Page 99 of Unraveled

“I did. The possibility of a remodel and flip was an investment I couldn’t pass up. But the minute I saw this view, I wanted you to see it, too. See if it could be our place. I can put in your large closet. And you don’t have to tell me yes or no now. I can remodel it over the next year, and once it’s finished and looking up to its potential, you can decide.”

We still hadn’t talked details about our finances, but I knew this house had to have cost a fortune, despite its present appearance. “How was this possible?”

He tugged down on my wool cap to ensure it covered my ears. “I took all of the profits off of the Williamses’ remodel and put it into this one. Plus, there was the money I made in flipping the place I had in Boston. And we can use the sale of the townhouse to fund the updates we’ll make here.”

“But you said you were investing that money into your business.”

“Changed my mind. In fact, I’m going into business with Brandon. We’re officially partnering up.”

Forget surprised; I went straight into shocked. “What made you decide to do that?”

“While you were in the hospital, he covered for me. It made me realize that if I stay on my own I would never have a true backup. But if we team up, we each have someone we can rely on. I want to spend time fixing up our home. I want to travel with you all over the world. I’m no longer in a silly competition to best him or prove myself. This might sound corny, but I like the security of combining our efforts. His father laid a great foundation, and their company has all the staff I was struggling to put together, from payroll to administrative and architects to designers. My guys are happy, too, as they’ll have more jobs to choose from. Better long-term security. I prefer to build and remodel houses—do what I love. Honestly, I prefer leaving the business side of things to someone else.”

“It does make sense.” And he looked the most at peace I’d ever seen him when talking about his future. I smiled and looked into the dated house, feeling as if it was meant to be. “I don’t want to wait. This is it. This is our home.”

His grin couldn’t have been any bigger. He hugged me tight. “We’re going to be so happy here, but I do have one more thing to ask you.”

He pulled back to take off my mask and put it into his pocket. Then he dropped to a knee and produced a velvet box, which he opened. Inside was a beautiful, platinum-set solitaire diamond ring.

“Will you marry me, Layla, and do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife, having my babies, growing old in this house, and traveling to all the places we dreamed of?”

“Yes. A hundred times yes.” Tears were streaming down my face because this—This was the perfect moment. A year ago, who would’ve ever thought the perfect proposal would happen when I was without hair, without breasts, during chemo, and while fighting cancer. Yet perfection was knowing this man loved me the way I loved him.

He slipped off my glove to put on the ring and then immediately tugged the glove on again. I’d have to admire the diamond once I was back in the warm truck.

“But we should probably travel first,” I told him. “Babies after.”

He chuckled. “Probably a good order of things.”

We didn’t talk about my making the five-year cancer-free mark or possible fertility challenges down the road. Tonight was a time for hope. I knew without a doubt that no matter what the future held for us we would tackle every challenge, work through every low, and celebrate every high. Together.

Because this wasn’t a story about cancer, dammit. This was our love story. And I was determined to get our happily ever after.

Epilogue

Kellan

Seven months later….

The beer tasted good, the company was great, and the annual fantasy football draft was under way in my favorite college sports bar. Thankfully, there was no ex-girlfriend this time, and even my cousin Brandon had come up to attend the mini-reunion with our college pals.

But as was always the case, Layla was never far from my thoughts. I smiled, thinking about the fact it had been a year since she’d walked through the front door and changed my life forever. She was driving up here to Bellingham tomorrow when we’d all gather at her parents’ house for dinner.

“How’s Layla feeling? Still healing okay?” Russ asked.

“Yeah, fortunately no complications.” About six weeks ago, with a clean bill of health and no traces of the cancer left, she’d had her breast reconstruction surgery. Internally, I’d been a mess, going so far as to reread the letter she hadn’t meant for me to see unless something happened to her. Of course, I hadn’t told her I’d done that, nor how unnerving it had been for me to see her back in the hospital. It made me think of when I’d almost lost her.

I was supportive of her reconstructive breast surgery as I knew how important it was to her, especially now that she was done with chemo and radiation. But I’d hated the idea of her going under anesthesia. I hadn’t breathed easy until I was informed she was in recovery, and I could go up to see her.

Now that she was out of the woods as far as complications, I was finally feeling better about things. But I could go the rest of my life without seeing her in a hospital bed again.

“She’s excited about her new job. Has her first event in two weeks.” She’d taken a position with the hospital to do their public relations and plan their community events. I couldn’t think of a more perfect role for her.

“I know she was anxious to return to work,” Russ commented as he made his next selection in the draft.

Yes, she had been. And I was thrilled she’d found a career which combined her talent for organizing parties with raising money for causes she believed in.

Between her surgery, wedding planning, and the new job, we’d definitely been busy these last couple of months. But with her energy returning, I had no worries she could handle it all. As for me, business had been booming. Partnering up with Brandon had not only given me the opportunity to work on more jobs, but it also ensured I was able to spend time with my love.