Rating the Book Boyfriend (Book Boyfriend Builders)

Epilogue - Riggs

ONE YEAR LATER

“You get everything set up?” I whisper to Darryl as Libby chats with Joe. The old guy retired a few months ago and turned everything over to me, but he still comes to the marina almost every day. He can’t help himself, claiming his blood is fifty percent salt water.

“All done,” Darryl says, glancing up at me from the flounder he’s cleaning.

“And you put the thing on the… you know, the thing ?”

“The thing is on the thing,” he confirms, looking over his shoulder and smiling as Joe waves his hands animatedly as Libby nods along. “She’s a good woman, Riggs.”

“The best,” I say on an exhale of pure nervousness. “I think we’re going to head out now.”

“Good luck, and Happy New Year’s Eve.”

“Thanks. Same to you.” I stroll over to the bench where Joe is explaining to Libby that Vienna sausages are actually made from chopped up aliens.

“That’s fascinating,” she says. “I guess I thought aliens would taste more… gamey.”

“Huh. Never thought about that,” Joe says, scratching his scraggly beard.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’d better get out on the water if we don’t want to miss the sunset.”

The smile she shines up at me is luminous and still has the power to stop my heart, even after being together a little over a year. I’m not sure this feeling will ever go away.

Thirty minutes later, I drop the anchor and take in a deep breath of salty air. Walking up behind Libby, I curl my arms around her and kiss the back of her neck.

“Darryl said the flounder were biting today. I thought we’d do a little fishing.”

Little rivers of wrinkles appear on her forehead when she turns to face me. “But we’re all dressed up,” she says, indicating her sparkly gold top, black leather pants, and sexy matching jacket, as well as my dress pants, white shirt, and blazer.

Shit, I didn’t think about that.

“Just for a few minutes. I’ll handle the bait so you don’t mess up your pretty clothes.”

Her face is coated in confusion at my insistence. “O-kayyy.”

“Just stand over there, and I’ll get everything set up.”

Giving me another perplexed look, she does as I ask while I go to the cabinet and find the fishing rod. I check to make sure the thing is on the thing and attempt to swallow my nerves.

Here we fucking go.

I hand Libby the rod and keep my eyes trained on her face, waiting for the moment she sees the thing . She turns toward the water and grips the pole.

“You might want to check the rigging and make sure it’s to your liking,” I suggest, and she blows me a kiss over her shoulder.

“It’s okay, I trust you.”

And then to my horror, she rears back, ready to cast.

“Libby, stop!” I yell, and she startles, letting out a little yelp.

“Shit, did I hook your ass again?” she screeches, and like a slow-motion flashback, I watch as she pivots, completely releasing her grip on the rod, and it falls into the Gulf of Mexico.

“Fuck!” Without a second thought, I dive into the frigid water and wrap my hand around the handle as it begins to sink. Thank Christ.

I resurface to find Libby leaning over the edge of the yacht, her mouth agape at my apparent stupidity. “Riggs Romero, are you insane? That water is freezing.”

“I’m aware,” I say wryly, feeling the cold in my bones as I swiftly swim aft and climb back onto the boat with my rescued treasure in my grasp. Holy fucking shit, that was close.

Libby is there with a towel and immediately begins rubbing my sopping wet hair and face. “You have completely lost your mind,” she scolds. “You could have died. A fishing rod is not worth losing your life, Romero.”

“It’s not the rod,” I tell her, my teeth chattering as I strip off my now-hundred-pound jacket. “It’s what’s on it.”

“What do you mean?”

In answer, I hold up the pole and dangle the line directly in front of her face. Her eyes follow like she’s being drawn into a stupor by a hypnotist as the engagement ring swings back and forth. Thank god Darryl knows how to tie a proper knot.

“Riggs, that’s… oh… that’s… and I almost…” Her eyes are wide and filled with dread.

“This isn’t exactly how I had this planned,” I tell her as I drop to one soggy knee on the deck and grin up at her with lips that I’m sure are quite blue at this point.

Libby covers her mouth with both hands, and I attempt to untie the ring from the end of the fishing line. The task proves impossible with fingers that are trembling from the cold. “Fuck, I can’t…”

She lets out a hysterical giggle before turning to the tool cabinet and grabbing a knife. Gripping the ring between her finger and thumb, she cuts it loose before handing it back to me.

“Christ, this is officially the worst proposal ever,” I grumble. “I wouldn’t blame you at all if you said no.”

She smooths my dripping hair back with gentle fingers and smiles down at me. “I won’t say no.”

Fuck, that makes my hypothermic ass happy. I manage to hold the ring—which has a large yellow diamond surrounded by a double halo of white diamonds—steady as I take her hand.

“I know I’ve fucked this whole thing up, Lib,” I start, but she shushes me with a finger to my icy lips.

“You didn’t. This is the best proposal ever because it’s unpredictable and funny and a little bit crazy. It’s us . Plus, I’m the one that freaked out and threw the fishing rod.”

I wiggle my eyebrows, which feel like they have icicles dripping from them, but I soldier on. I’ve got some proposing to do. “That’s true, so I hope you’ll feel sorry enough for me to say yes.”

She laughs as I take her hand and continue. “I had a whole thing I was going to say, but I think my brain is frozen. I’ll tell you the rest once I can feel my face again. But I love and adore you more than anything, Lib. I want you to be my wife. My family. Along with the fluffernugget of course.” Her smile is brighter than the sun that’s starting to set behind her. “Liberty Hill, will you please be my wife?”

“Yes,” she rasps, and tears stream down her face as I slide the ring on her finger.

Thank Christ.

I rise, and before I can stop her, Libby throws her arms around me, drenching the front of her clothes. Her mouth feels like fire against my cold one as we seal our engagement with a kiss.

“Let’s go get in the shower and warm you up, handsome. Your lips are blue.”

“So are my balls,” I toss back.

A few minutes later, we’re naked beneath the shower spray as Libby rubs her hands all over my body to warm me. Seeing my bride-to-be naked and wet, my penis is the first part of my body to make a full recovery. I nudge it up against her stomach.

She glances down and then back up at me with a cute smirk. “I see Rocket Romero has come out to play.”

“He’s very excited about the wedding and can’t wait to see how many lists you make.”

“Oh, I can assure you, my list-making will be epic.”

I crowd her against the white tiles and lift her by the ass. Her legs automatically wrap around my waist, exactly where they belong. “You’re also going to need a new spreadsheet,” I say as my cock finds her entrance.

Libby’s lips curl into a smile. “You know I always get wet over new spreadsheets. Tell me more.”

“There will be lots of boxes, and you can adjust the sizes and borders.”

“Mmm, that sounds hot.”

“You can color-coordinate the rows with shading.”

Libby rotates her hips, taking the first inch of me. “Now you’re talking my language, big boy.”

“And the title of it,” I say, sliding deep inside my future wife with a groan, “will be…”

“Yes?”

I pump in and out and whisper against her lips.

“Rating the Book Husband.”