Epilogue
Part Two
Lucas
One Month Later
“Shit,” I whisper, my heart thudding in my chest as I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans and stare down at the engagement ring I’ve been carrying around since before my brother died. I think I knew from the moment I met her that Quinn was the One but after everything that happened with my brother, I didn’t want to rush anything. We both needed time to just settle into our new normal and damn, I’m so glad that I did.
About a week after Clay’s funeral, Alice moved into her own apartment a few blocks away and I moved in with my girls. There’s something to be said about the feeling of coming home to them after a long day with the club and for the life of me, I can’t understand why I was so quick to laugh it off whenever Storm, Chance, or Kodiak talked about it before I met her. Hand to God, there is nothing better than the smile that spreads across my woman’s face when she first sees me at the end of the day. It makes me feel like a goddamn king and that’s why I know it’s time to lock it down.
Well, that and the not so subtle hints that Alice has been dropping about Christmas being Quinn’s favorite holiday and how perfect it would be if I proposed now.
I roll my eyes.
My new almost sister-in-law is about as subtle as a brick to the face. Actually, she reminds me a lot of Tate in that way.
“You ready?” Alice asks, poking her head into the room with Brooklyn in her arms.
“Dada!” she squeals, reaching for me and I grin as I strut across the room and scoop her out of Alice’s arms. She’s decked out in a red and white dress that makes her look like a little angel.
“Hey, gorgeous girl. You ready to surprise your mama?”
This morning, Brooke and I woke Quinn up with breakfast in bed before we all got dressed and did a little Christmas shopping downtown. When we just so happened to stumble upon the horse drawn carriage I had hired for the afternoon, I talked her into going for a ride around the city and I reveled in the look of complete joy on her face as we all cuddled together in the carriage. Once we got home, I sent her off to have some “me time” and get her nails done as Alice instructed because apparently, it’s a must that her nails be nice if I’m going to pop the question.
Whatever.
It gave me the perfect amount of time to set up my surprise in the garden but she’s due back soon and we need to get out there.
“Nervous?” Alice asks with a grin and I shake my head.
“Naw. Your sister was made for me.”
She laughs out loud and pats my cheek before turning away from me. “Oh, Lukie. I had you pegged from the start.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I yell after her but she just laughs again and I sigh as I swipe the ring off the dresser and slip it into my pocket. Once we get outside, I set Brooklyn in the wagon Alice and I decorated to look like Santa’s sleigh and I suck in a breath as I tuck the ring into the special ornament I had made to hold it. Alice lets out a whistle just as I’m hanging it on a nearby tree and my heart hammers against my chest as I wipe my hands again and turns toward the direction of the driveway.
“Alice?” Quinn says, her voice drifting from the front of the house and I hit the button for the first set of lights to come on. She gasps and I can’t help but grin. “What the hell is going on here?”
“There’s a surprise for you.”
“Where’s Lucas?” she asks and her sister laughs.
“So impatient,” Alice teases. “Just follow the path.”
I press the second button and the little candy canes light up on either side of the path as Quinn gasps again.
“What in the world are the three of you up to?” she asks as her voice grows closer and I lean down, scooping Brooklyn out of the wagon as I hit the last button and the entire garden springs to life - thousands of white twinkling lights casting a glow over the house and yard.
“Lucas,” Quinn breathes as she rounds the back of the house and even in the dim light, I can see the tears in her eyes. “What is this?”
“Welcome home, baby,” I call, smiling and she shakes her head as she closes the distance between us and glances down at Brooklyn’s dress.
“What are you all dressed up for, baby girl?”
I laugh. “We have a surprise for you, Mama.”
“You mean besides all this?” She motions to the lights hanging off the trees above us and I nod as I set Brooklyn on her feet and hold her little hand in mine. Quinn’s gaze rakes down my chest before meeting my eyes with heat in her own. “You look real good, baby.”
“Well, thank you, but that’s not the surprise.”
She wiggles in front of me, flashing me an impatient look that I know all too well. “Well, get to it, Smith. It’s cold out here.”
“Alice,” I say and she steps out of the shadows to take Brooklyn’s hand with a smile on her face. She winks at me and I nod. Turning toward the tree next to me, I grab the ornate silver ornament I had designed and hold it up for Quinn to see. “This is for you.”
Grinning, she takes a step toward me and reaches up, gently running her fingers across the surface of it. “It’s gorgeous.”
I can barely hear her over the rushing in my ears as I suck in a breath and meet her gaze. “You should open it.”
“Open it?” she asks, scowling at me and I nod as I extend my hand. With her brows furrowed, she takes the ornament from my hand and inspects it for a second before gently lifting it open to reveal the ring I showed her months ago. Her shocked gaze flies to me and I smile. “Lucas?”
“Four months ago, I stood on our front porch and showed you that very same ring. Do you remember?”
“Of course,” she breathes, her eyes watering at she watches me.
“I told you then that there was no future for me that didn’t involve you and that little girl back there,” I say, pointing to Alice and Brooklyn. “And it still holds true today. You and I… we’ve been through so much, baby, and we’ve managed to come out on the other side stronger than ever. Each day, you inspire me to be a better man, the kind of man you deserve to have by your side, the kind of man that little girl deserves to have for a daddy, and I’m so in awe of your strength and your incredible, beautiful heart. Just when I think I’ve got you all figured out, you do something that surprises the shit out of me and makes me love you even more.” I step forward and take the ring out of the ornament as I grab her trembling hand. “I never would have gotten through the last few months if it hadn’t been for you and your unconditional love, Quinn. You build me back up when I am weak and you make me believe in happy endings when the world has done all it can to break my faith.” Smiling, I drop down to my knee and hold the ring up as tears run down her face. “I love you with every fucking piece of me, Quinn Evelyn Dawson. Please tell me you’ll make me the happiest, luckiest son of a bitch alive and agree to be my wife?”
“God, yes,” she whispers, holding her hand out to me and I slip the ring on her finger before standing and pulling her into a kiss so powerful it could keep these lights blazing all night long. Laughter and clapping greet us from Alice and Brooklyn and Quinn laughs as she pulls back, meeting my eyes. “I love you, you sweet, beautiful man.”
“No more than I love you.”
She’s about to protest when I see Alice hand my second surprise off to Brooklyn and I press my finger to her lips.
“There’s one more thing.”
She quirks a brow. “Yeah? What’s that?”
I turn her around and point to Brooklyn as she tottles over to us with the envelope in her hands and Quinn peeks over her shoulder at me with a questioning expression.
“Is that for me, baby girl?” she asks, crouching down in front of Brooklyn, who squeals and hands her mama her second surprise. Quinn’s gaze flicks from the envelope to me and back again as she peels it open and pulls the papers out, gasping.
“What?”
Holding my hand out, I wait until Brooklyn grabs it before lifting her into my arms. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right. Biologically, she may not be mine but in my heart, this little girl belongs to me. I love her almost as much as you do and I would be honored to adopt her as my own.”
“Lucas,” she gasps, crying as she covers her mouth with her hand. “Are you sure? You can’t take this back. This is forever.”
“Baby,” I breathe, shaking my head. “When are you ever gonna learn…”
She smiles and pulls me closer. “You never say things you don’t mean.”
“So believe me when I say that this is what I want. Forever. And on my death bed, when I look back at my life and all the memories and love the three of us will share, I’ll smile and tell anyone who’ll listen that I lived a damn good life.”
“Okay,” she muses, smiling at her daughter before her gaze flicks back to me. Heat dances in her eyes and my heart kicks in my chest. “Do you know what I’m going to say next, then?”
Grinning, I hook my arm around her waist and pull her into my body until my lips brush against hers. “Kiss you?”
“Get to it then, handsome. Now and for the rest of forever.”
“Shit. You don’t have to tell me twice, woman.” I seal my lips over hers and she melts into me as she grips the lapels on my jacket and moans.
Fuck.
Yeah, if I get to spend the next seventy years doing this right here, I’ll have absolutely no regrets.
The End