Epilogue
Alexander
Jordan and I stayed at the cabin for another three days until Murphy and Hayes came to pick us up. I wish I had a video of Hayes’ expression when he saw me and Jordan walking out of the pines, hand in hand. I couldn’t stop smiling—something I find I do so often it hurts my face. Jordan simply patted Hayes on the chest and said, “It’s happening. Deal with it.” Then we climbed into the chopper to be taken home.
We took a week in Bora Bora after winning the trip at the charity auction. Spending seven days with Jordan in a tiny bikini ended up being the second greatest week of my life. The first being the week she came back to me. The trip was spent in our above-water bungalow, where we’d move from the bed to the patio, only to find ourselves back in the bed again. If there’s one thing neither of us can seem to get enough of, it’s our hunger for each other.
Once we got back to New York, Jordan was offered a job working at Bistro Twelve. Although she still claims their burgers are an insult to the delicious simplicity of the American hamburger, she enjoys selling those thirty-eight-dollar burgers and collecting the tips.
The holidays came, and for the first time in my adult life, I had a Christmas tree. The thing was so tall that it took four men to have it delivered, and when it was lit up, it could be seen from the opposite end of the park at night. Jordan bought me a new fishing pole and the latest gaming system. I bought her a ring. Not a promise ring but an engagement ring. I designed the ring myself—a two-carat diamond surrounded by pavé diamonds that make a snowflake pattern.
Through tears, she said yes. As I held her on the floor at the base of the tree, she studied the ring and said it reminded her of when we met and how the snow sparkled in the sun. I was grateful that my design conveyed the meaning.
We both agreed that getting engaged after only two months was insane. We also agreed that nothing about us is conventional and why change what works?
Three months into the new year, and it’s my beautiful fiancé’s twenty-eighth birthday. I’ve been holding onto her surprise for months now, and while driving to Tribeca, I feel like I’m going to burst.
At a stoplight, I look over at her in the passenger seat of the Land Rover to make sure she’s not peeking. “You’re sure you can’t see?”
Oh yeah, I started driving again.
Her smile is huge and has been all day. I’ve never seen an adult so excited for a birthday before. She bounces in her seat. “Yes, I can’t see. Are we there? Are we close? Oh, are we getting on a plane? Wait… I smell water. Are we getting on a boat?”
I chuckle and shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “Stop asking questions. We’re almost there.”
The necktie I secured around her eyes when we got into the car is snug, but that doesn’t keep her from turning her head from side to side as if she could see. I watch her nose work in an attempt to place us by scent alone.
Another series of stop and go, and butterflies explode in my gut when I pull up to our destination. I throw the transmission into park, and with that final click, she starts scrambling for the door handle.
I reach over and grab her hand. “Whoa, hold on.” I chuckle in response to her eager grin. “Let me come around and get you.”
“Hurry! I’m so excited I feel like I’m going to scream and vomit at the same time.”
I hop out of the driver's seat and circle around to extract her carefully from the car.
“Definitely water! I smell salt—oh! I just heard a seagull!”
“Step up here.” I guide her up a stair and stifle a laugh at how she takes an exaggerated step up as if she’s trying to clear a coffee table.
“Is this it? I’m so excited I’m going to pee!”
I glare over my shoulder at Kingston, Hudson, and Hayes as they all stand silently and dutifully, warning them with my eyes to stay quiet. All three of them are holding back laughter.
“Okay, stand still.” I circle around to her back and keep a steadying hand on her hip, not that I think she’ll fall over as much as I just like being there for her to lean on. “Are you ready?”
She shifts on her feet and squeals. “I’m so ready! Take this thing off already!”
I stand behind her, pull her hair aside to press my lips to her neck, and whisper, “Happy birthday.” I tug the blindfold off and watch her wild excitement as her gaze searches and then finds. Her expression falls, not in disappointment, I don’t think, but in shock.
“Jordan’s on the River,” she whispers as she takes in the new building’s signage.
I feel her weight fall against me, and I keep her steady while she admires the rounded patio levels and curved glass exterior.
“Grizzly,” she says softly. “You’re giving me a restaurant?”
“Yes.” I inspect the structure with her, wondering how she must be seeing it for the first time. “I designed it myself. Had it built. Now it’s yours.”
She turns into me, her face so pale that I worry she might faint. “Th-th-this is too much. It’s too much. I can’t accept—”
I press my fingers to her lips. “You can, and you will. It’s a gift.”
She’s already shaking her head.
“And it’s an investment.” I drop my fingers to replace them with my lips and kiss her softly.
The color returns a little to her cheeks. “If you wanted to invest in the restaurant business, you should go with a sure bet.”
“I’m not investing in the restaurant business. I’m investing in you.” I drop my chin to hold her gaze and watch as my words soften her expression. “Because I believe in you.”
She leans her forehead against mine and takes a few deep breaths before turning back around to stare at her gift. “I can’t believe you’re giving me a restaurant. I thought we’d go on a boat cruise or something.”
“Nope.” Hudson steps into view with a smile on his face. “Happy birthday, future sister-in-law.”
“Did you know about this,” she asks while being taken into his arms for a brotherly hug.
“Are you kidding,” Kingston says as he approaches. “We all did. Who do you think picked out all the décor?” He kisses Jordan’s forehead, then winks at me.
Asshole.
“From the table settings to the barware, I left my mark all over Jordan’s.”
“Easy, Casanova,” Hayes says, then dips in to hug Jordan. “Happy birthday.”
Jordan has managed to win over the most stubborn North brother. He’s still a coldhearted pain in the ass, but he’s come around to my way of thinking and finally trusts the woman I’ve given my heart to.
We all face the restaurant, and I nuzzle her soft hair. “I hope you like it. Obviously, anything you want to change, we can—”
“No,” she says, her arms around my middle and emotion heavy in her voice. “I don’t want to change a thing. It’s perfect.”
I kiss the top of her head, my ribs feeling painfully full in the sweetest way. “You haven’t even seen the inside yet.”
“I don’t care. I know it’s going to be perfect.”