I turn back to Warner, slipping the diamond ring on my finger. Holding it up, I wiggle my finger, admiring it. The diamond is one I would have chosen for myself. Not too big and showy. The band is gorgeous, with diamonds on the sides of the centerpiece. Just enough to make it look like a million bucks. Wait, he wouldn’t spend that, right?
It’s too pretty to worry about. They have insurance for that kind of thing. “I love it.” Wrapping my arms around him once more, I say, “I love you more than Iknew was possible.”
“Same.”
I roll my eyes. “Same? That’s all I get?”
“How about this? I have all these people showing up in my life now, people who stepped in when I thought I needed them most. I didn’t. I only need you, Sass.”
He leans down to kiss me, but just before he does, I say, “So much better.”
We join our families and make the rounds of hugs. My mom says, “I’m so happy for you.”
I overhear her tell Warner, “Welcome to the family.”
When Grace and I embrace, she leans back and says, “He’s waited his whole life for you. I’m so happy he has you, and I get to call you daughter.”
I hug her tight, probably more than she’s used to, but we’re family now. “Thank you. Seems destiny had a plan for us all along.” I don’t bother bringing up that if he weren’t trying to usurp the little guy, we wouldn’t have met. He did us one better when he saved the building and the tenants, my family’s restaurant, and gave me the memory I always hoped for today. And he did it all for me. If that isn’t a love story, I don’t know what is.
Falling back into his strong arms, I lose myself in his incredible scent and the warmth in his eyes, the way he licks his bottom lip, and later that night, into that heavenly bed of his again. We leave the past in the past. And when I roll over breathless and happier than I’ve ever been, I turn to look at him next to me. Warner’s eyes are closed, but a smile lies on his face. It’s the only kind of lies we’re going to allow in our lives moving forward.
Cuddling up to his side, I kiss his chest, remembering that very first time we met. I ask him the same question he asked me that day, “What do you need?”
His eyes find mine as he rubs my back. With that smile still owning his expression, he replies, “I have everything I ever wanted. Your heart.”
It was a wild ride to get here, but as I lie in pure bliss and contentment, I wouldn’t change a thing.All’s fair in love and Warner.
EPILOGUE
Warner
We movedout of the tower, as she called it. I liked the penthouse, but it was never the same after she left. Her moving in didn’t feel like the way for us to start a new chapter. That chapter includes renovating a brownstone to suit us as a family. Living on the West Side has been a good change. It’s close to her school, and it’s only two blocks from her family.
It makes Sass happy, so I’m happy, even if they do tend to let themselves in at the most inopportune times, like when I had her pinned to the shower wall fucking her last week. I don’t think her brother Joe will ever come over again.
But seeing her now, I don’t mind if they stay away. My Sass, dressed in white, her diamond necklace back where it belongs, along with a matching wedding band, does something to me—a growl rumbles through my chest as I claim my wife for the first time. It’s only a piece of paper, but knowing we’re bonded in every way possible is all the foreplay I need.
The sugar dish of condoms is beside the bed, but when I lift from her to reach for one, she says, “How do you feel about trying to make a baby?”
I open the nightstand drawer and slide the sugar dish inside, slamming it shut before returning to kiss my wife. “Thought you’d never ask.” I chuckle, then dip to kiss her neck.
An hour later and fresh from the shower, she walks across the room and into the closet we’re sharing until our individual spaces are built. With one towel wrapped around her torso and the other around her hair, she disappears inside. “Warner, what is that?”
“What?” I ask, still lying in bed after a quick recovery nap.
She comes out holding the plaster. “This.” I’m certain she knows what it is since it’s her writing on it.
I’ll humor her, though. “Part of my cast.”
“Why do you have it?” I’m struggling to figure out from her tone if she’s happy or bothered by it.
My shrug loses effect since I’m lying down. “I wanted to keep it.”
Her gaze falls to the souvenir again, and she smiles. She moves to the dresser and sets it on top, standing back and admiring it like it’s a source of pride. “This is so unlike you.”
“I’ve changed, baby.”
“You have. I’m impressed. You’re spontaneous, and the other day, you left a spoon in the sink.”
