Tears blur my vision as I nod, dropping to my knees and pulling him toward me before wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his lips.
“Yes, I will. I love you, Boone.”
His smile is brighter than I’ve ever seen it as he turns the box toward me, revealing a ring that feels so much moremethan the one my father picked out.
The sight of it makes my heart swell. With care, he slips off my gloves before sliding it onto my finger and taps it lightly, his touch sending a thrill through me.
“That looks much better,” he says softly.
My eyes catch on his own ring, the one he bought for himself when we first got married. He’s still wearing it.
I brush my fingers over it gently. “So, you really never took it off?”
“Baby,” he says, his voice low and full of promise, “I’m never taking this thing off. Smells like you. Reminds me of you. You’re stuck with me now.”
And I know without a doubt that’s exactly where I want to be.
Chapter 42: Epilogue: Boone
Six months later...
???
“Are you nervous?” Rhiannon teases as she breezes into the room, her wavy hair wild and her newly pregnant belly beginning to show.
Cain trails behind her, along with Rhiannon's older brother Gabriel, who flashes me an easy nod and smile.
“Why would I be nervous? I’m already married to her,” I reply with a smirk.
She rolls her eyes, planting her hands on her hips. “Nervous because you know she’s way out of your league and this is basically the best day of your life!”
“Don’t I know it,” I shoot back, earning a chuckle from Cain.
Cain claps me on the shoulder and squeezes. “Welcome to the family, officially,” he says, before heading downstairs toward our backyard where everything’s set up.
Even Rosie’s dad’s here.
That still feels like something worth noting. A man I once assumed would never fully warm up to me now stands in our backyard by choice. Ready to walk his daughter down a makeshift aisle and into my arms.
Somewhere along the way, we reached this strange, fragile truce. I give him a hard time. He turns red and looks to Cain to mediate. And without fail, every time, the three of us end up laughing.
I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect him to become someone I genuinely enjoy, but here we are. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress. And the cherry on top is that last week, he told me he’s glad Rosie and I found each other, even if I'm not the man he would have picked for her.
If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is.
The ceremony itself is small, exactly the way we wanted it. Rosie didn’t want a wedding at all, but she softened when I told her I wanted the chance to stand in front of the people she and I love and tell her, openly and without a script, what she means to me.
To promise her forever with no obligations, no pretending, no acting. Just us. And because she’s Rosie, kind and thoughtful and far too good to me, she agreed.
Only the people who matter most are here. Her dad. Cain. The extended Carpenter family, cousins and siblings filling the space with familiar warmth. My older brother Levi even made it down from Boston.
Unfortunately, my mom couldn’t make it, and Seth is tied up in California with his daughter and his contract with the San Diego Suns, but somehow it still feels complete.
We’re doing this at the house in Brookhaven. The one she bought on impulse. The one Gabriel and Eden and I have been slowly fixing up. I can’t imagine a better place to remarry her.
This is the house where we first fell in love, where we made love, where we stopped pretending and started choosing each other for real. No scripts. No roles. Just a life we built, and keep choosing, every single day.
“So, you officially signed the contract, huh?” Gabriel asks, stepping forward.
