Epilogue

Olivia

Eight Months Later

“I can’t believe this place,” Kelly said, taking in the breathtaking views from the living room of our newly built cabin.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

The place was finally finished and Landon insisted on a party to mark the occasion. He’d even invited my parents, who were surprisingly supportive of our relationship. I suspected it had something to do with the fact that he wasn’t just some kid with big dreams anymore. He was a champion with the ring to prove it. They respected him and his work ethic and according to my mother, they had no doubt how much he loved me.

My relationship with him still felt like a dream sometimes. We’d made it through our first football season as a couple. He’d made a place for me in his home and life and I now spent more time in Denver than I did at home.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” Kelly said, putting her arm around my waist. “I just knew things would work out.”

“They may not have, if not for your meddling.” I tugged a lock of her long hair. “I guess this is the point where I’m supposed to say thank you, huh?”

“You have a rich boyfriend now. You can thank me with Gucci gift cards.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a brat.”

I wanted my sister to find what we had but she made it clear she wasn’t looking and I had to respect that. I wanted her to give Justin a chance, but I couldn’t force it and it seemed my good friend was moving on. He’d been dating a new girl for a few weeks and if the perma-grin on his face was any indication, he really liked her.

“You happy Mom and Dad finally approve of your guy?” she asked, hip-bumping me.

“It’s nice,” I conceded, taking a sip of my wine. “But even if they hadn’t I wouldn’t care. I love him. And that should be good enough for them.”

“You sure you should be drinking that?” Kelly asked, raising her eyebrow.

I made the mistake of telling her I was late last week. “False alarm. I took the test. It was negative.”

“Oh.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “You okay with that?”

I felt strangely dejected when we checked the test after the recommended waiting period. I’d expected to be relieved, but I wasn’t, which just reinforced the fact that my biological clock had started ticking.

“I think I was more disappointed than Landon, to be honest.”

Kelly snorted. “I’m surprised he hasn’t been trying to get you knocked up every chance he gets.”

“I told him I wanted to get married first,” I said, recalling the conversation we’d had at the lodge. “I’m sure that’s why he was relieved we weren’t pregnant.”

“But you would have been okay with having a baby now?” she asked. “You know, before you guys made it official?”

I was trying to ignore the fact that Landon still hadn’t asked me to marry him. I knew he loved me. He treated me like a princess. He talked about our future. I knew he wanted to be a father. So, what the hell was he waiting for?

“I guess so.” I took a sip of wine, grateful we had the cabin to ourselves while Landon was at the store picking up the last minute party supplies.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, frowning. “You seem… off.”

“I just love him so much, you know?” I blinked back the tears. I was not a crier, so why the hell was I crying? “I know he’s the one. And this waiting game is kind of killing me.” I’d started to feel antsy a couple of months ago when one of his teammates had his first child with his wife. They were three years younger than we were and holding that tiny baby in my arms stirred something in me that had been dormant. A deep longing to have a family of my own.

“Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”

I sniffled, wiping at the tears collecting in my eyes. “God, no. I could never do that. I want him to propose to me because he wants to, not because he feels he has to.”

“But he can’t read your mind, sis. Maybe he thinks you’re not ready? Maybe if you make it official by moving in with him—”

“I’m not just going to put all of my shit into his house.” Sure, I spent a lot of time there, but it wasn’t my home. It was his. “He has to invite me to move in with him.”

“It’s like you’re already living together,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You two are together as often as you can be, you fuck like rabbits—”

“Is that what you told her?” Landon asked, dropping a couple of cases of beer on the counter.

I hadn’t heard him come in. I hoped he hadn’t overheard our conversation. The last thing I wanted was an obligatory marriage proposal. “Oh hey.” My back was still turned to him as I frantically wiped my eyes while my sister shielded me from his view. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

He walked over to me, pulling my hands away from my face. “What the hell?” He looked at Kelly before glancing back to me. “Have you been crying?”

I sniffled, feeling embarrassed that he’d caught me in a moment of weakness. “I’m fine. Just a little hormonal, I guess.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Kelly said, slipping out on the deck. “I’m gonna take a walk, check out the grounds.”

“Tell me what’s really going on,” he said, curling his hands around my face. “And don’t give me some bullshit story about you being hormonal.”

I forced a smile. “I’m just happy. I mean, look at this place. Can you believe it’s finished?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Olivia, these aren’t happy tears. I can tell the difference. Now what the hell’s going on with you?” When I didn’t respond, he asked, “Is it me? Us?”

I shook my head as another cursed tear fell. “It’s nothing, I’m fine. Really.”

***

Landon

I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong after my exchange with Olivia. Something was bothering her and I hated that she wouldn’t tell me what it was. I was already on edge because the surprise I had planned for her hadn’t arrived yet and I was beginning to question whether it would. And it’s not like I could even call the guy to find out where the hell he was. Sometimes being off the grid really sucked.

I listened to some of my teammates talk shop, trying to contribute where I could, while keeping an eye on Olivia. She moved through the party, talking to all of our guests, but her smile was forced and it slipped as soon as she thought no one was looking.

She was unhappy and I couldn’t figure out why. I thought things were going so well. We’d spent a lot of time together, redecorating the house and building the cabin. She was fitting seamlessly into my life and all my friends loved her.

Last week we’d even thought we were pregnant. I was ashamed to admit how hard I’d prayed for a positive result while we waited. But I knew she wasn’t ready. I just loved her so much and I wanted her to have my baby. I was tired of waiting. But I was trying to give her time and space to get used to us. I knew she was under a lot of pressure and I didn’t want to add to it, but I couldn’t go on like this much longer, living in limbo.

“Everything okay with you two?” my brother asked quietly, stepping up behind me.

I turned away from my teammates. “You sensed it too, huh?” My gut clenched. I thought I’d just been imagining things. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on. It’s like she’s shutting me out. I walked in earlier and found her talking to her sister. She was crying, man.” We exchanged a look because we both knew Olivia wasn’t a crier. The last time I’d seen her cry was at the reunion.

“You two haven’t been having problems?” Mike asked, his voice hushed as he brought his beer bottle to his lips.

“She thought she was pregnant last week,” I confessed. “Maybe that got her freaked out. Maybe this is getting too real for her.” I didn’t want to believe that, but I couldn’t bury my head in the sand either.

“So, what are you gonna do?”

Mike was the only other person who knew about my surprise. “I don’t know. What do you think I should do? Hold off? The dude’s not here yet anyhow. He may not even show.”

“I wouldn’t hold off,” he said, glancing at Olivia. “Something tells me if you do you might regret it.”

“Why? What makes you say that?” Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any more anxious, my kid brother finds a way. “You don’t think she’s gonna dump me, do you?” I didn’t know what I’d do if that happened. Olivia wasn’t just a part of my life. She was my life. Everything revolved around her. Not football anymore. Her.

“Maybe she’s getting tired of waiting,” Mike suggested. “You know how women are. They like a guy who’s not afraid to make a commitment.” He shrugged. “Maybe she thinks you are.”

“Afraid to make a commitment?” I whispered. “You’re shitting me. That woman knows how much I love her.”

“Does she?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Come on, man.” I raked a shaky hand through my hair. I didn’t get nervous. Ever. But my stomach was tied up in knots right now. “You know she does. You’ve seen the way I treat her. I bought her a goddamn Maserati for her birthday. Does that sound like a guy who isn’t committed?”

“I know you are and you know you are. But don’t you think it’s time you showed her that?”

He was right. Screw the surprise. I needed to do this now before I had a complete meltdown.

“Hey, everybody,” I said, trying to get the attention of our friends and family. “We want to thank you guys for coming.” I stepped closer, reaching out to Olivia. Her hand was ice cold when she slipped it into mine. “This place means a lot to me and Olivia and we’re hoping this will be the first of many parties we host here. You’re all here because you’re an important part of our lives.”

Her smile was fake as I squeezed her hand and said a prayer that this moment would play out the way I’d imagined.

“And I wanted you to witness this, to help mark the beginning of our lives together.” I dropped down to one knee, wishing like hell I had that surprise now.

A few people gasped, including Olivia, who covered her mouth with her hand as she looked down at me.

“Baby, you know how much I love you.” At least I wanted to believe she did. “And I’ve been telling you for months that I want to build a life with you. I figure it’s time for me to put up or shut up.” I had a romantic speech prepared, but I was so nervous I felt like I was going to throw up. It was all I could do to get the words out. “So… will you marry me?”

She stared at me for what felt like an eternity before she withdrew her hand and ran outside.

I stood and everyone was staring at me with sympathetic expressions on their faces. She hadn’t said yes. I was stunned. I expected her to throw her arms around me and squeal yes in front of everyone we loved. Instead, she’d bailed on me.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” Kelly muttered out of the corner of her mouth as she approached me. “Go after her.”

“Right.” It beat standing around fielding questions about why I’d been stupid enough to propose to a woman who didn’t want to marry me.

I found her outside on a flat rock, not unlike our rock. The thing weighed a ton and required special equipment to bring it in, but I didn’t care. I wanted her to have a spot that reminded her of all the great talks we’d had. Maybe we should have done a little more talking before I decided to make an ass of myself. But it wasn’t even the embarrassment that was getting to me. It was the agony of knowing she didn’t want the same thing I did.

“I’m sorry,” I said, kneeling down in front of her. “If I’d known you weren’t ready—”

“You overheard me talking to my sister today, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“That’s why you proposed, because you knew I was getting tired of waiting?” She bit her lip as she turned away. “Isn’t that what you said… it was time for you to put up or shut up?”

Had I said that? I couldn’t even remember. Those moments were a miserable blur. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. The only thing I heard was your sister saying we fucked like rabbits.”

Her forehead creased as she looked back at me. “You mean you didn’t hear me tell her that I was tired of waiting?”

“For what?” I was so confused.

“For you to propose. For us to have a baby.”

I was pretty sure my jaw dropped. “You mean you want to marry me? You’re ready to have a baby?”

“If you want to know the truth,” she said, rubbing her hands over her black jeans. “I was pretty disappointed when that pregnancy test was negative.”

“You were?” I gripped the side of her thighs, facing her now. “So was I.”

“But you seemed to be taking it better than I was.”

“Only because I knew you wanted to wait until after we were married to have a baby.” I raised a shoulder. “Personally, I don’t care about formalities. I’d have been thrilled if you’d been pregnant. But I figured we wouldn’t have to wait much longer anyhow, since I planned to propose to you today.”

She still didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure you planned this?”

Before I could respond, I heard the heavy fall of footsteps on the stone path leading to us. I stood, glaring at the man who hadn’t been able to keep his promise. “Nice of you to show up, Murray.”

The old man grimaced. “Yeah, sorry. I got tied up. I went inside and they told me what happened. I wasn’t sure if you’d want this or not?” He held the velvet box out to me and I snatched it.

“Yeah, I want it. Thank you.” I was still pissed, but I wasn’t going to let it get to me, especially since I hoped Olivia’s answer would be different when I asked her a second time.

We waited for him to walk back up the path before I knelt down in front of her again. “So, um, he’s been working on this for the past twelve weeks. He screwed it up the first time, so I made him redo it because I wanted it to be perfect.” I opened the box and smiled. It was perfect. Just like her.

“I figure if you’re going to be wearing it for the rest of your life, you wouldn’t mind waiting a few extra weeks.”

The tears started again, but this time they were happy tears. She recognized the ring, just like I knew she would.

When we were growing up there’d been a jewelry store with incredible window displays. She used to admire a two carat marquis cut diamond with one carat trilliums on either side. It was unbelievable, but she’d never tell me how much she loved it because she didn’t think I’d ever be able to buy her something like that and she didn’t want me to feel bad if I couldn’t. But I remembered. I remembered the way her eyes lit up every time she saw it. And I knew she’d been fantasizing… just like I had.

I imagined this moment, when I would slip the ring of my girl’s dreams on her finger and tell her how much I loved her.

“I can’t believe you did this,” she said, shaking her head as her hand trembled. “I can’t believe you had this made for me… or that you even remembered how much I loved this ring. How did you know? I never told you.”

“I paid attention.” I smiled, wiping a tear away with my thumb. “To all the things that made you happy. And all the things that made you sad. I made a vow then to do more of the former and less of the latter.”

She giggled through her tears as she hugged me.

“And that’s all I can promise you now, baby. To try my best to make you happy for the rest of your life. To erase all the bad memories with good memories and look at the years we spent apart as a learning experience. I became me and you became you during those years.”

She nodded as she brushed away the tears that continued to streak her cheeks.

“Now we can work on us.” I kissed her, smiling against her lips as I tasted her salty tears. “Just us. That’s all that matters now.”

“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“Then that’s a yes?” I asked, pulling back with a grin.

“That’s a yes,” she confirmed, kissing me.

I didn’t need to tell her she’d made me the happiest man in the world. She knew. “Then what do you say we get back in there and raise a glass with the people we love?”

“Good idea,” she said, linking her hand with mine as we made our way up the trail. “Who knows how much longer I’ll be able to drink.”

I growled, kissing her neck. “I’m ready to start making that baby whenever you are. Just say the word, sexy.”

“I say screw convention. Let’s make a baby.”

I grabbed her and spun her around, kissing her until she was dizzy. “To hell with the party. Let’s throw them out and get started on that now.”

She laughed, slapping my shoulder. “There’ll be plenty of time for that.” She winked. “Later.”