EPILOGUE
CON - SIX WEEKS LATER
On December 26, Lily and I flew to Croatia. I’d told her that we could go anywhere for the week and was surprised when she picked there.
“Not the house in Aspen?” I asked.
She touched her stomach and shrugged. “Maybe next year. It’s not like I can go skiing right now anyway.”
“What about somewhere warm then?” I wrapped my arms around her from behind, putting my hands over hers. I imagined I could feel the beginning of a bump, even though her stomach looked as flat as ever.
“There’s a heated pool. That’s enough for me.” She leaned her head back so that it was resting against my chest. Her golden hair smelled like the rosewater shampoo that was now a fixture in my bathroom. Our bathroom.
“Why Croatia?” I asked, trying to figure it out. The weather was cold and wet this time of year. The snow-covered castles and Plitvice Lakes National Park were something to see, but I was surprised it was her first choice.
“Because it’s where it all started.”
Beneath my palm, she spread her fingers out. I folded mine over them. I couldn’t wait to feel my child grow inside her. “Where it all started?” I repeated. I wasn’t sure what she meant. Our family had started here in LA. Probably either on the couch or the bed. Possibly in the elevator or the kitchen.
Lily angled her head back to look up at me. “That’s where I was when Halley told me she’d called you, that I had an internship in LA with The Walker Agency.” She laughed softly. “I was so mad at her because I was so intimidated by you.”
When we got to the house on the evening of the 26th, the house manager had turned up the heat, stocked the refrigerator, and stacked fresh firewood by the fireplaces in the living room, kitchen, and main bedroom. While Lily unpacked, I lit a fire in the hearth.
“You’re good at that,” she observed as I coaxed the small flame to life. The stones began to glow as the fire climbed from log to log.
I straightened. “I’m good at a lot of things.”
Her smile softened as her eyes heated. “It’s funny,” she said as I crossed the room toward her. “If you’d told me six months ago that I’d be back here with you, that we’d be—” she hesitated “—together, I’d never have believed it. Now I can’t imagine anything else.”
I knew why she’d hesitated. It was because, despite everything, our relationship still felt strangely undefined. She was the mother of my child. Calling her my girlfriend felt trivial, and I was too old to be anyone’s boyfriend. Luckily, I knew what to do about it.
“I can’t imagine anything else either.” I brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and bent to kiss her. A long, lingering kiss, but I pulled back before her hands could lock around the back of my neck. As much as I’d like to press her down onto the bed, there was something important I had to do first.
Lily tilted her head, gazing up at me curiously. The heat was still in her eyes, her lips still gently parted. It was hard not to give her what she wanted, but there was something I wanted first. I wanted to make this official. I wanted the world to know she was mine forever, and I wanted there to be no confusion as to what we were to each other. Forget girlfriend, I needed Lily to be my wife.
I’d gone to Rahaminov Diamonds for the princess cut diamond ring the day after we got back from Ohio. It had been a rush order to get the diamond sourced and set in time, but the third-generation jewelers had made it happen. Now it was in a small velvet box in my back pocket. I reached for it now.
“Con,” Lily protested when she saw the jewelry box. “You can’t give me a present. We just had Christmas.”
“I’ll give you a present whenever I want,” I corrected. “But this isn’t a present. It’s a promise.”
Lily’s eyes widened as she registered my words and the size of the box. Even before I opened and lowered myself onto one knee, her eyes were shining in the firelight. “Con,” she breathed, one hand pressed to her lips. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Generally, there’s one of two options,” I said quietly, “but I’m only accepting one of them. Lily, will you marry me?”
She laughed and swiped at her eyes. “I hate that I’m crying. This is the happiest moment of my life. I never happy-cry. It must be the hormones.”
“Is that a yes?”
She reached out and touched the diamond lightly with her fingers. “Yes,” she breathed, but then, worriedly, “Are you sure? Halley—”
“Halley will be happy for us eventually,” I said, rising to my feet. “In the meantime, you’re making me the happiest man on earth. Focus on that.” I pulled the ring free and slid it gently onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It fit perfectly.
Lily covered her mouth again with one hand, eyes wide as she stared at the stone. Behind her palm, I saw her smile spreading across her face even as tears dripped down her cheeks to meet the corners of her curving lips. “I love you,” she said quietly, looking past the ring to meet my eyes. “And it has nothing to do with how beautiful this ring is, although it is beautiful. I’d marry you if you proposed with the pull tab of a tin can.”
“Glad to hear it, but I don’t think that’ll ever be necessary.” I pulled her back into my arms. “Although I am planning to take a break from the company. I feel like I missed out on too much of Halley’s life. I’m not going to make the same mistake again.”
“I think we’ll manage,” she said, melting against me. “Besides, I’m going to be a lawyer, remember?”
“Yes, you are.” I kissed her, and this time when her arms slipped around my neck, I let her pull me down onto the bed. The fire jumped higher in the grate. The dark water of the Adriatic lapped at the pebbly shore. We’d traveled a long way to get here, even further than the physical distance from LA. But now we were here, and I was never going to let her go.