“That was amazing!” Gabriel shouts as his eyes widen with excitement.
Gabriel came too. Apparently, Mr. Brown was incensed by our late night shenanigans last night, but the decision to return to Cline Corp wasn’t his.
He’s only a few months away from retirement and his son Gabriel is taking over the family business. He let Gabriel pick where to invest their funds and Gabriel wanted to keep it with Eli and his brothers. He wasn’t nearly as upset as his father about the incident. He thought it was hilarious.
“Where did Luke go?” Westin shouts over the roar of the waves.
“Sailing through the air like a football!” Eli shouts with a laugh. “I’ll get him.”
He digs the paddle into the water and starts grunting like a caveman as he steers the raft into a calm area of the river and waits for his brother to come to us.
“You are pretty good at this,” I admit to him. His arms look pretty damn good too all flexed and jacked as he fights the water with his paddle. “Thanks for bringing me.”
“You’re family now,” he says with a wink.
Even though I’m drenched again around this man, I feel a flood of warmth hit my chest.
“How about for our next date, we skip the sports and go out for dinner?”
He grins as Luke comes flying along the current up to our raft. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Nolan and Gabriel grab Luke as he jets by and they struggle to pull the huge guy in.
“That. Was. Awesome!” he says with a big smile as we all look at him huffing for a breath.
We all burst out laughing and then Eli lifts his paddle and we continue down the river together, ready for some more adventure.EpilogueCarrieFour months later…“What do you think, Chester?” I say as my dog flies into our new condo. He slips on the hardwood floors and slams into the wall.
There was a time when that would have had me freaking out and in tears as I ran over to him, hoping he didn’t break any bones, but that time has come and gone.
I can let him be an ordinary dog now. Dave Matthews (again, not the musician) is a miracle worker and Chester’s cancer is in remission. He’s gained weight and is looking happier than ever.
“What do you think?” Eli asks as he walks in behind me. “Can you see us happy here?”
“I can see us happy anywhere.”
It’s true. The past four months have been the best of my life. Eli has been incredible, his family is amazing, and I even got a job! When Gabriel found out I was looking, he offered me a job in his sales department. It’s been going great. Mr. Brown has cultivated a wonderful staff and a fun atmosphere in his office and I can’t wait to go in every day.
My life is turning out just great.
I’m walking around our new condo in the Upper West Side looking around in awe. It has a stunning view of Central Park through the floor-to-ceiling windows and a massive kitchen. It’s currently empty since we just got the keys, but I’m already in love. It already feels like home.
I walk into the vast living room with my arms out and staring up at the tall coffered ceilings. I still can’t believe this place is mine. It has four freaking fireplaces! If I wanted a fire at my last apartment, I had to go hangout with the homeless men by the burning trash can on the corner. This is a bit of an upgrade.
“This is incredible,” I say as I walk into the empty bedroom where Eli is on his knees playing with Chester. My man and my dog in front of that spectacular view… how did I even get here?
“You spoil me,” I tell him as I drop to my knees beside them.
“Nah,” he says as he runs his hands up Chester’s tall ears. “You contributed too. We bought it together.”
“Yeah, but I contributed like 0.0000001% of what you did.”
“But that was exactly how much I was missing,” he says with a wink. “And besides, having you walking around in your sexy underwear is priceless.”
“Snuggie, yes, underwear, no. The whole city will be able to see me through these giant windows!”
“I got that covered,” he says with a grin. “Marsha! Privacy!”
“Yes, Mr. Cline,” a robotic voice says as huge blinds start rolling down the windows, blocking out the spectacular view.
“Who’s that?! Should I be jealous?”
“No,” he says as he begins to move toward me. “I only have eyes for you.”
“Really?” I ask in a seductive voice. “Prove it.”
“Okay.” He reaches into his pocket and my mouth drops open when I see the purple ring box.
“What is that?!”
His eyes are full of loving emotion as he opens the box and reveals the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen. It’s all shiny and sparkly with a huge diamond in the middle.