“So romantic.” Jen chuckles.
“Swoon worthy,” Griffin adds.
Brig is still pouting by his car.
Ignoring his family, Reid continues, “I’ve harbored a secret crush on you for so long that even when we were together, I thought it was too good to be true, that it would all disappear. And rather than live in the moment, I let my fears and doubts hang over me until I let them take over, and I made the worst decision of my life: letting you go. But I need you to know this: even though I pushed you away, you were always there, buried in my heart.” He takes a deep breath. “I love you, Eve. I love you so goddamn much, and even if you don’t want to be with me, I am going to spend every free moment of every day making it up to you, convincing you that you’re what matters to me, you are what I want, what I need to be happy. Nothing else.”
“Beautiful, son,” Mr. Knightly says.
“Well said,” his mom chimes in.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Brig practically cheers.
Sighing, Reid whispers, “Kind of wish they weren’t all here right now.”
“But where’s the fun in that?” I smile, letting the moment wash over me. All the doubt, the fear, it disappears as I stare into Reid’s eyes. Eric’s right—he’s loyal to a fault. But I would rather have a loyal man than one I couldn’t trust, and the love he has for me, the love brimming in his eyes, makes every moment of heartache worth it. Despite our ups and downs, I know that no matter what, Reid will always be by my side, and I would risk anything to have him there.
Getting our relationship back to where it used to be won’t be easy, but then again, like my parents always taught me, love is never easy. Love is a foundation of challenges that stem from two souls colliding as one. There will be miscommunications and moments where we hurt each other, because we are human after all, but what truly matters is the realization that the person standing in front of you is the one person who makes you the best version of yourself.
And I can honestly say Reid is that person.
He challenges me more than anyone, keeps me guessing—never letting me settle but always pushing me instead. He helps me feel, helps me explore a gauntlet of emotions, and holds my hand on this roller coaster of life; even before we were together, he was there by my side. The intimacy I crave he gives me in spades; the hole I have for caring for someone he fills so easily by letting me take him into my arms. And most importantly, he puts me first.
It took me a bit to realize that, given the fact that I thought he was choosing the restaurant and Eric over me, but he wasn’t. He was choosing my happiness, helping me obtain and reach my goals. He’s always had me at the forefront of his mind. I come first, and for that, I will always love him.
“I love you, Eve. Please tell me we can work this out, that we can have the restaurant and the relationship.”
“Well, that depends,” I say, eyeing his getup. “Are you returning this armor to wherever you got it?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Desperately.” I nod.
“Consider it returned,” he says, a giant smile pulling at his lips.
I step toward him and stand on my toes as I loop my arms around his neck and let him pull me into a kiss, right in front of my brother, the Knightlys, and anyone in Port Snow who cares to witness the crazy show playing out in my apartment parking lot.
“I love you, Reid,” I whisper, pressing my forehead against his.
“I love you, babe. Forever.”
And as Brig cheers and takes pictures, his family clapping and hooting, I realize that not only am I holding the man of my dreams and listening to him pledge his love for me, but I’m also being accepted into a family, one that I’ve been missing for so long.
A line of support.
A line of love.
I have the job, the man, the family, the brother, the love. I don’t think I could ask for anything more . . . besides some immediate private time with Reid and the “legend.”
And I’m not talking about the curse.
EPILOGUE
REID
“Oh my God, yes! Reid, right there.”
I flex my pelvis and push all the way inside of Eve, my teeth nearly shattering from how hard I’m grinding them together.
“Please, babe,” I croak. “Fuck, I’m going to come.”
“Me . . . too. Ah God,” she groans and digs her nails into my back as her pussy convulses around my cock, spurring on my orgasm.
White-hot pleasure shoots up my spine as I spill myself inside of her.
No matter how many times I take this woman into my bed, it doesn’t seem to be enough. It’s been a month since we got back together, and I still can’t keep my hands off her. It’s distracting at work—but in a good way. She’s not making me burn shit, but she does get me riled up when she walks into the kitchen, clipboard in hand and pen tucked behind her ear. She does it on purpose, knowing full well what the entire look does for me.
We always meet up at my house after work and fuck like crazy until we pass out and spend the rest of the night cuddling. It’s perfection. Eric has grown to accept that Eve doesn’t come home at night, which was fine until Eve went back to the apartment to get some clothes and came face to face with her brother’s bare ass as he was doing some girl from Pottsmouth. They now text each other their plans. It’s an image that’s been . . . difficult for Eve to get out of her head.
Breathing heavily, I collapse onto Eve and kiss her neck as I try to calm my racing heart.
“God, I love you so damn much,” I whisper.
Her hand sifts through my hair. “I love you too.”
“Enough to say yes to my proposal one day?”
“One day,” she says, giving me the same answer she always does.
I want to ask her, badly. I want to make her mine forever, but I also know that I have a lot to learn about love and putting it first, so I’m waiting until I feel confident enough that I can give her everything I have.
“And kids?”
“Two.” She smiles against my skin.
“Pets?”
“A cat that only loves me.”
“And a house?”
“Up on Wobbler’s Hill with enough land that we can have our own greenhouse.”
I rise up onto my elbows and kiss her lips. “And vacations?”
“Only ones where we can be fully naked for an entire week.”
“That’s my kind of vaca—”
The door to my houseboat bursts open, and a distraught Brig calls out, “Are you home?”
Eve squeaks, pulling a sheet over her even though we’re up in the loft and Brig can’t see her.
“Dude, try knocking,” I say, scrambling to put on a pair of shorts.
Brig paces the living room below, his hands in his hair. “I don’t have time for knocking—not when I’m the laughingstock of the town.”
Oh Jesus. What now?
I hop down the stairs, bare chested, my hair a mess from Eve’s relentless pulling, and go to the fridge. I grab a can of beer and toss it at Brig, but he doesn’t even bother catching it, letting it land on the couch instead.
Okay, this can’t be good.
“What happened?”