Page 45

EPILOGUE

CLAY

Seven Months Later

Jackson, Wyoming

“You trust me, right?” I peer at Lizzy, standing at the top of a place I thought I'd never be again, much less with the love of my life.

I watch her look at me, then back down into Corbet’s Couloir. I still remember the first time I skied the rocky chute in Jackson, Wyoming with my brother and Mom by my side as a teenager. It was that same night that Tanner took me out to get the outline of the Tetons tattooed onto my wrist, just like him and Collin, after Mom signed the paperwork for the studio of course.

I still can’t believe I was ok with giving up this part of my life that meant so much to me for so long. Somehow, Lizzy working her way into my life has brought me closer to my family, to my mom, to so many good memories I blocked out for so long. So when Tanner and V said they wanted a winter wedding in Jackson, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my spare time back in my hometown.

“Yes, I trust you. But aren’t there better ways to show that? I don’t think this is what Tanner and V had in mind when they said we should go enjoy the day without wedding stuff together.” Lizzy’s voice cuts through the cold, frosty air at the top of the mountain peak.

“You’re such a brat,” I tease. Even through her goggles, I can feel her glare when she drops her head. I shuffle closer to her on my skis, putting my hands on her hips. She looks up at me and her little blonde slut strands that drive me wild float in the light wind. “But trust me, you got this. ”

She nods and looks down at the run again and I can tell by her posture that she’s ready. But just for good measure, I poke my bear.

“Besides, you can’t let Grace and V keep holding this over you.”

Yep, that did it. She whips her head at me and let the long, blonde braids I did for her this morning flick over her shoulder. This time, I know without a doubt she’s glaring at me. “See you at the bottom.”

She takes off down into the rocky chute and my heart freezes in my chest as she takes the first turn. It’s dangerous. Deserving of its title as one of America’s scariest ski runs. She’s not the most graceful, but she still nails it and gets down the run. I’ve never felt more alive on the slopes, watching her, knowing she trusts me, seeing just how determined she is. My perfect, untamable Lizzy.

“Oh my god. Are you going to be a brat all day?” I look at Lizzy in the stall next to me, smirking back while she gives me a death glare.

“Seriously, this sucks. I don’t know how you have half your body covered in tattoos.” She winces as the tattoo artist working on her finishes the outline of the Teton mountains on her ribs, the same place Veronica got hers done.

I chuckle to myself, prompting the tattoo artist working on my chest to scold me.

“Well, you’ll finally be able to show off your first tattoo to the rest of the gang.”

She gets up from the bench after her tattoo artist cleans up and bandages her freshly inked piece. I haven’t even seen it on her, but I already know I’m going to be obsessed with it every time I see it, reminding me of how much she trusts me .

Honestly, I'm surprised it was this easy to get her into the little tattoo shop in Jackson. But when she’s determined to do something, she does it and I love that.

She walks over to my stall and saunters towards me.

“Nope. Turn around. I already said you don’t get to see it until tonight.” I smirk at her and she rolls her eyes.

“Come on, just a peek,” she pleads, clasping her hands together.

“Nope. That was the deal.” I lift a finger, circling it in a turn around gesture.

She huffs. “You’re no fun.” She begrudgingly turns away, sitting in the open chair in the stall.

I’ll admit, it’s killing me not to let her see it right now. The second I had the idea for this tattoo in the center of my chest, I knew I wanted it. I couldn’t think of anything else that reminds me of her more.

“All done.” The tattoo artists cleans and wipes down my chest, handing me a mirror.

Lizzy looks back in surprise. “Wait, yours barely took longer than mine and you said it was way bigger?”

I shrug and laugh. “Yeah, well I’m not a fidgety brat. Goes a lot faster.”

She turns away while I hold up the mirror, admiring the broken heart in the center of my chest. Down the center of the heart is an open tear, covered with a bright pink bandaid, because that’s exactly what Lizzy was to me, helping me repair so many old wounds.

I feel my lips curve into a smile when I see it, the perfect reminder of my princess . The one that I want to spend the rest of my life with.

“I still can't believe you and Lizzy are a real thing.” Tanner pats me on the back.

I clink my stubby yellow beer bottle to his. A warm smile spreads across my face and I don’t miss the way Tanner, my dad, or my grandpa watch me. “Yeah, but she’s perfect. I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of her.”

Tonight’s their last night in town before going on a three week ski honeymoon with their dog, Rex, in their Sprinter van. So when he said he wanted everyone to get together at the old dive bar down the street from his cabin, it was an easy thing to say yes to.

My grandpa, Samuel, claps me on the shoulder. “As long as that means we’ll be seeing more of you smiling like this, that sounds perfect. And your grandma thinks Lizzy is a hoot.”

“Thanks, Grandpa.” I pat him on the shoulder and look around the bar. Grace is sitting at a table, chatting with TJ, who was nice enough to let Tanner and V use his house and guesthouse here in Jackson to host their small, cozy wedding.

My grandma and V’s parents are talking at another table with Lizzy’s parents who came out for the occasion. I have to admit, the last six months working with him have been every bit of the change I needed. And I’m so happy to see that Lizzy and him are closer now, with Lizzy working two days a week for JSC.

Then I spot Lizzy, sitting at the corner of the bar, wearing those damn pink cowboy boots and that black sweater dress. She’s every bit of the perfection she was that first night we met. What I’m more afraid of is the faces Benjamin and Alexis, the bartenders, are making at her while she’s glaring at them, flailing her hands around.

I walk over to them.

“Been a while, Benjamin.” I prop myself up on the bar next to Lizzy, while Benjamin groans in frustration.

“Can you tell your girl to order anything besides a pina colada? ”

I look at Lizzy who’s rolling her eyes and now turning her glare to me. “Don’t give me that look. Just because I like bourbon doesn't mean I can’t crave a fruity drink sometimes. I don’t know how a bar can’t have what they need to make them.”

I smirk at her and reach into my jacket pocket, pulling out the small can of coconut cream. Her eyes go wide when I set it on the counter.

“I’m assuming this is what you don’t have?” I turn to Benjamin who scrubs his face with his palm and groans. “So can you make one now?”

He grabs the can and mutters under his breath. “Always something with the Chapmans.” I shake my head as he walks to his drink station at the other end of the bar and starts making her drink.

“Why on earth did you have that?” Lizzy looks at me, a delighted but incredulous look on her face.

I shrug. “You and V were talking about them all week. You kept going on about how you’d want a warm beachside honeymoon if this was your wedding and you’d crave a pina colada.” I watch the smile, the one of pure delight that I love, spread across her face. “So I sort of had a hunch you might want one tonight.”

She props her elbow up on the bar, resting her cheek in her palm. The way she looks at me, like I’m her world, makes me know I’m more than right about her. That she’s the end for me. “You’re something else, Clay Chapman.”

Smiling back at her, I rasp knuckles against the bar. “I need to check on something, but I’ll be right back.” I toss her a playful wink and get up to head towards the hall in the back of the bar to the patio. I look over my shoulder to see her still watching me hungrily from the bar as I walk away, just like that first night.

I turn the corner out of sight and stop. If I know my girl…

One.

Two .

Three.

“I swear, Clay, we can make out in the bar but we are not doing anything else here. This place is dirt-” I hear her already going into a rant when she turns the corner to follow me, but she stops mid-sentence when she sees me kneeling on the floor.

“What are you doing down there? I was just saying these floors are gross.”

Her eyes go wide when I reach into my other jacket pocket, pulling out the small light blue velvet box.

I flip open the box and her hands fly to her mouth when she sees the princess cut diamond.

“What do you say, princess? Want to make me the luckiest man on earth and be my queen?”

Her hands go to her hips and a playful smirk crosses her lips. “First, don’t call me queen. It makes me sound old.” Her smirk turns into a beaming smile and her sapphire eyes shine down on me. “But I will be your princess, forever.”

Standing, I step towards her and smile. “Is that a yes then?”

She stands up on her toes, looping her arms around my neck and bringing her lips to mine for a short kiss. She tugs at my bottom lip as she pulls away just enough to whisper. “Just be a good boy and put the damn ring on my finger.”