Easton nodded and grinned. “The tux was her doing. But, well, I was going for the whole squad car thing, but your dad said the chopper would be a better way to go.”
“My dad?” Her eyes widened.
Easton took that time to explain that her parents, and her brothers too, were waiting at the studio for them, which meant they were watching it all unfold on a big screen among hundreds of fans. She couldn’t help but take satisfaction in the fact.
Soon, the traffic would clear and they’d head to the studio for the rest of the premier. Also soon, they’d discuss what the short-term future would look like for them, dating as they planned to do. But for now, Ivy would enjoy the splendid heaven of Easton Spark’s embrace, and bask in the redemption, the joy, and the hope he’d given her.
Easton had gone to great lengths to make this happen. He’d come out of hiding, given up his privacy, and made a major public display.
And in the moment of bliss, among the night sky, their audience in cars, and the warm California wind, Ivy basked in the knowledge that, in Easton’s mind, Ivy was worth a gesture so grand. And something told her that this was only the start. Their start, to a happily ever after.
Epilogue
“Wanna hear something cool?” Easton asked while he lay next to Ivy by the fireplace. It was her turn to visit him, and late spring in Denver could still get rather chilly, especially for her.
“Let me guess,” Ivy said. “You’re going to tell me that it takes twelve pounds of milk to produce just one gallon of ice cream?”
Easton chuckled, glancing at their empty ice cream containers on the mantle. “I hadn’t heard that one before. Guess that means I’m going to have to pee soon.”
Ivy chuckled and gave him a nudge. “What were you going to say?”
“Just that, now that the baby’s born, Chantelle says she wants to open the second nature rehab center.”
“That’s awesome.”
Yes, it was. Thanks to Marsha’s more than generous donation—and the fundraiser she’d kept running during the entire first episode—they’d raised enough money to make it happen. He and Ivy’s social media page, something Ivy created after the show, continued to bring in donations as well.
“Guess where we’re going to put the new center.”
Ivy bit her lip and looked off in the distance, eyes narrowing in concentration. But then suddenly she gasped, sat up straight, and turned a very serious look on him. “Easton!” Her eyes were the size of saucers.
He grinned. “What?” His tone came out playful. He was enjoying this, after all.
“Is it…” She covered her mouth, as if she didn’t dare even speak it, then blinked twice, then pulled her hand down. “Are you going to build it in LA?” Her body turned jittery as she waited for his reply, as if she’d just stepped into a frigid storm.
“Tell me,” she pleaded, grabbing his arm and rocking him back and forth.
A chuckle escaped Easton’s lips. “Yes, Ivy. Of course we’re building it there. We’ll all be moving there too because…” He shifted himself up and onto one knee, then reached for the small box he’d tucked behind the wood stack. He cracked it open to reveal the ring and set his gaze back on Ivy. “Because I’d like you to marry me.”
Ivy squealed at the sight of the ring. Before he could brace himself, she flung her arms around him and squeezed him tight.
Easton wrapped his arms around her in return. Her exuberant reaction was just as he’d hoped it might be. “Is that a yes?” he asked, his mouth very close to her ear.
“You know it is.” Ivy giggled, pulled back, and framed his face with her hands. Her blue eyes were wide and bright. “I’d love to marry you, Easton.” She moved in to kiss him then, a slow and lingering kiss. One that promised all the things he hoped to do with her once she was officially his.
Heat roared low in his belly as she caught his bottom lip between hers and pulled back, ever so gently.
“I, uh…” he stammered once his lips were free, “…should have asked you a long time ago.”
Ivy giggled, then came in for another sensual, drawn out kiss.
“I’m not kidding,” he said, making her laugh again.
He flattened one hand along her back and moved it slowly up to her neck. The soft and silky feel of her skin beneath his palm made his mouth water. Slowly then, Easton moved in to press kisses over the delicate hollow of her throat, allowing his heated breath to tease her between each kiss.
Ah, yes, there’s that whimper I like to hear.
She gripped at his arms, and his pulse spiked.
Barely suppressing the urgency within him, Easton started a teasing trail of kisses up the side of her neck. He sampled the soft lobe of her ear, desperate to kiss her lips once more, when suddenly something tumbled from his hand. The ring box.
That reminded him—she’d said yes. And it was time to get that ring on her finger. “I almost forgot,” he whispered against her skin. “Let’s try that ring on for size.”
He forced himself to release the warm splendor in his arms and reached out to secure the box. His proposal wasn’t entirely out of the blue. The two had started talking about marriage once they confessed their love for each other. Her sisters had been looking at rings with her for quite some time and her selection never wavered.
“That’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen…in person,” she added with a grin.
“Then your sisters didn’t lead me astray,” he said. “Chantelle is going to freak out when she sees you wearing it.” They were headed over there for dinner soon. “We should wait and see who notices first. Her, Tim, or the baby.”
Ivy grinned. “Baby Easton will probably point it out first. Two-month-olds are good at spotting details like that,” she joked.
“Man, I can’t wait to hold that little guy,” Easton admitted.
“Me neither.”
In the light and heat of the flames, Easton pulled the dainty ring from the blue velvet box and balanced it between his finger and thumb. He glanced up at the woman he loved, the very one who’d changed his life in every possible way, and cleared his throat as his emotions gripped hold of him hard. Enough that moisture welled up in his eyes.
Less than one year ago, Easton couldn’t have pictured himself vowing his life to someone. But here he was, thrilled to be doing that very thing. He’d noticed a change in his work at the center too. As the young adults spoke of their uncertainty about marriage and love, Easton could speak from experience about his shift in perspective. About opening up to it when the right person came. And they would come, he felt safe to assure them. When the timing was right, they would come.
He slid the ring onto Ivy’s finger, his heart filled with more love than he knew what to do with, and looked into her eyes. “Do you know how the ring finger became the ring finger?” He’d been waiting to share this one.
Ivy bit her lip, reached out to wipe a tear from his upper cheek, and shook her head. “No.” A small laugh coated her reply. “How?”
He traced a line up the back of her finger. “Before medical science knew how things worked, people thought there was a vein running directly from this fourth finger on your left hand, straight into the heart. Because of that hand-heart connection, they named the vein vena amoris. That’s Latin for vein of love.”