Epilogue One

EPILOGUE ONE

Barrett

" Y ou don't need my permission, Barrett."

I remember saying something similar to my mom when she questioned me about dating Gabby. It was something along the lines of I didn't need her permission to date an older woman. Now that I want to ask Gabby to marry me, I've decided to ask my mom what she thinks. "I know I don't need your permission, but now that you've gotten to know her a little better, do you understand why I love her so much?"

"Yeah." She smiles softly. "I do. And I know that I questioned you before about what you saw in her. I get it now. She loves you, she cares about the people in your life, and she's very talented at what she does. I've never tasted food like what she makes, and you know I've always been a fan of Kara, but there's something special that goes into what Gabby's doing."

It's that she loves it and was always told she wouldn't be able to do it in a way that was successful. Luckily for us, Jeff has kept his word, and the paper he signed. For the last few months Get Baked has gotten even more popular, and now I'm prepared to ask her to be my wife. I've worked beside her, when I get off work, helping her make changes to the inside of the shop. Three weeks ago, she signed a lease to expand into the building next to hers. I've been busy at night trying to come up with an interesting way to combine the two buildings, and I finally got the way to do it. Abel and Boone are there right now taking down the wall, in order to expose the work I've done on the other side. "It is very special, do you think she'll like it?" I show her a picture of what I've done to the new space.

She gasps, and her eyes shine brightly as she looks up at me. "She's going to love it, and I do too. I approve of her, and of the two of you together, Barrett."

"I'm glad." I reach down, wrapping my arms tightly around her. "I'll see you later, after I show her this."

"Please let me know how it goes."

"I will."

I'm nervous as I go out to my truck and get in, before shooting a text over to Gabby, asking her to meet me. She's hanging out with Kara today, taking one of her two days off she now allows herself throughout the week.

G: Meet you there, can't wait to see what you've done. I've wanted to look so bad, but I promised I wouldn't.

B: Thank you for doing as I asked.

G: I trust you and love you. See you in a few.

Glancing over at the bag in my passenger seat, I can't help but hope this is everything she's dreamed of.

-----

"Close your eyes.", I tell her when she meets me on the sidewalk next to the previously empty storefront beside Get Baked.

She smiles, before leaning in to kiss me slowly, tenderly, and full of passion. "You're lucky I trust you."

"I know exactly how lucky I am," I whisper as we pull apart.

Grabbing her hand, I drag her into the space, and make sure the new menu board I've made is set up exactly how I asked for it to. There's a butcher block counter, and a sleek new case. There's a lot still to be done, but I think she's going to love what this counter looks like. From what I understand, she's going to focus on lunch here in this half of Get Baked.

"Okay...open 'em up."

She does, a bright smile covering her face. Her eyes move side to side, taking in everything in front of her. Then I see her gaze lift up. The minute she reads what I've had placed on the board. Gabby, will you marry me?

When she turns to face me, I'm down on my knee, a ring box in my hand. "I want us to live your dream together. I want to be the person who takes care of the hard labor, while you what you're best at. I want to be your partner and make sure that our lives work. When we decide if we want to have kids or not, I want to be the person who does his part. I just want to love you, Gabby, and I want you to let me do that for the rest of our lives. Will you let me?"

She smiles widely, tears spilling over her eyes, only this time they're happy. "Yes. Yes, I will marry you. You're already my partner in everything, and I would love to make it official. I love you, B."

I stand up, grabbing her around the waist, turning her around in a circle. She puts her arms around my neck, holding on tight, squealing. "You know how Get Baked has been your dream? This right here?" I bury my face in her neck. "It's mine."