Page 107 of Writing On The Wall

“This doesn’t get you out of a few decades of stories about howIproposed toyou.”

“Will you just say yes and kiss me, already, woman!”

“Rule number three.” She smirks, folding her arms.

“Ivy…”

“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you,” she says before bursting out in laughter. I stand and catch her around the waist, kissing herdeeply. When I lower her to the ground, I take hold of her hand and she does a full spin, making her dress and her hair ribbon flare out with her three-sixty twirl. I pull her close, curling my hands around her.

“Rosie Cotton dancing…. She had ribbons in her hair,” I say, pausing in awe of her beauty and strength. “If ever I were to marry someone, it would have been her.”

“More Samwise quotes, King? You do know how to woo a girl.”

“Maybe I’ll start calling you Rosie,” I mumble through my grin, nuzzling my nose against her neck and making her giggle.

When we finally pull apart, Ember and Colton begin to holler as the four of us garner a small applause from the handful of others in the room.

“You’re not worried about Mom?” Colton questions.

“Nah. She’ll forgive me. I’m the favorite, remember?”

Colton barks out a laugh. “You sure about that?”

“If she gets upset, I’ll just make it up to her the same way you mentioned before on the plane,” I tell him, winking at Ivy and making my brother chuckle loudly.

We get through the paperwork, and an hour later, Ivy and I are standing in front of Elvis and professing our love for one another, and then he pronounces us husband and wife.

I have a wife.

Out of all the risky ventures I’ve ever embarked upon, in all the exciting excursions I’ve taken, every challenge I’ve faced, nothing has ever scared me more or made me as unfathomably happy as the woman in my arms. Getting to love her and watch her become the beautiful force of nature that she is, all while cheering her on and supporting her—it’s the greatest privilege of my existence, loving Ivy King.

EPILOGUE

IVY

Hot Jean-Claude Van Damme, my husband is fine. I’ve got quite a lovely view from my perch on the front-porch swing. Ethan has his hat turned backward as he packs his tools into his truck. The man sure can rock a tool belt.

After we got back from Vegas and broke the news to our families, who were incredibly happy for us, we spent two days hibernating before the real world called us back. With the school year still going and Ethan’s job, we can’t take a honeymoon just yet. But I’m so grateful for Ethan’s parents’ response to the news of our elopement. I think on some level they expected something like this from him. Not that he ever took risks in relationships before, but he’s always been pretty spontaneous. I’m just so glad he picked me to test his courage in the long-term relationships department. I truly lucked out. We didn’t say a word about the original plan being for Ember and Colton to tie the knot. I think that might have broken Jeanie’s heart. In the end, Ember made the right decision. Her wedding is just another opportunity for her to practice her communication skills and setting boundaries with her mom,and she gets the big, family wedding she really wanted. And Colton gets a happy wife and a mother who won’t disown him. My parents took a bit more convincing when we broke the news to them over a Facetime call. But I opened with telling them how Ethan has helped Ross, so it set him up well, and I know they’ll grow to trust him more over time as they see how he loves me.

Ethan does his usual stomping up the steps, catching me staring at the ring that glitters obscenely on my finger. We bought them just before heading to the chapel in Vegas. The pink morganite stone is framed by a tiny row of diamonds on a yellow gold band. When we walked into the jewelry store, I told Ethan I wanted him to pick the ring for me. It only took him two minutes of perusing before he pointed to this beauty.

“Got something for you,” he announces as he sits beside me, pulling my legs over his lap.

“Wh—what? Why? I didn’t get you anything. Is this a married people tradition I’ve screwed up?”

He throws his head back, cackling at my expense. This man. “Relax, Mrs. King. It’s a just-because gift.”

“Oh.”

“I plan to shower you with plenty more of these, too. But I never want this to turn into a competition or for us to start keeping score. I love you, and I want to show it in every possible way, for the rest of our lives. You don’t have to earn my love. I’ve chosen you, and I’ll keep choosing you every day.”

My heart is a puddle while an even soppier pool forms in my eyes. How is he real? And how has he chosenme?For as much growth as I’ve had when it comes to my own self-worth, it still amazes me that this book-loving, sexy-as-fudge man wants to love me for the rest of our lives.

“I don’t know what to say to that.” I gulp. I’m a newlywed, okay, and my husband still makes me weak in the knees. And Ithink he will until we’re both old and wrinkly and have no filters like Opal and Gail.

“You don’t have to say anything. But I’ll take a kiss.” He lifts one side of his mouth in that cocky way that once drove me nuts when we first met. Except now it drives me wild in a different way…although, now that I think about it, it probably drove me wild for the same reason, but now I’m choosing to embrace the fact that his smirk makes me want to kiss him.

Yup, definitely not mad about that anymore,I think as I lean forward with my own smug little smile, only too happy to oblige.

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