Epilogue

Today is the day. It's New Year's Eve, and what better way to spend it than making Berkley my fiancée. We got lucky when we started looking at new-build homes. The one we're in now, and somehow managed to close on right before Christmas was something neither of us were expecting. It probably had a lot to do with the changes we wanted, which weren't much. Our home was mainly done, besides the paint colors on the interior and exterior, the closets, specifically the master closet. Thank goodness it's a his and hers, giving Berkley the bigger one because that girl has more clothes than she knows what to do with. And then the lighting.

"Berkley," I call out, my hands full with two champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne.

"I'm on the back deck." That's where she spends most of her time, she and Sienna, both of their noses in a book or eating some kind of snack I've left for them in the fridge. Not much has changed when it comes to us having Sienna, well, more Berkley than me after school now. Even though Tanner and Melody had a small wedding, all of us work in the afternoon and for Sienna's breaks, except Berkley. We didn't even have to ask her, she just stepped in and said, "Si will stay with me. I mean, she'll have to stay after school for an hour, but other than that, I'll just bring her home with me while you all work." Berkley and I did finally confess to each other that we'd eventually have children, but we both wanted to wait. We want the house paid off in half the amount of time, even if that means we don't have furniture in each and every room yet. Something that I know will happen once Berkley's parents and cousins come to town.

"There you are." The one thing she asked for the minute we moved in was a porch swing, so that's what she got, and it's where she's currently sitting. A book in her lap, my sweatshirt and sweatpants dwarfing her small frame. She doesn't care though. A closet full of clothes, and Berkley wears mine.

"Whatcha got?"

"I figure since we're staying in for the evening, the drinks can come to us." I sit down beside her. She puts her book on the outdoor coffee table.

"I love you," Berkley says without pause.

"I love you too. Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, it's just, you know, six months ago, I was barely working, living with my parents, then moving, and living with Aspen. Now here we are. I'm so totally in love with you, and we have our own home. I couldn't be happier." I chuckle. It wasn't long ago that I was in a rut of my own—work, hang out with Si, sleep, and repeat. It wasn't the best way to live, but it worked at the time.

"I know what you mean. You think by spring, we'll have a dining room table?" I ask her.

"Oh, about that. There's a reason I haven't even looked. There's something you said about taking the one from the restaurant." Heat flashes in her eyes.

"Hm, but what will I use when we're there? Maybe we go and find one that fits in here and use it in the exact same way." My voice is full of innuendo as I think about how many times that table in the kitchen has been used.

"You'll have to go with me, you know, to make sure it's the right height." Berkley winks. I laugh because she's not wrong.

"We'll do that this week. No offense, but I'm tired of eating at the bar or in the living room. Plus, Sienna, that girl is a hurricane." I shake my head. The other day, I came home from work and Si had crackers and cheese every which way. Berkley just shook her head, saying she'd clean it up later and to let her be a kid.

"Can you imagine what our kids will be like at that age? I think you're going to have to invest in not only food, but some type of self-cleaning tool for the couch." I love that we're both on the same page. It's in the future though, the very far future.

"By the time that comes around, we'll probably already have one. How was your day?" Melody and I took the night off, leaving the restaurant to Nancy and Dan. Thankfully, he stepped up and hasn't fucked up in a long-ass time. I still had to go in and do a couple of things, including grabbing some champagne on the way home.

"It was good. Cleaned the house. Set up a few more pieces of furniture that are slowly coming in. How's the restaurant?"

"Running smoothly. I think Mel and I may go down to working four days a week, and alternate at that. I'm tired of coming home and you're already asleep, not being able to eat dinner with you." It's definitely getting to be that time. I already popped the cork for the champagne in the house. I pour the bubbly liquid into the flutes while I grab the ring that's been burning a hole in my pocket for over a month now.

When we were in Virginia, I talked to her parents, showed them the ring, and received their blessing. There hasn't been the one perfect opportunity, until tonight.

"You know what we're going to do tonight?" Berkley asks.

"What's that?"

"Drunken-naked sex." She's already sipping on champagne.

"What about drunken-naked, we're-getting-married sex instead?" I say by way of proposing. She stops from taking another sip of her champagne. Her hand is visibly shaking. I take her glass and place both of them down. I probably should have gotten down on one knee to propose, but I'm not the traditional type of guy, and I'm damn sure not asking. There's no way I'll take no for an answer.

"Yes!" Her arms go up and around my neck, not giving two shits about the ring I just put on her finger as her lips find mine. I take her mouth. Nothing about this is slow and sweet. My need for her is too overwhelming right now. When I slip my tongue inside of her mouth, that's when she climbs onto my lap, causing the swing to jostle enough to almost knock us off it.

"God, I love you." I pull back.

"I love you too, Ryder." Our foreheads meet, and her hands land on my shoulders when she notices the ring.

"Jesus Christ, Ryder. It's beautiful." Berkley's voice and face carry a look of shock.

"It was my grandmother's. It's not perfect, but it means something to me."

"It's perfect to me. But what about Melody? Wouldn't she want it?" My girl, always thinking about someone else besides herself.

"She has the band. It's a show-stopper too." Berkley has a single marquis diamond sitting on a gold band.

"I can't believe we're getting married. And we are so having drunken-naked, we're-getting-married sex too!" She stands up, starts stripping, and walks towards the door.

"Bring the champagne. We definitely have something to celebrate." Berkley is down to her panties and nothing else. Had I known she wasn't wearing much underneath her borrowed clothes, they would have been long gone.

"Fuck yes, we are." I strip my own clothes off, grab the bottle, and follow my future wife. Tonight, neither of us will be getting any sleep. My only thought will be seeing her wear nothing but my ring on her finger until we're forced to get out of bed for food, and even that's questionable.