Epilogue

Jamie

Three months later…

“Thank you, come again!” I said, waving goodbye to the little boy as he waved his hand widely, clutching his mother’s hand as they left the store. He was so cute while he smelled all of the bread in the bakery, and asking his mother to buy one of everything. It made my heart fill up with pride that my food brought smiles to their faces.

The bell jingled again, and I looked up to see a girl wearing a high school uniform enter the shop, her mouth turned into a small smile as she looked around the place.

“Welcome,” I said, feeling like I’ve seen her somewhere before. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I must’ve spaced out,” she said, apologizing. She neared the counter and smiled sweetly at me, and the feeling grew stronger. “A classmate of mine told me she bought M&M sprinkled cookies from you. Do you have them in stock today?”

I smiled and nodded. “That’s actually my boyfriend’s favorite, too, so I always make sure there’s a fresh batch waiting for him. How many would you like?”

I rustled up her order and chatted a bit about the shop, before she looked at her watch and winced.

“Oh no! I didn’t notice the time! I’m going to be late for my next class. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Elric,” she said, hurrying out of the shop. I watched her cross the road, and tapped my chin with my finger.

“I know I’ve seen her somewhere before…,” I said. Right then my eyes caught at the portrait of Hunter’s grandmother. I told him putting the painting here would be weird, but he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Sometimes on a slow day, I pretend talk to her, mostly complaining about her grandson.

“Well, Clara, I hope I convince your grandson this time to put you in his mansion instead of here,” I said, walking over to stare at her picture. My eyes widened, and my jaw fell as I zoned in on her face, suddenly realizing why the girl looked so familiar.

The door opened and I turned to see Hunter standing there, his eyes switching between me and the portrait curiously.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. I just met a girl earlier, and she looked eerily similar to your grandmother,” I told him, folding my arms in front of my chest. He raised his eyebrows, intrigued.

“Really? Well that must’ve startled you, huh?” I scoffed at him.

“Not in the least. Now do you mind telling me what you’re doing here? I wasn’t expecting you to pick me up until 6:30.”

His face grew sober, the mirth in his eyes gone, and I straightened up with dread.

“What is it?” I asked, my mind already expecting the worse. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember what I told you? About my heirloom hidden in this portrait?” he said, nodding his head back at Clara Louise. I glanced at the painting, and then back at him before nodding.

“Yes, I remember. I don’t exactly understand what you meant by that, though,” I admitted, wondering where this conversation was leading.

“I’m going to show you what that clue means right now,” he said. He turned around and pulled the portrait from its hanging, setting it in the middle of the floor before extending his hand towards me. “Come on. We’re going outside.”

I took his hand and he gave me the painting before opening the door, spinning the lock behind the knob before shutting it closed. We walked over to the park where he placed the portrait over a large rock. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a lighter before kneeling down, pointing the lighter right at the place where his grandmother’s hand was on her lap. I panicked.

“Hunter, don’t!”

The lighter lit up and hit the painting, burning it in flames. I watched it burn with my shoulders slumped, my heart filled with sorrow.

“Why did you do that?” I cried.

“Because that’s what I’m supposed to do,” Hunter answered, looking at the spot where he first set it on fire. “That’s what grandmother told me to do to it,” I looked down and frowned at him.

He waited for the rest of the painting to finish burning before scratching through the scorched canvass with his finger until a small glint caught my eye. I watched, amazed as Hunter dug it out, and a ring fell out from the seams of the portrait.

“You can’t break the frame and you can’t take out the picture no matter what you do, so burning it is the only way to get this out,” Hunter explained, picking up the ring and showing it to me.

The ring was so beautiful. It had three emerald stones etched into the platinum rim with intricate details separating the stones. I looked up at Hunter and sighed.

“So, this is what your real treasure was,” I whispered in wonder and he smiled, nodding.

“Read the inscription,” he said, and I raised the ring up to my eyes so I could see the words written inside the ring.

To the one who holds my heart.

“Since I was the eldest, she wanted me to have something to give to the woman I chose to marry someday,” he said, and I quickly snapped my head up only to find him on one knee, my hand held gently with both of his. I sucked in a breath.

“You’ve captured me, body and soul, and ripped the gates of my heart wide open. You drove a wrecking ball on all my walls until I’m lying in front of you, naked and vulnerable. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re a great ball of fire that set my world into orbit, and thawed my ice cold heart until I could feel again, and I am so damn lucky you barged into my hotel room that night and into my life because I would’ve been so miserable if you hadn’t.”

“Marry me, Jamie. Please keep your fiery eyes locked into mine, and keep me from freezing. Stay by my side from now until forever and ever, even when our bodies turned to dust and my soul disintegrates. Marry me, baby, and make me the luckiest man in the world.”

I threw my arms around him, and knocked him to the ground, crying happily into his arms. He held me back tightly, squeezing me like he wanted our bodies to merge as one. I pulled away and let him push the ring onto my finger before putting our foreheads together, gazing into each other’s eyes with a smile.

“I love you, Hunter Drake,” I whispered, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head with a sigh.

“I’m going to make you say that over and over for the rest of my life,” he teased, and I nodded happily.

“I’d love to say it all the time,” I told him. “But does this mean I don’t have to pay you 1-million-dollars anymore?” he chuckled, squeezing my hips tightly.

“No, I’m going to make you pay me back with something else. Besides, you are worth much more than that.”

I laughed at his words and made a promise to myself I was never going to let this precious man go.

The End