Epilogue

Jenson

H olly was beaming as she walked across the stage to get her diploma. I was cheering so damn loudly, I was getting dirty looks from the other people in the crowd, but I couldn't bring myself to care. My woman had worked hard, studied long hours, and busted her ass to earn her degree. I hadn't minded paying a single cent of her tuition, but seeing how much she applied herself to chase her dreams? It made me proud to be a stepping stone in her success.

I knew not many students here would leave without student debt, but Holly would. Because I'd never given up on her. I'd never turned my back on her.

Sure, we fought like hell sometimes. Sometimes, our fights were so bad that I drove the four hours it took to get to her apartment to spend the night with her, fucking her into the mattress to soothe us both. But Holly? She was everything to me, and I spent every single day doing my best to remind her of her worth.

And today, she was on top of the world. Today, she was finally seeing her worth. She was smart, incredible, and so goddamn driven.

I loved her to fucking pieces.

As she walked off the stage, I took my seat again and patted my pocket, making sure I had her ring box still. Tonight, we would be going out for dinner with her parents, and I would drop to one knee in front of her and ask her to be my wife with them in attendance. Because despite them working hard to be better for her and earn her trust back, I still liked to show them that they'd been wrong about me. About us.

Had I asked her dad to marry her? Nope. I didn't owe him a goddamn thing after what he'd done to her and what he'd basically assumed about my intentions with her. He should've come to me man to man instead of lashing out at her like he had.

I hadn't needed his permission to date her, and I sure as fuck didn't need his permission to make her my wife.

After all, I'd been taking care of her for years now. As far as I was concerned, he no longer had a say-so.

Holly Keller was all mine.

Holly laughed at something her mom said. I was barely listening to their conversation, though I was pretty sure Holly's mom was droning on about some rom-com her book club was currently reading. I tended to tune out the book-related conversations for fear of my ears bleeding.

Holly had recently developed a love for reading, but books had never been my thing. I was pretty sure they never would be. But that was fine because my girl let me know all the important parts so we could reenact them in bed. That was all that mattered to me. And she made sure to focus on ones that had audiobooks. I could listen to what she called the "spicy scenes" easier than I could focus on reading them.

Holly was still just as insatiable as she was when we first got together, and she loved it when I helped her reenact hot-as-fuck sex scenes from the books she read.

"How's business, Jenson?" her dad asked me out of the blue. He and I still didn't really see eye-to-eye, but we were amicable for Holly. Wasn't much in this world I wouldn't do for her, to be real. And he knew if he wanted to remain in her life, he had better stay in line.

I grunted. "Busy, as usual," I told him. "I can't wait to have Holly back in the office." She'd been working each summer and winter break as my personal assistant. I was sure she would have on her spring break, too, but every year, I swept her away for an exotic vacation somewhere where we could disconnect from the world and just be with each other.

The woman in question smiled at me and placed her hand on my thigh, gently squeezing it. I leaned over and softly kissed her, making her cheeks flush a light red color.

God, she was so beautiful .

The server came to take our plates, and a moment later, dessert was brought out. I placed my hand over Holly's before she could pick up her spoon to dive into her ice-cream-smothered brownie. "Wait a minute, doll," I rumbled as I slid my chair back, pulling her ring from the pocket of my slacks.

"Jenson, what—" She choked on the rest of her sentence when I dropped down to one knee in front of her, flipping open the ring box. The diamond ring inside immediately glistened when the lights of the restaurant hit it, and Holly sobbed, tears already sliding down her cheeks.

"I love you," I told her, ignoring her mother who was quietly squealing in her chair. She'd come around quickly and had been rooting for us ever since. Her father forced a smile to his face, no doubt pissed I hadn't asked for his damned blessing. "From the moment I saw you through your bedroom window, I knew you were the one for me." Her cheeks flushed at the memory, and I chuckled, willing my dick to stay down. How could I ever forget this sweet, bratty woman getting herself off and moaning my name as if I had truly been inside of her? "I know we've had our ups and downs, doll, but I also know you're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Because even when we have our downs, I'm still the happiest when I'm with you."

Her hands were covering her lips, and she was crying in earnest now, her makeup ruined. Still, she'd never looked more stunning to me. I loved it when she cried happy tears. It wasn't often, but she was damn beautiful when she did.

I drew in a deep breath. "So, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me, Holly?"

"Yes," she cried, nodding her head, absolutely no hesitation in her answer. " Yes . A thousand times yes, Jenson."

I gently circled her left wrist and pulled her hand down from her face. Then, I slid the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger, loving how it looked on her delicate, slim fingers. Any man was going to take one look at her hand and know she was fucking taken.

As her parents and the restaurant erupted into claps and low cheers—even her dad—I pulled my fiancée up from her seat and wrapped my arms around her, pressing my lips to hers.

"I love you," I rasped against her sweet mouth, clutching her to me.

She sobbed, her shaky hands clutching my face. "I love you, too," she cried. "So goddamn much. And I can't wait to marry you, Jenson."

I chuckled before kissing her again, unable to help myself. "I can't wait to marry you either, doll."