The End of Us (Love in Isolation 3)

I wrap my arms around Tristan’s waist as I look up at it. “The rink is on the other side, but I love looking at it from this angle.”

“I love looking at you from this angle,” he mutters in my ear. In the distance, I can hear Christmas jazz music. Tristan takes my hand, and we dance on the sidewalk. He spins me around, then pulls me in close.

“You know what I was thinking about?”

“What’s that?”

He slowly sways.

“Spending the rest of my life with you.”

I swallow hard, and my heart pounds in my chest when he carefully gets down on one knee.

I’m confused until I see a black velvet box.

“Piper Montgomery…”

I immediately start crying and don’t even let him finish.

“Yes, yes! Oh my God, yes!” I squeal, crashing into him and wrapping my arms around his neck. He holds me as he gets to his feet.

“You didn’t even let me finish.” He chuckles.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

Tristan opens the box, then slips the gorgeous diamond ring on my finger.

“You really want to marry me?” I ask.

This is so surreal. I’ve dreamed about this very moment. And better yet, it’s in the most perfect setting.

“I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I’m a better person because of you, and I’d be so damn honored if you’d be mine forever. I want to grow old with you and start a family with you. You’re my everything, Piper. You’ve taught me what it is to live again.”

My emotions bubble over as I grab both sides of his face and brush my lips gently against his. “You’ve taught me what it’s like to love and be loved. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

He smiles. “Thank God, baby. Now let’s get out of here.”

I laugh. “I swear you’re a mind reader.”

Tristan and I make our way to the corner of the street and hail a cab. It takes everything I can to keep my hands off him on the way back to the apartment, but the last thing we need is to give the driver a show.

“Remember when you asked me earlier what Ryan and your dad and I talked about?”

I nod.

“I asked him for his blessing to marry you.”

“You did? What’d he say?”

“Surprisingly, he approved. Said I’m the only man in the world he’d allow you to be with.”

Laughter escapes me. I’ve never been this happy in my life and can’t wait for Tristan Belvedere to be my husband. It’s a dream come true.

EPILOGUE

TRISTAN

EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER

“Good morning,” I say, rolling over to greet my beautiful wife.

Her eyes flutter open, and she’s wearing a sleepy smile. “Morning.”

Next thing I know, Piper is under the blankets, worshiping my cock. I slip my hands behind my head, wondering if this is what royalty feels like. She pumps and works me until I’m nearly ready to explode, then rides me until she almost comes.

I roll her over, steady myself, then take her from behind. As I slam into her, I reach around and rub circles on her clit. I’ve memorized her body and the way she reacts so well that before she comes, I pull away and tease her just the way she likes. After she finally gives herself permission to come, I follow soon after, and we collapse onto the bed to catch our breaths.

“I’ll never get tired of waking up like that,” she says.

“Me neither,” I admit, grateful for every single day I get to spend with my wife. I think back to what happened while I was in the military and thank the stars every day that I lived. There were points in my life when I wished I’d died that day. Now, I’m grateful I didn’t. Deep down, I feel like I survived just so I could meet Piper. She’s restored my faith in relationships and reminded me what it’s like to be loved.

We got married last July, only six months after our engagement, and I still haven’t gotten used to seeing pictures of our special moment splashed all over the internet. Though I knew exactly what I was getting into, so I couldn’t be too mad about it.

Soon, we’ll be celebrating our one-year anniversary, but I swear we’re still in the honeymoon phase. The wedding was beautiful, extravagant, and expensive—in typical Montgomery fashion. After dealing with her mom being a mother of the bridezilla, Piper was ready to elope but stuck it out because she knew it was important to them too. Our wedding may have beat a world record for how much they spent on it. The only thing I cared about was making sure she was happy and got everything she wanted.

“I want avocado toast for breakfast,” Piper says once we crawl out of bed.

I go through the process of putting on my prosthesis, then slip on my shorts. “I think I can make that happen.”