Epilogue

EPILOGUE

TREY

Fourteen months ago

I had this.

I was always the guy who had this.

I was organized, calm, and unflappable.

So why was I shitting myself right now?

"Is that Bax's car?" Scout asked, a faint line creasing his brow as he tried to look back over his shoulder to the parking lot.

"Probably not," I lied, grabbing him by the elbow and steering him down to the beach.

"Why would Bax be in Virginia Beach?"

"Exactly," I said. " Exactly ."

Scout wrinkled his nose. "Why are we in Virginia Beach? And why are we outdoors when we have a perfectly good hotel room?"

"Because even antisocial little goblins like you need to feel the sea air now and then," I said.

Scout let out a long-suffering sigh. "These shoes are not made for sand , Treyvon."

He never called me Treyvon. I was definitely in trouble.

"And that's why we're going to the pier, Scout. "

He shot me a narrow look, but didn't complain again. At least not verbally. But I knew that if I didn't turn this around, he'd be bitching about it forever. Which was fine. Because I was absolutely going to turn this around, and I was going to do it so fast it'd make his head spin.

I had it all planned.

The late afternoon light glinted off the water and a light breeze tickled the back of my neck as we walked toward the pier. I kept one wrapped tightly round the ring box in my pocket, my heart racing with the enormity of what I was about to do.

We'd talked about getting married of course, but it was always in general terms, or in response to Scout's mother asking when I was going to make an honest man out of him. We'd never discussed the specifics. And it had taken me longer than I wanted to admit to figure out that Scout, with his lingering insecurities, wasn't going to be the one to ask.

If I wanted to marry Scout—and I one hundred percent did—I needed to be the one to pop the question, and I needed to wow him with a proposal that was so special and so memorable that there would be no doubt in his mind that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Which was why I was dragging Scout along Virginia Beach Fishing Pier at sunset.

My phone pinged. It was Bax.

Ready when you are.

Bax was positioned with a zoom lens, ready to take pictures and capture Scout's reaction when I proposed to him on bended knee against a backdrop of ocean and sky. It was going to be perfect—as long as I didn't fuck it up.

Which I wouldn't, because I wasn't that guy and I never had been.

Except.. .

Sweat beaded on my upper lip as I second guessed the details of my plan. I'd chosen this spot because it had looked amazing in photos, but I hadn't factored in that there would be actual fishermen there, which admittedly was a hell of an oversight given the name. And it wasn't like Scout would even set foot on an active fishing pier if I wasn't dragging him every step of the way. Hell, maybe he'd be so pissed at my choice of setting he'd say no.

I stamped down hard on that thought. Of course he'd say yes. We were it for each other. Also, ninety percent of Scout's bad attitude was bullshit.

I risked a quick glance at him.

Okay, maybe eighty percent right now, but no lower.

I clutched the ring box tighter and when we reached a point just over the waterline, I steered him towards a spot near the edge. There weren't too many people around, and it would give Bax a prime shot. I cleared my throat. "So, I have a surprise."

"Trey, I swear to god if you've arranged for me to go fishing to get in touch with my inner child or some bullshit I will end you. These fingers were not made to bait a hook."

He extended a hand toward me, showing off carefully buffed nails, and I took the opportunity to grasp it as I dropped to one knee. It wasn't as slick as I'd pictured it in my mind, but when I'd imagined this there hadn't been a guy with a fishing pole and bucket walking past either.

Scout's brow furrowed. "Are you okay? Why are you kneeling? You're going to ruin those pants. What is?—"

And then the realization must have hit him because, for the first time in his life, Scout Talbot-Smith didn't have anything to say.

I shifted awkwardly so my kneecap wasn't balancing on a crack between the boards, and reached into my pocket. As I pulled out the box I swallowed around the sudden lump in my throat and said, "Scout, you're it for me. And it's taken longer than it should have to ask you, but will you?— "

"Yes! One hundred percent yes, no take backs, now can I have the ring?"

Elation and relief bubbled up inside, making me dizzy. My hands shook as I opened the ring box and levered out the platinum band set with onyx and diamonds that Bax had helped me choose.

"Oh damn, that's gorgeous," Scout said, his smile as bright as a sunrise. He extended his left hand. And okay, maybe I was more nervous than I'd thought, but whatever the reason, when I went to slide the ring onto his waiting finger, I dropped the fucking thing.

Right through the crack in the boards.

Everything slowed down as the ring tumbled through the air, twisting and turning and catching the sunlight before hitting the water with a soft splash.

"Fuck!" I stared in horror.

"Fuck!" said Scout, craning his head over the wooden railing. "No! Wait! I see it!"

I squinted through the crack and caught the gleam of metal in the shallows. A lazy wave lapped at the shore, pulling the ring along with it. It was sitting in maybe three inches of water, but from where we were standing on top of the pier, it might as well have been a thousand miles away.

"Hold this," Scout said, thrusting his jacket at me with a determined gleam in his eye."I'm going in."

I blinked. "Scout, that's a hell of a jump! And what about your shoes?"

"If that ring didn't cost more than my shoes, we are going to be having words later," he said.

Because he wasn't a total idiot, Scout didn't actually launch himself into the shallows. Instead, he headed further out along the pier to where the water was deeper. And then, before I could even start to list more ways this was a terrible idea, he climbed the rail and jumped.

When he stood up, he was soaked. A lone boat shoe floated forlornly behind him, but he ignored it as he waded into the shallows, eyes fixed on the spot the ring had last been.

A group of tourists rushed to the side of the pier to watch. A few of the fishermen even stood up from their lawn chairs to get a better view. And a guy with a camera, whose face looked like Scout's except he'd skipped the resting bitchface gene, leaned on the railing beside me.

"It's going well, then," he said, the shutter of the camera making whirring sounds as he kept clicking away.

"Uh huh," I said, watching as Scout crept forward, staring fixedly at the water like a bird on the hunt for a fish. "He's never going to let me live this down, is he?"

"Probably not," Bax said.

"Why the fuck did I spend so much on that ring?"

"Aw, Trey." Bax laughed. "I thought you had Scout all figured out by now. Bro, he would have gone over the side for a ring pop too, as long as it was from you."

Scout tensed, plunged his hand into the water, and lifted it over his head with a triumphant whoop, clutching something shiny and grinning from ear to ear. "I got it!"

The tourists gave him a round of applause. Bax kept clicking.

"Oh my god, nobody can ever see those photos," I said.

Bax grinned. "Are you kidding? This needs to be documented. Scout Talbot-Smith, ungroomed."

Scout began to wade toward the beach.

I hurried down the pier to meet him, Bax still snapping pictures behind me. Scout blinked the water out of his eyes, shook himself like a wet dog, and came to a halt in front of me. He was a mess. His perfect hair hung in limp strands down his face, his shirt had sand streaks on it, and there was a piece of seaweed draped over his neck. He was soaked.

I'd never loved him more.

He held out the ring and said, "You wanna try that again? "

Laughter bubbled out of me. "Are you sure you still want to marry me?"

Scout stepped closer, leaned his forehead against mine, and murmured, "I didn't jump off a pier just to say no, babe."

"Oh my god, Scout, put the fucking ring on so I can take a picture our mother can show her bridge club friends, okay?" Bax said. "And put it on Instagram."

"No!" Scout's eyes widened. "Don't you dare!"

Bax rolled his eyes. "Don't want anyone to see you all mussed up?"

"No." Scout sniffed. "I'm protecting my fiance's reputation. I don't want everyone at the Commonwealth's Attorney office laughing about this over the water cooler. Trey is going to be a judge , dammit."

Scout got it.

There were already more than a few people who thought I only had my job because I was in a relationship with Judge Talbot-Smith's son. The Venn diagrams of those people and the ones who whispered "affirmative action" behind my back were a circle, honestly. And fuck them. We didn't need to give their petty office politics bullshit any more ammunition.

Scout tilted his head. "Also, if any of our fraternity brothers find out that Trey messed up, he'll never live it down."

Bax snorted. "Relax, Princess Perfect. I'll take an engagement photo that won't show either of you up for the hopeless losers you are."

And he did. It took a few tries, but everyone commented on the tasteful photo that showed Scout's hand in mine against the backdrop of the sun setting over the waves, the diamonds in his ring gleaming like a promise.

And just like nobody needed to know I'd dropped the ring, nobody needed to know Scout spent the entire time Bax was taking the picture bitching about his waterlogged shoes.

As for me? I spent the entire time grinning like an idiot. So what if the proposal had been a disaster ?

I was marrying Scout, and it was going to be amazing.

THE END