Epilogue

Four months later…

Sarabeth hitched the last of the boxes on her hip and locked her office door for the last time before depositing her key in the lockbox in the hallway. Her heart skittered as she stepped into the warm afternoon air and sucked in a deep breath. This was it. The beginning of her new life. Dr. Sarabeth Lucking was now going to be Security Analyst Sarabeth Lucking, and she couldn’t wait to get started.

Spring had turned to summer since what she’d taken to calling the DeSalvo Debacle had finally ended, and three of those four months had been the happiest of her life. The first few weeks had been rough. She’d originally planned to take things slow and do the long distance thing with Gavin until the fall when all her ducks were in a row, but it hadn’t worked. She didn’t want to be a psychologist anymore, and her perfect, cookie-cutter house felt like it belonged to someone else. Someone she didn’t even know anymore. She wanted different and fun and contemporary instead of staid and fussy and boring.

She chuckled at that thought as she unlocked the door of her new Volvo and slung the box into the back. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t entirely a changed woman. Safety was important, but at least this car was cherry red. A fact that pleased her beyond measure. Which reminded her, tonight was the night she was going to have to finally talk to Gavin about maybe doing some redecorating. She’d sold her house two weeks ago and still hadn’t made time to put some feminine touches on Castle Grayskull yet. Maybe she’d ply him with wine and hot sex tonight before opening up a discussion on accent walls and throw pillows.

She slid behind the wheel and spared one last look out the window at her old office building, surprised by the absence of sadness. After poking around deep, all she could find was excitement…anticipation for her new career to start. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t get to use her training ever again. Part of her new job at McClintock and Saunders was going to be analyzing criminal behaviors and helping Maddy with their new sister offshoot, McClintock and Saunders Investigation. She couldn’t wait to dig in. But right now, it was time to get home and spend some much-needed quality time with Gavin. She hadn’t seen him in the three days since she’d come back to Chicago to close up shop, and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on him.

The drive felt like days instead of hours, and traffic was a bitch, but by the time she pulled up to the monstrosity she called home, her irritation melted away in the face of her relief. Finally, she was exactly where she was meant to be, and she’d never have to leave again.

She left the boxes behind, wanting to be able to leap at her man unencumbered the second she walked in, and ran up the pathway. Before she got to the porch, the door swung wide.

“Gavin?” she called, surprised he wasn’t standing in the doorway.

She jogged lightly up the stairs and stepped in, peering down the hall. “Hellooo?”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she was about to back slowly toward the door again when he called back to her.

“I’m in the den.”

She almost slumped with relief. It was better every day, but sometimes paranoia still got the better of her. Still, it was super weird that he was in the den at all. He spent most of his time in the living room or office. She wound her way through the house, and as she approached the den, a familiar scent hit her. Wet paint. She groaned inwardly. More gray, no doubt, and she mentally kicked herself for not having the remodeling talk before she left.

Not about to let this latest tiny snafu ruin her day, she sailed into the room calling, “Honey, I’m ho-ome—” but then froze in her tracks as she took in her surroundings, bewildered. The den wasn’t gray at all. It had been painted a lovely sage green, and amber accents were scattered around the room—a candle here, a vase there, a large picture of gerbera daisies hanging over the fireplace. Soft, bluesy music played in the background, and a bottle of champagne flanked by two crystal flutes sat on a low coffee table. Tears blurred her vision as she struggled for words but came up empty.

“Maddy thought you’d like green, but we can change it no problem,” Gavin murmured from the far corner of the room, the apprehension in his voice making her already-weak knees even weaker.

“Green is beautiful. Perfect,” she whispered, meeting his gaze and blinking back the tears. She made her way across the room and threw herself into his strong, waiting arms. “Is this all for me?” she asked, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. The idea that he’d gone to this much trouble to make sure she had a space that felt like her own made everything feel so much more real…so much more permanent and solid. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that until she walked through the door.

He circled her waist and squeezed her tight, then lifted her until they were nose to nose. “Of course it is. But first, I need to tell you I have missed you so f**king much, I could barely stand myself.” He pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that rocked her socks. By the time she came up for air and he set her back on her feet, the room was spinning. “Welcome home, Doc.”

She swallowed hard and got her bearings, turning again to take in the full effect of his amazing and thoughtful gift. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the front wall had been almost entirely scooped out, and a gigantic walnut bookcase had been set in. It was brimming with hundreds of paperbacks. She stepped toward it, scanning the titles. The Pirate’s Brazen Wench. Deceiving the Count. Reluctant Captive. They were all romance novels, and her favorite kind. A fat, butter-soft chair next to a squat lamp was right next to the shelf, with all the books within easy reach.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” she said, shaking her head, willing the stinging in her eyes to go away. If she started crying again, there’d be no stopping her. How could this giant slab of a man, so tough, so hard, be so amazingly sweet? It never ceased to amaze her.

“Say you love it,” he urged, stepping behind her and tugging her hair gently to get her to turn around. “Say you love me.”

“I love you. God, you know I do.” She faced him, stretching onto her tiptoes for another kiss, but the apprehension on his face stopped her cold. “What? What is it?” Her stomach jumped and did a shimmy as he pulled away from her. Surely, he wouldn’t go to all this trouble just to tell her he’d changed his mind, or—

“I’m glad because—” He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box before sinking low in front of her.

Holy shit. “Holy shit,” she muttered, her mouth going bone-dry as the breath sawed in and out of her lungs in panicked gasps. Was this seriously happening?

Gavin laughed and took her hand. She wasn’t sure which one of them was shaking, but it didn’t matter. She dropped to her knees next to him a second later when her legs couldn’t hold her.

“That’s not how this is supposed to go, love,” he said, his tone gentle. He brushed the hair away from her face, and she shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t really care about how it’s supposed to go. I just want to be next to you.”

“That’s what I want, too. Now and forever.” He cracked open the box and a gorgeous cushion-cut diamond winked up at her. “Sarabeth?”

She swallowed hard, willing moisture to her mouth with everything she had. “Yes?” she finally managed to squeeze out.

“I’ve spent my whole life thinking I wasn’t worth loving. Then I met you.” His voice grew husky and with it, the brogue that was barely a trace most of the time thickened. “And suddenly, everything changed. You made me want to be worthy of that love. You made me want to be worthy of you.”

“You are. You always have been,” she insisted, trying to quiet the sound of the blood rushing in her ears.

“I love you for saying that, and I’m just now starting to believe you. So, before you change your mind, I need to know.” He took her hand and held it in his own and this time, the two of them were steady as a rock. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She didn’t hesitate. She yanked her hand away and launched herself at him, knocking him back onto the plush cream carpet, eliciting an exaggerated ooph from him.

“Yes,” she said, peppering his face with kisses. “Yes, yes, yes!”

His chuckles warmed her from head to toe, and he closed his arms around her tight. “I’m so glad to hear that, because I told Maddy my plan and she already called dibs on the best man slot and bought a tux. I think she’d be heartbroken if she had to take it back.”

“Well, we can’t disappoint her, can we?”

“Not if we want to live to tell the tale,” he agreed through his laughter. He gaze never left hers as the smile on his face slowly faded, but the joy in his eyes remained.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world and believe me, I know it, Doc.” He paused to gently run his thumb over her bottom lip. “It’s me and you, together forever, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you make me.”

“You already have, Gavin.” She stared into the eyes of the man she loved and let the magic of the moment wash over her. “You already have.”