Never Say Yes To Your Best Friend (I said Yes)

EPILOGUE

Mont

“ I t was so neat being here to see all your hard work pay off.” This was fourteen months in the making. It was more than just hard work and dreams for all four of us. Evilla has been every bit as involved in this build as I have, even if she was offering support from the other side of the ocean while I was here in Scotland with my parents.

The first public tour of the newly finished castle took place an hour ago. Evilla and I went on it, and my parents are going to go on this afternoon’s tour. Most people from the surrounding village and countryside already know who we are, and they’ve been as excited about this project as we have. To them, it means so much to see such an ancient, historical site being brought back to its former glory.

The parts that the public will tour through are as historically accurate as it’s possible for them to be. My parents’ living area, however, has more of the modern house flare intertwined with the kickass, badass castle vibe.

Now that the tour is over, we have a minute to relax in the courtyard. Kidding. We don’t call it that in our free time. I suppose it kind of is a courtyard, but it’s nicer to think of it as a spot of lush green grass with stone benches that a local mason put together for us. We had a gardener come in and plant hedges and flowers, and as it is, there happens to be cobble paths that lead around the beds and a huge fountain at the center. It’s half historical and half not-so-historical, but it’s exactly what my mom wanted. Everyone followed her vision of the outside and inside of this place. For the historical part that’s reserved just for the public, I hired a historian and an architect and let their vision shine.

I shift on the stone bench. It’s a warm day for this late in September in Scotland, so I kick off my shoes, pull off my socks, and breathe a sigh.

“Yeah, I bet it feels good to air those dogs out.” Evilla never fails to make me laugh. She always has something surprising to say. “Sorry, I’ve been watching too many videos online. It’s a bad habit. I’d call it market research for this place, but we both know how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole.”

I take her hand. Her nails are painted all different colors. She and my mom do things like that together. They give each other manicures and pedicures, and it’s the sweetest thing in the world. My mom and dad adore Evilla, and I’d like to think her parents like me. Okay, so her mom does, but her dad is still watchful of me. He’ll probably always be that way. If we ever have children, I’ll likely be the same way too. He’s not watchful like a hawk or an eagle. Just more like a friendly old owl who sits up in the tree, ready to kick ass if he’s needed.

Evilla’s fingers twine through mine. The sun slants down at just the perfect angle to hit this bench. There’s a bit of a breeze, but even with the cool edge, I can feel my T-shirt sticking to my skin.

Eventually, as the tours progress, we want to hire actors to make it more interesting, complete with costumes and all. For a few times a year, I’d like to have the castle functioning as it would have centuries ago.

Evilla is great at reading my mind. “Good thing we haven’t had time to bring to life the full scope of your plans for this place because everyone would have wilted in full-length gowns today.”

“It’s always this hot back home.”

“I’m used to it, but I’m not sure anyone else would be. Anyway, you look hot, my love. Do you want a drink? I can go get us something.”

“No.” I pull her into my lap. She protests for half a second, swats at my arm, and then melts into me. “No, I’d like to be doubly as hot, just like this. I don’t mind when it’s you melting and sweating into me.”

“I don’t sweat! Not all over you. I contain it, thank you very much.” She lightly swats my arm again. “Your mom and dad will see us.”

“And they’ll not mind at all, my lady.”

“Unhand me, sir knight, so I can get us beverages. I’m parched.”

“In just one minute, my lady love. I’d like to enjoy just one blissful moment with you this way.”

She relaxes into me, and one of her fingers twists through the back of my hair. Time for a haircut. But we’ve been here for a few weeks, and I can’t cheat on my barber. He’d be destroyed if I went anywhere else. It’s been wonderful being out here, but we’re going home to Tampa in a few days. It’s Evilla’s fourth trip out here with me, and we both took three weeks for the grand opening of the castle. Neither of us have come here for more than two weeks before.

She must be thinking about another bench at another time when we were two different people over a year ago—different but still very much the same.

“I’m sorry that it seemed like I didn’t have enough faith in you that day when you told me about this in the park.” I was right. She was definitely thinking about that day. “I just saw the worst coming for me, but it was my past dictating my vision. I told myself I would never let that happen, but it did. I didn’t mean for you to have to defend yourself. Not from me.”

She’s dry-eyed when she looks up at me. She’s perfectly sincere, without regrets or the heavy weight of the past dragging her down. “Hey, we’re all allowed to have a past. We’re allowed to have hurts and feelings about it.”

“I didn’t ever think of you in the same way as someone who would just cheat on me and bail on me and the life we were supposed to have. I’ve never even thought for a fraction of a second that that’s the kind of man you are.”

“I know,” I assure her gently.

“Today just had me going back to that moment on the bench, but right after that fraction of doubt, I thought about what came next.” I love the sweet smile she gives me. I’ve never seen her bestow it on anyone else. “The moment where you first kind of said you love me, and I kind of said it back. I knew I’d remember that afternoon forever, even as it was happening. I thought about this moment too. The day this place would be finished. I thought about coming here with you, and I thought about thinking about it as it was happening, and I did.”

“It’s a beautiful place. I could build you one of your own if you like.”

“Oh, goodness.” Her finger makes a corkscrew out of my hair, twisting until it pulls a little. But I don’t mind it. “As much as I feel like a historical lady from the pages of old, I’m not sure I want to make Scotland my permanent home. It’s so nice to come and visit your parents, but I would really miss Tampa.”

“I could build you a castle anywhere. We could find one somewhere else and fix it up. Or we could build a metaphorical castle. A modern one, wherever you want.”

“Does it make me sound terribly provincial that I like our condo?”

My condo has become our condo, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to it. For our first Christmas together, Evilla surprised me by decorating while I was here in Scotland. I came home to a house that was fully festive, including garland and lights strung up around the bear and the sheep’s arse.

“Mrrrhrrmhrrrm, darling…” That’s my best sexy bravado drawl slash growl. “Do you know how sexy it is that you’re learning historical turns of phrase from all those romances my mom begs you to read?”

She pulls a face. “In that case, it makes choking back another Duke Who Seduced Me, Duke Who Bedded Me, Duke Who Fake Married Me, Duke Who Poked Me, and Duke Who Licked Me all worth it.”

“What’s this about poking and licking?”

“I’m kidding. They all have blatantly smutty titles, but those are just ones I made up on the spot.”

“How disappointing. It would be rather amusing to find a book with the cover photo to match.”

“Oh my god, they’re so awful. The Scottish ones are okay, and I’m glad your mom likes those best. Sexy highlanders are always more fun than Regency stories. I find Dukes to be so uptight, but then, I guess that was the whole era. It’s just not as much fun.”

“You could just say no the next time she begs you to read it so you can have your own little personal book club. She could join a real book club, even if it’s just online.”

“Oh, but if I refuse, she gives me the well-used mop sad eyes, and I just can’t say no.”

“I remember you once accused me of being ball-less when I was in the same boat.”

“I didn’t truly understand, but if I must be ball-less, then I will be equally as ball-less and happy for it. I love being a part of your family.”

My heart has grown accustomed to singing in her presence, but there are special moments when it hits a high note. Like right now. “I love both those things too.”

She elbows me. “You’re silly.”

“I know,” I say with a smirk.

“I love it.”

I love hearing her say the word love, especially when she’s telling me that she loves me. I never thought I’d be so cheesy about it all, but for this woman, I would do anything. And I know she would return the favor. She’s been fearless when it came to blending our lives together and making all of this work, even when we were in two different countries. She was hurt in the past, hurt terribly, but she threw her whole self into this relationship with me and never held back.

“I know.”

“I love you.”

I don’t care if this is the world’s goofiest grin right now. Let the world see it. I’m not ashamed. I’ll never be ashamed of how deeply I care about this woman and how I’m so head over heels in love with her. “Do you now, my lady?”

“That’s My Lady to you.” She says it with the proper deepness and faux authority in her voice, making it clear that one has capital letters and one does not.

“So, do you now, My Lady?”

“I do indeed, Mr. Knight. I do.”

“I love you as well, darling.” I sweep a hand over the courtyard, indicating the rose gardens in full bloom, the hedges, and the over-the-top fountain in the middle of it all that has water spouting out the top between four golden cherubs before puddling into a gold basin below. “Are you sure I can’t give you this somewhere, a piece of our own paradise?”

She leans in and gives me a firm stamp on the mouth with hers. Then, I pull her back for a softer, more leisurely kiss. “No,” she breathes. “I mean, yes. No, because we don’t need a castle. We already have our own piece of paradise back in Tampa. Besides, anywhere with you would be a paradise.”

“Sounds straight out of a cheesy romance novel.”

“Yes,” she grins. “And I’m so darned happy and proud that it’s ours.”

The End.