His Plus One by Kate Aster
Epilogue
Six months later
~ HAILEY ~
A happily ever after.
As Graydon and I walk down the open path to a small gazebo just outside of the meadery’s reception area, I can’t help thinking about what Natasha said all those months ago in Bermuda.
“If you’re lucky, you get one of those in your life with the man you love,”she had said.
But with all the fear and uncertainty—with all the time spent apart, special occasions missed, and tears shed—military couples, she promised, get more than one.
Tonight, arm in arm with this man I love so completely, I know exactly what she’s talking about. Because I feel it inside me, all the warmth and the chills and the hope that comes from reading a spectacular ending to a romance for the ages.
The sounds of music roll down the hill toward us from Natasha and Carson’s wedding. Some of the guests are still dancing, while others are relaxing like we are, taking advantage of the scenic vistas of this meadery nestled into the rolling hills. And of course, drinking. Half the people at this wedding hadn’t even tasted the sweet glory of mead before today—and I doubt this will be their last taste of it.
Natasha and Carson have already been whisked away by a horse and carriage—which seems so fitting in this stunning countryside. Tonight, they’ll be in one of their cabins they own not too far from here. And his family will be spread out in the other three cabins that they finished renovating.
I’ll be among them, because I’m family too.
Funny how I feel the security of that with the Adlers. There may not be a ring on my finger or some sheet of paper legally binding me to them. But the connection is there, strong and unyielding. I don’t question it in the least.
“For the record,” Graydon says as he sits next to me on the gazebo’s bench, “When I get married, there’s no way I’m hosting my entire family for the week following it. That’s not my idea of a honeymoon.”
I laugh. “Well, Carson complained that it took a wedding to get all you brothers to visit his cabins together. And I can see why he wanted to show them off.”
“Me too,” he agrees. “He did a hell of a job on them. I might start taking advantage of his open-door policy for family down here. If Peanut isn’t in the cabin right now, peeing on the refinished floor.”
I grin. “My dog is a lot less nervous now that she’s not being bounced between two homes. I’m sure she’s behaving herself.” I rest my head against his shoulder, watching the people in the distance. Kicking off my heels, I curse Natasha for getting me to wear them instead of my more comfortable flats. “You’d like to live in a cabin one day, maybe?”
“I’d live in a cabin, a yurt, a van, or a cave, so long as I’m with you.” He kisses me, and my heart fills this time… like every time.
“For the record, I draw the line at cave,” I inform him.
“Duly noted.”
He drapes his arm over my shoulder, and I stretch out my legs in front of me, enjoying the feel of the setting sun on my skin as it peeks past the gazebo’s shade. I still have a bit of a tan from the cruise we took two weeks ago to the Caribbean—a much less chaotic week than the prior cruise we enjoyed. The cruise line, grateful to Graydon for saving them from needing to report a fatality, even upgraded us to their best suite on the ship and spoiled us every day of our trip.
Best of all, Graydon even managed to make it through the entire seven days without jumping off the ship. And I sang at karaoke night. Twice.
“How would you feel about Virginia Beach or Coronado, though?” He turns his head to look at me. “If I promised we wouldn’t live in a cave, that is.”
I give an easy nod. “I’m pretty sure I could get an equivalent job there. And they both have beaches.”
He grins. “I know you like the sand between your toes.”
“You’ve still got one year left at the NSA. We’ve got a long time to figure all that out.”
“Maybe.” He reaches into his pocket. “But I don’t need another year to figure this part out.”
He goes down on one knee and pulls out a tiny velvet box, making my breath catch.
“What are you—”
He chuckles at the shock on my face as a diamond ring sparkles in the sun. “What am I doing? This can’t possibly come as a surprise.”
“Well, no—I mean, yes, it is, but—”
“Hailey,” he interrupts, taking my hand and brushing a kiss to it. “I love you. I don’t even know when it happened. I only know that it took one crazy wedding and some Bermuda sun to make me realize that all the respect and admiration I felt for you for so long was the foundation for a love that right now I can’t imagine living without.”
“Oh, Graydon, I love you too. So much.”
“Things won’t always be easy between us. You know the life I’ve chosen better than anyone. And you deserve a lot better than a guy who will definitely give you a fair share of worry in the years to come.”
“I can handle the worry. I can handle anything, so long as I have you.”
“Good. Because I also know that you could never, never find any man who could love you more completely. I want it all with you, Hailey. The cruises and beaches and sunshine. But also, everything in between. The good and the bad, no matter what comes. Today and always.”
“Oh, Graydon.” Tears stream out of my eyes, rolling beneath my glasses and onto my cheeks until he brushes them away with his fingertip.
“Hailey, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I breathe the word out like it’s an oath coming from my very soul.
And when he slips the ring on my finger and sits beside me again to touch his lips to mine, I feel the warmth inside me again… not from the sun or even from his arms as he pulls me into an embrace.
But from another happily ever after.