Epilogue
Two months later
“Dear God, they’re going to kill each other,” Sam groaned from her lawn chair as we sat beside the pool Travis and I had recently put in. It had been his idea, saying it would be handy to have during the summer. Plus, I had a feeling he wanted it for those babies he’d become increasingly enthusiastic to practice for.
I snorted watching as Travis, Theo, Sid, Dec, Caden, and my brother, Ryan, played a makeshift game of water polo. It was more like a wrestling match, but as I ogled Travis, his muscles flexing, I couldn’t say I minded the view.
Ryan had arrived home several weeks before, and after a few tense meetings, Travis had won him over as I knew he would. He’d been over to the house several times and had taken a few meetings at headquarters as well. I had a feeling he’d be hired on soon enough.
My little brother had changed dramatically over the past few years. With his buzz cut and muscles he certainly hadn’t had when we were kids, combined with the calculated and confident way he carried himself, I scarcely recognized him. His eyes, though, those striking gray eyes that looked right through to the heart of you, those were still the same. One thing was for sure, my baby brother had become a badass man.
When Olivia toddled over to the pool, the guys broke it up, Caden swimming over and reaching for his daughter with a broad grin. Hudson soon followed as we looked on, drinks in hand.
Mabel sat in her polka-dot bathing suit underneath the large umbrella Travis had set up for her. With her bright red lipstick and large-brimmed hat, she looked like a classic movie star. A movie star who needed another drink already.
I’d noticed Sam hadn’t touched hers.
“Do you want something else?” I asked, eyeing her untouched drink. She offered a Cheshire cat grin in return.
“I can’t drink it.”
“You can’t?” I asked, a second before it sunk in. “Oh my God!”
Danny and I sat up abruptly from our spots on either side of her as May smiled knowingly. “When did you find out?” I demanded.
“A few weeks ago. It took us so long this time.” She sighed as she rubbed her barely protruding belly. “Sid and I wanted the news for just us for a while.”
“I completely understand,” Danny put in, wrapping an arm around her friend. “Congratulations, Mama.”
“Thanks.” Sam grinned.
“I’m so excited for you guys,” I squealed. “You’re such an amazing mom, you both are.” I looked to her and Danny.
“You will be, too.” Danny winked.
“We’ll see,” I mumbled noncommittally.
I couldn’t help my disappointment that Travis hadn’t proposed. We hadn’t been together long, but with the warp speed our relationship had traveled and all the talk of babies, I’d thought it would have happened. I worried he’d changed his mind. Now that we’d truly settled into our lives together, one without me having to look over my shoulder, maybe he’d grown bored.
When the sun dipped lower in the sky, the guys got out of the pool and fired up the grill.
“Did you fire Kelsey?” Sid asked Travis as they piled burgers onto the grill.
Kelsey was the latest in the revolving door of receptionists.
“Yeah,” Travis replied gruffly. “She was thirty minutes late for being fired. Fitting, given her track record.”
The rest of us laughed, aside from Theo, whose expression had grown severe.
“What’s up, man?” Sid asked him, obviously catching sight of his expression.
“Fuck this,” Theo ground out. “You know what? Enough. I’m going to get my girl.”
And with that he strode inside and out of sight.
Danny and Sam exchanged a wide-eyed look before bursting into cheers.
“It’s about damn time.” Sid chuckled.
I’d never met Sarah, but on that, even I could agree.
It was after a delicious barbeque that I sat amidst my friends, lounging at the table, the outdoor lights twinkling overhead and the sound of the ocean filtering through my ears. I felt utterly content.
When Travis reappeared from inside with a pizza box, I sat up straighter in confusion.
“We just ate.” I wrinkled my brow in confusion.
Sam shot me a knowing wink, which confused me further.
“I know, baby. Just go with me here.” Travis chuckled, depositing the box in front of me and lifting the lid. All the pepperoni had been picked off, the way I always did. Then he shocked the hell out of me by dropping to one knee.
“But you don’t like it separated,” I sputtered, my filter deserting me in my moment of shock.
“But you do,” he murmured as he gazed up at me. “I want to give you everything, Em. My love, my name, my ring. I love your adorable quirks, your warm heart, and your spirit. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you be my wife?” he asked, opening the black box he held to reveal a beautiful antique ring.
“Oh my God.”
“Is that a yes?” He grinned.
I nodded profusely, as he slipped the ring onto my shaking hand.
Cheers from our friends erupted around us as Travis pulled me up and into his arms.
“I love you,” I breathed, barely containing the joy that wanted to erupt at knowing I got to keep my happily ever after.
“Love you too, baby.” He squeezed me closer, only releasing me when my brother moved alongside me.
“Congrats, Emmie.” Ryan grinned, wrapping an arm around me. “You did good,” he murmured in my ear. “You always have. I’m glad you found such a good guy. He’ll take care of you. You deserve it; you took care of me for so many years.”
I clutched him tighter. “We took care of each other, Ry,” I murmured.
He nodded, stepping back, and with a chin lift to Travis returned to his seat next to Sid.
Travis didn’t hesitate to reclaim me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. “Okay, baby?” he murmured in my ear.
I looked up at him, sure my smile could break my face in two. “Never better.”
****
It was later, after our friends and family left, that Travis and I lay in bed wrapped in each other’s arms. I couldn’t stop admiring my ring, a sapphire with diamonds surrounding it. It was antique and classic and so completely me I couldn’t believe it.
“I would have asked sooner,” he admitted as his finger toyed with strands of my hair. “But I wanted your brother’s permission.”
My heart melted, and I propped my chin to his chest, grinning up at him. “Did he make you work for it?” I demanded playfully.
Travis flashed that boyish grin I loved so much. “I waited until I knew he wouldn’t say no,” he said with a chuckle.
“Smart.” I grinned. “I was beginning to worry that you’d changed your mind. Or maybe you were bored now that our lives are so normal.”
“Nothing in this world could ever make me change my mind about you, Em,” he replied with conviction. “And plus, baby, you may think our lives are normal, but you held a yoga retreat in our backyard a day before a preschool graduation, and I’m about to speak at the White House. I’d say our lives are anything but normal—or boring.”
He had a point.
I hadn’t scaled back on work much. I loved teaching at the preschool, and yoga was a much-needed stress reliever for me. Plus, where would Theo master his handstand scorpion pose if I stopped teaching?
“You think you can handle a little more excitement?” I asked hesitantly. When his brow raised, I continued. “Since we’re going to get a new little niece or nephew, I figured it’d be nice if our kids were close in age. I thought maybe we could turn practicing into the real deal.”
He had me pinned beneath him so quickly I wasn’t even aware I’d moved. “Really?” he growled, pressing himself between my legs. “You’re ready?”
“I’m ready,” I assured him with a grin. “I mean, we can’t let things get boring around here,” I teased.
He grinned, his eyes smoldering as they looked down into mine. “Baby, one thing’s for sure, life with you? Anything but boring.”
~The End~