Epilogue

Six months later

Christmas (for real)

Annie checked on the turkey in the oven, then glanced at the clock. Ryan would be here any minute, and she couldn’t contain her excitement. It had been two weeks since she’d last seen him, but it had felt like an eternity.

When they’d returned from Vegas, he’d accepted the smoke-jumper job, and a month later he’d moved to Northern California. He was happier than she’d ever seen him, but of course she liked to think that was because they were finally together and not just because of his new job.

After all, she was just as happy, and she was now unemployed. She was also ten pounds heavier than she’d been in Vegas. She’d flushed the rest of her diet pills after realizing she’d taken the weight-loss thing a little too far. The real transformation she’d needed had been on the inside, by discovering who she was and not being afraid to show people. Now she still ate sensibly and exercised often, but only because she felt healthier. She allowed herself to indulge in her favorite foods again. And while there would always be days where insecurity sneaked in, she was comfortable with herself, inside and out.

“Honey, I’m home,” she heard Ryan call out as he let himself into the apartment.

Annie ran to greet him. He opened his arms as soon as he saw her, and she jumped into them, wrapping her legs around his waist. He squeezed her until she could hardly breathe, and then he kissed her, taking away what little breath she had left.

“I missed you,” he said when they broke the kiss.

“Mmm,” she said with a smile, still reeling from the kiss. “I missed you, too.”

Ryan set her on her feet and looked around the apartment. After they’d returned from Vegas, Annie had hung up all her old pictures again.

Annie’s favorite photo at the moment was one of her and Ryan in front of the Bellagio fountains. It had been taken the night she and Ryan had begun making the concrete plans that would take them from friends to committed lovers. Interspersed among all of the older photos were newer ones, too, many taken at his new place in Northern California, where Annie visited him every chance she got.

“It looks like Christmas,” he said. “And it smells like Christmas. I wasn’t even hungry until I walked in here.”

“You better be hungry,” she told him. “The turkey is big enough for a small army.”

Wrapping his arm around her waist again, he said, “So, do you miss your job yet?”

Annie shook her head. “I’ll miss my co-workers and the regular patients who we see all the time, but I can’t wait to be in a place where I get to come home to you every night.”

“Good answer.”

For the past six months, Annie and Ryan had been doing the long-distance thing. One weekend he would come and stay with her, and the next, she would stay with him. Occasionally, they’d been able to fit in a week together. Annie had found a nursing job that interested her up by Ryan’s new place, and as soon as the holidays were over, she was going to move in with him.

Annie went back into the kitchen to check on their dinner, and when she came out, he was slipping a few presents under the tree.

“About twenty more minutes until dinner. Just enough time to open presents.”

She grinned and touched the diamond heart pendant she wore—the one that had been stolen in Las Vegas and then thankfully recovered. She was already anticipating Ryan’s reaction when he saw the gift she’d wrapped in gold foil. She’d give it to him last. Maybe even after dinner. Because once he saw the bondage tape Paige had bought her all those months ago, she didn’t think they’d be able to concentrate on anything else.

Turning, Ryan handed her a long and narrow, box, the kind that posters came in. “This one first.”

Suspecting it was some kind of art for his apartment, Annie carefully unwrapped it. Inside the box was a thick roll of multiple pieces of paper held together by a ribbon. As soon as they were unrolled, she knew what he’d brought her.

House plans. For a two-story home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen was huge, with a big island and breakfast nook. In the master bathroom there was a huge Jacuzzi tub. And next to the master bedroom was a room with floor-to-ceiling windows, labeled Annie’s Studio.

Ryan pointed at it. “You always said you wanted one so you could learn how to paint and do arts and crafts…”

The plans blurred as Annie’s eyes filled with tears.

“Our house,” she whispered.

“Um, yes. But you can change anything you want. I just wanted to get the ball rolling. Surprise you. If you don’t like—”

Annie threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “It’s perfect. Just like you are.”

“Oh, baby,” he murmured as he held her, rubbing her heaving back. “Shh, it’s okay.”

She pulled back fiercely. “It’s better than okay. You’re making all my dreams come true. And sometimes I wonder, what if we’d never figured things out? What if we’d missed out on all this? You and me?”

“That was never going to happen,” he said firmly.

“But—”

“Never, Annie. Between the two of us, we’d have made sure we became who we were meant to. I’d have worn you down, no matter how many games of strip poker I had to deal.”

She laughed shakily. “How did I get so lucky?”

He shrugged and said, “I bet half the women in the city would like to know that.”

She slugged him in the arm, and he laughed. Then his expression turned serious. “I’m the lucky one,” he said, and then suddenly he was sliding off the couch onto one knee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another box. This one was tiny and velvet. He popped open the lid, and inside was the most beautiful princess-cut diamond and sapphire ring that Annie had ever seen.

“Will you marry me, Annie?” he asked.

Annie put her hands on the sides of his face and forced herself not to say yes. Not yet. “Don’t you want to live together first? Make sure we’re compatible?”

“I’ve been waiting since Vegas to do this, and only because you were worried about taking things slow.” He grinned. “I’ve known you for nine years, Annie. There’s no doubt in my mind you’re the woman for me, and I’m the man for you. I want to spend the rest of our lives together, and the sooner you become my wife the better. Now say you’ll marry me. Please.”

Warmth radiated through her body, and she was smiling so widely her cheeks actually hurt. “You are all I’ve ever wanted, Ryan. Yes! I’ll marry you!”

With a grin, he turned the ring over so she could see what was inscribed inside the band.

It was their initials, designed to match her tattoo. And his. He’d had the intertwined initials inked on his shoulder.

He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her until they were both breathless. “Thank you for being brave enough to make your naughty list. Now we should create and fulfill another one—together.”

“A new adventure?” She gazed down at the sparkling ring on her finger. “With you, Ryan Hennessey, I’m up for anything.”

—The End—

Thank you for reading Bedding The Best Friend.

If you enjoyed spending time with these characters, be sure to check out Cole’s story in Bedding The Biker Next Door, Book Five in the Bedding The Bachelors Series

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