Noah walks over to us, grabbing Kaleigh’s face in both his hands. “I love you. So, so much. More than I love me.” He smiles at her and rubs away the tears that are rolling down her cheeks. “Marry me? Be my wife?”
“Are you sure?” Kaleigh asks him while she puts her hands on his.
“More sure than anything I’ve ever done in my whole life.” He pulls her close to him.
“Yes,” she agrees right before her hands leave his and she throws them around his neck, kissing him.
“This is wonderful,” my mother squeals. “Frank, we are planning a wedding.”
“Great!” My father looks at Austin. “Open that wine.”
“I’m getting married!” Kaleigh shouts.
“Um,” Noah murmurs as we all turn to look at him. “I just need to get divorced first.”
Epilogue
LAUREN
My heels click on the cement pavement as I walk down the street. I’m going to meet Austin at his ‘new adventure,’ as he calls it. Kaleigh was supposed to come with me, but the baby is throwing up, so she opted out of it.
It’s been over a year since he smashed into my car. One year of pure happiness, really; well, minus that week I kicked him out after he bought both kids a drum set. That they played together. We also made the decision that we should keep it at his house, for when we go there.
The cream peep-toe slingback shoes I’m wearing are starting to pinch my feet, but they were the only shoes I had that go with this outfit. I’m wearing a baby pink high-waisted pencil skirt that stops at the knee and a long-sleeved, lace turtleneck crop top to match. My hair is pinned up in a bun at the base of my neck. To show off the lace back, a gold zipper is holding it together.
I make my way up the stairs to the address he gave me. I check my phone and make sure I’m in the right place. Once I confirm that I am, I pull open the huge mahogany door.
Opening the door, I step inside and stop. The whole room is filled with white candles, accentuating the dark mahogany color of the interior. The thick bar sits in the middle of the room, open on both sides. Bouquets of white roses fill all four corners of it. Three crystal chandeliers hang above the bar. Shimmering pieces of crystal drip down from it, looking like diamonds falling.
The whole place has low tables, all with white roses in the center and candles around them. The flickering candlelight throughout the bar casts a dim yellow glow through the space. There, standing in the middle of the room, leaning against the bar, is my man. Dressed in one of his black suits, this one with a slight sheen to it. One arm cocked on the bar, with his feet crossed in front of him. “Hey there, beautiful,” he says, coming to meet me.
“What is this?” I look around, noticing that no one else is here.
“You look fantastic.” He moves down to kiss my neck.
“You look pretty fantastic yourself.” I hold onto his jacket lapels. “What is this?”
“This,” he tells me, “is my new adventure called Crazy Days. It’s mine and John’s and Noah’s. God forbid, we leave him out.”
“So, this is all yours?” I look around to see that it is very him. Dark mahogany everywhere, low tables, elegant.
“It’s ours,” he says as I see his hands fidget at his sides. “I sold my house.” He rubs them together. “I’m never there. It was silly to keep it. But…” His voice trails off.
“But?” I walk to him and take his hand, which is cold in mine. “What is going on?” I kiss his hand to try and make him feel better.
“I want us to buy a house together. I want us to have something together that is just ours,” he whispers and then lifts our hands to kiss mine.
“Okay,” I tell him.
“Okay? Just like that, okay?” He is surprised by my answer.
“Honey, we live together. We haven’t spent a night apart in a year.” I smile at him, while he looks down at me. “I would like to stay in the same neighborhood for the kids and school, but yeah, just like that.”
He smiles at me, his eyes lighting up. “That was easy.” He drops to one knee in front of me. The hand that he isn’t holding moves to cover my mouth, and the purse that was in it falls to the floor. “The day I ran into you changed my life. You came into the office with all that sass, and you almost killed me. Twice.” He laughs, his eyes never leaving mine, while I smile at the memory.
“Oh, please, how was I to know you were allergic to that powder?” I roll my eyes at him. “I saw the pictures. It wasn’t that bad.”