted to shout her love to Quinn, to make her understand that she was all in on this.
Liv had understood, though, with certain clarity, that they needed time, that she had to show Quinn with her actions that this—Quinn, their relationship—was her priority.
They’d built slowly, first one or two dates a week, though after a couple months, they were fully swept up in each other.
Still, they worked hard to ensure they’d stayed present in their separate friendships, their work, that even though their relationship was their priority, they could breathe both inside and outside of it.
She hadn’t been able to contain herself, though, during their first trip to Chicago to visit Liv’s family.
Seeing Quinn so completely charm her parents, her mother , had unlocked something in Liv, and she’d spilled those three little words as soon as they’d gotten back to their hotel the first night of that visit.
Quinn was quick to return them, and they’d touched each other so tenderly that night, as if they both needed the physical expression of their love, the tangible release of it.
A knock jolted them, and before they even had a chance to respond, Emma was calling through the door, “If you two are in there fucking, can you at least let us know what time you’d like us to return? We’re here for your housewarming, I’ll remind you.”
“Did she not bring Paisley?” Liv whispered, confused.
It wasn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility for Emma to say something grossly inappropriate, regardless of the audience, but she was usually a bit more careful around her daughter.
It made sense, though, when they pulled apart and opened the door to find Emma cradling her now four-year-old girl, fast asleep, vibrant orange hair sticking to her tiny forehead.
“She passed out on the drive,” Emma explained, and Liv ushered her in. She was about to shut the door when Mel called out, and Liv turned back to see her coming up the walkway carrying a couple of bottles of wine.
“Do you want to lay her down in the spare room?” Liv offered, whispering, although she wasn’t quite sure why, considering Emma had just been yelling through the door.
Emma nodded, so they all followed Liv down the hallway of their condo to the simple room they’d set up for guests with a small dresser, a queen bed, and way too many pillows.
“I can’t believe you went with a two-bedroom condo,” Emma joked as she laid her daughter down on top of the comforter before tucking some of the pillows around her.
“Two bedrooms and an office for us to use when we work from home,” Quinn corrected, laughing.
“It’s a guestroom,” Liv replied, rolling her eyes at them, and they walked back towards the front room, leaving the guestroom door cracked so Paisley would hear them and not panic when she awoke. “Rhea is already planning to visit in a couple weeks.”
“Rhea Freaking Stewart,” Quinn said, because she wasn’t over it. Regardless of how many times she talked to Rhea, she was still having trouble seeing her as anything other than her swimming idol. “Juls too, at some point, and Audrey maybe, right?”
Liv nodded, clocking a curious look that Emma shot Mel on that last one as she confirmed, “Yeah. And my parents want to come at some point, although that seems like a lot for the first few months.”
“Really cutting into all of your naked time,” Emma assumed, her voice sweet despite the mischief in her words .
They sat around the living room—Liv curling up into Quinn on one side of their large sectional, Emma plopping down on the love seat opposite them, and Mel, after setting the wine she’d been carrying in the kitchen, carefully and quickly assessing her options before choosing to sit on Liv’s other side, which…
Mel and Emma always had a vibe that Liv didn’t understand, so maybe it made sense to keep some distance.
“What I can’t believe is that it took y’all a year to move in together,” Mel was saying. “Not very sapphic.”
“They’ve already lived together, though,” Emma reminded her. “So much living in sin.”
Liv rolled her eyes at them, regardless of how right they both were.
Before she and Quinn had found this condo, situated roughly halfway between their offices, they’d talked at length about this step, ensuring that they were both ready, keeping lines of communication open in case there was a weirdness, in case they felt like they might be stepping back into bad habits.
But it just felt good to have a place that they could call home together. And Liv was excited to keep taking any further next steps with Quinn by her side.
“Do we need to ban you two from talking tonight?” Quinn asked.
“Never,” Mel said, and she winked at Emma, causing her freckles to disappear beneath flushed cheeks. “Who else is coming?”
“My mom and Peter will be here in a little while, with Jonah, so Pais will have someone to play with,” Quinn answered. “And Everlee might stop by, maybe some of Liv’s coworkers. Autumn might bring her boyfriend, probably some of the other staff.”
Because Prism had grown. Not enormously, by any means, but when they expanded the services they were providing with J&P, they’d promoted Autumn to full-time consultant and hired a few people to step in at the junior level.
It was strange how entwined their work had become, but for Liv, who’d grown up in a global company that still felt very much like her family business, it made sense to have Quinn in that part of her world, too.
An hour or so later, their little party was in full swing.
Paisley and Jonah were playing a game with Mel that included all of them making animal noises, the kids giggling as Mel got more and more theatrical with it.
Quinn was laughing and joking with her mom and brother.
Other friends, family, and colleagues were scattered throughout the room, chatting amongst themselves.
In the gentle chaos of the moment, Liv pulled Emma away from the party, leading her to the room she and Quinn shared.
“Are you finally going to have your wicked way with me?” Emma asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Is your marriage more open than you’ve let on in the past, Em?” Liv replied, teasing her right back, though Emma just shook her head in response. “I want to show you something.”
Liv dug in the top drawer of her dresser for a moment before pulling out the small box, and Emma’s eyes grew to saucers. “You bought it!”
“I did,” Liv confirmed, and she opened the box, revealing a simple platinum band with three inset diamonds shining up at them.
“Liv, it’s beautiful,” Emma gasped. “When are you going to do it?”
“I’m not sure. I just feel like I’ll know when the time is right,” Liv answered, shrugging. “Tomorrow is the anniversary of our first official date, maybe then? I don’t know if Quinn even realizes it’s this weekend, but…I thought it might be nice?”
“So beautiful,” Emma repeated, and her eyes were filled with tears. She wrapped her arm around Liv’s shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. “I love you guys.”
“I love you, too,” Liv replied, and she was in danger of tearing up, as well. It had taken work to get the two of them to this point, too, and Liv valued their friendship more than words could express.
They slipped back to the party, and Liv spent the rest of the evening by Quinn’s side as they talked to their friends and family. When the last person filtered out the door—Mel, of course, and she somehow even made that seem cool—they surveyed their messy place.
“Let’s clean up tomorrow,” Quinn offered, and Liv instantly agreed. They got ready for bed quickly before cuddling up under the covers, too exhausted to do much but hold each other, and Liv fell asleep wrapped up in Quinn’s arms.
The next morning, she woke to the press of Quinn’s lips on her forehead. “Hey, beautiful. Wake up.”
“It’s Sunday,” Liv moaned, and Quinn chuckled softly.
“It’s not even that early,” Quinn said, and she and Liv would just have to agree to disagree on that point. “I couldn’t wait to start my day with you, love. It’s been a whole year since we started this and I want to celebrate with you.”
And, okay, that was too lovely, and she should’ve known that her sweet, adorable, beautiful Quinn would be aware of the anniversary.
Liv stretched, finally opening her eyes to sit up and look at Quinn.
She found Quinn wide awake next to her, grinning widely, honey brown hair still mussed from sleep.
Her hand was outstretched, holding a box reminiscent of the one Liv had shown Emma the previous night, and okay .
She was very awake now, watching as Quinn flipped the lid up to reveal an oval-cut, sky blue sapphire on a white gold band, the ring exquisite and unique, the blue, Liv suspected, an exact match to the color of her eyes.
Liv’s breath escaped her body in a giant huff of air as she took in the sight.
“I love you,” Quinn said. “I’ve loved you for as long as I have known you. And I know…I know we said that we’re going to take it slow. I know we just moved back in together, and ma ybe I’m jumping the gun a little here, but…things are good, right?”
“Things are great,” Liv whispered, nodding to Quinn, their eyes locked.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Quinn continued.
Liv watched handsome, strong, soft Quinn.
She saw as her eyes watered. “I don’t ever want to live through another day without you in it.
I don’t want us stuck on the past, of course, but we wasted so much time, and I’m not willing to waste another second without you. ”
Liv tugged her in for a sweet, quick kiss, but before she gave an answer, she jumped out of bed, leaving Quinn somewhat stunned as Liv rifled through her drawer to find the other box.
“Are you okay?” Quinn asked, sounding unsure.
“Yes, love, I’m so good,” Liv answered, her fingers curling around the cube. She walked back over to their bed, this time holding out her hand for Quinn to see, mirroring Quinn’s position from earlier.
It was Quinn’s turn to let out a raspy breath, and they quickly exchanged rings before Liv climbed into Quinn’s lap, placing kisses all over her face.
“I love you,” Quinn said, her voice thick with unshed tears.
“I love you, too,” Liv responded, pressing her forehead to Quinn’s and smiling through tears of her own, understanding that whatever came at them from then on, they would face it together. Knowing, to the very core of her being, they finally got it right.
The End