Epilogue

Jade

One Year Later

I pulled into the garage, exhausted after a long day of meetings to prepare for the launching of a new product. All I wanted was to curl up on the couch with Noah and Captain and relax.

As I walked through the door, I found the house quiet. Usually at this time, Noah was playing music while he cooked. I could smell the food though, and it was heavenly.

“Honey, I’m home!” I walked down the hall, surprised Captain didn’t come running down the hall to greet me.

The kitchen and living room were empty, and I put my bags down on the island. It was still hard to believe how much the house had changed. After I’d officially decided to part ways with my house, Noah had insisted we redecorate his, and with the help of Noelle, it was now ours .

I went to the oven and peeked inside, finding dinner waiting. The dining room table was set with all the bells and whistles for a special occasion, with a gorgeous vase of flowers in the middle.

“Noah? Captain?” I called out, walking to the table and leaning in to smell the blooms.

Noah came down the stairs, still dressed in his suit pants but minus his tie. His brow furrowed with worry. “Babe, I can’t find Captain anywhere.”

It had been a while since Captain had gotten out, the last time being when Noah’s niece had stayed the night and took a little too long to shut the door. I wasn’t too worried since he never went far.

“Where are his treats? Those usually bring him running.” I started toward the pantry, but Noah stepped in my way. “You look a little pale, you feeling okay?”

He grabbed me by the arms and turned me toward the back door. “We have to find him. Someone posted on the neighborhood app that they spotted a mountain lion.”

“What?!” My heart leapt into my throat, and I rushed to the back door, Noah following close behind.

We stepped out into the warm evening air, scanning the yard for any sign of my furry companion.

“Captain! Here, kitty, kitty!” I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, immediately going for the garden which was where he usually ended up since Noah planted catnip by his zucchini to keep bugs away .

“We’ll find him.” He didn’t sound so sure. “He’s practically the size of a mountain lion anyway.”

I got to the zucchini plants, putting my hands on my hips and turning in a circle. “Where could he be?”

Noah placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Let’s split up and search. I already looked in all his favorite hiding spots. You go that way.” He pointed toward the back of the garden.

I started that way, seeing a flash of white through all the plants. I got to the edge of the garden where there was an area of grass, and there was Captain, rolling around on a white sheet with a catnip toy.

“Noah! I found him!” I was confused about the sheet and avoided the lumps under it as I walked over it to grab my cat. “What are you doing out here, crazy boy?”

He looked at me with wide eyes and meowed around the cat toy in his mouth. Tonight was going to be fun with a high cat to deal with.

“What the hell is this sheet here for? Are you growing something in the grass?” I backed up and grabbed the edge of the sheet, peeking under it. “What in the...”

There were toys under it, and I was so confused. I put Captain down since he wouldn’t go anywhere in his state and yanked the sheet off.

I gasped, my free hand flying to my mouth. Arranged on the grass were various vibrators and dildos spelling out the words “Marry Me.”

My heart raced as I slowly turned to find Noah down on one knee. “Jade, from the moment I met you, I knew you were someone special. You’ve brought so much joy and laughter into my life, and I can’t imagine spending my days with anyone else.” He paused, a playful grin tugging at his lips. “I know I’m not a photographer, but I can definitely picture us together forever. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

Tears sprang to my eyes as Noah pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing a Whispering Waves toy with a stunning diamond ring perched on the tip.

This man. Could he have planned a more perfect proposal?

“Yes!” I managed to choke out through my tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

Noah slipped the ring off the toy and onto my finger before standing and pulling me into a passionate kiss, the toy sandwiched between us.

Captain let out a cry like he was being attacked, and we broke apart to find him on his back, the toy stuck to his claw as he batted at the air above him.

“Always has to be the center of attention.” Noah swiped at the tears on his face.

I cupped his cheek. “I can’t believe you did this.” I looked at the impressive display on the lawn and back at him. “We need to clean these and test them out immediately.”

“Is that so?” One of his hands drifted to my ass and squeezed. “Wife.”

“That sounds so sexy, husband.”

His eyes rolled back like he was coming really hard. “I think I just nutted.”

I swatted his chest playfully and pulled away from him. “Save that for later. ”

I bent down and picked one up that was pink glass with a flower inside. Since the fire, Noah had been slowly replacing what I’d lost. Instead of flowers once a week, he gifted me a new toy.

“This might be the best proposal in the history of proposals.” I looked at the colorful assortment of toys, and my eyes caught on a green one that made up an arm of the Y. “Is this a...” I replaced the pink toy and grabbed the zucchini, holding it up with a raised eyebrow.

“I was one short and was too lazy to go grab one from our room.” He shrugged and then rubbed his jaw. “We don’t have to test that one out.”

“Thank God, because I do not need to get an infection.” I put the zucchini back in place and stood next to him, admiring what he’d done.

He made every day surprising. Made me laugh. Made me roll my eyes. And he’d made me believe in love.

Noah Badden—my bad neighbor turned best friend— loved and supported me in the most unexpected ways, and I couldn’t wait to be his wife.