"So, stay forever then."
I knew I would be a fool to do anything but agree to that. I gave him a shy but certain smile with a little nod. "Okay, I will," I agreed.
Epilogue
EJ
Two months later
EJ would be the emcee for both of the ETC children's triathlons. The one in Chicago was first on the calendar, and it was happening today. It was officially underway.
Savannah was in town, and she had been at the gym all morning, helping out. EJ made sure she was with him at the starting line when the event was set to begin. He made a three-minute speech to the contestants and crowd before Dominic sounded the starting pistol to mark the start of the race.
The course was all on campus at the ETC, and the path had been cleared for the racers with volunteers working at every turn. The race began at the pool, where the athletes had to complete a certain number of laps in multiple pools before moving on to biking and running. There were nearly two hundred children competing, so everything was carefully organized and done in heats. It was the third time they had put on this race, and it was bigger and better than ever. EJ was normallycomfortable with a mic in his hand and often volunteered to speak when there was an event.
Today had gone fine, but he was nervous about other things, and he had to work to focus on the race. He was nervous for something that was about to happen right this… very… moment.
"Hey, EJ," Becca said, walking up to them. "I can't find my whistle anywhere!"
"I have some in my office, on my desk," EJ said, glancing at her and being careful not to overact. His eyes quickly cut to Savannah, and yes, she was paying attention to them.
"I don't have time to go over there," Becca said, looking worried. "I have to go get the bike stations ready. I'm leading that crew. I need a whistle, though, because last year I had to use it like twenty times."
EJ patted his pockets, wearing a serious expression as if to check for a whistle that he knew was not there.
"I'll go to EJ's office and get you a whistle," Savannah offered Becca, just like EJ knew she would.
He had to work to hold in a smile.
"Would you?" Becca asked hopefully. She was a good actress, and EJ made a mental note to thank her for the great job she was doing at this moment.
EJ gave Savannah the key and asked her to get the whistle from his desk. She easily agreed, and asshe took off and headed that way, he stared at her, thinking about how precious and adorable she was, scurrying off so easily to do a favor.
EJ knew this was it.
Savannah was about to stumble onto the blueprints for the house he was going to build for her. They were in his office, on the whistle-less desk. She would find them, and then she would know how serious he was when he said he wanted her in his life permanently.
EJ was on pins and needles for her to find it. But he was at the epicenter of the action for the event they were hosting, and there was no time to speculate about Savannah finding the surprise. He was on the move, and his attention was being demanded constantly.
It was about fifteen minutes later when he saw Savannah walking toward him. He was at the edge of the final pool area, and he watched as she headed his way. She always had a fresh-looking hairstyle, and she was adorable, smiling absentmindedly as she watched the racers swim while she walked.
She caught sight of EJ and her smile broadened. His chest ached. She had seen the plans and she was happy about them. She knew they would build in Chicago, and she was happy. His brother was next to him, saying something to one of the parents, and EJ turned to Savannah with a smile as she approached them.
"Hey," he said to her.
"Hey. Done deal. I got Becca a whistle." She handed him his key, and he took it from her, feeling like he was in a dream.
This was not the reaction he expected. The noise, splashing, and chaos of the event was happening all around them as he was trying to decipher whether or not Savannah was joking. Her dark eyes sparkled as she beamed at him.
"Did you find the thing in my office?" he asked, waiting for her to mention the blueprints.
"No, actually. I looked all over and didn't see a single whistle anywhere. But then Stef was in the hallway, and I hollered at him and asked if he knew where I could get one. Long story short is that I followed him to a couple of different places looking for one, and then once we found one, I took it over to Becca at the bikes. How's it going here? It looks like the third group's coming through… or is this the second? I know they're going in heats, but I can't see their colors while they're all underwater."
"It's the second group. But Savannah. In my office. Did you see the thing that was on my desk?"
She made an adorable, confused expression with her eyebrows furrowed, lost in thought. "I saw a phone and a couple of pens."
"Did you see a thing that said top secret… like a folder thingy?"
