Page 37 of Squatch Out!

CHAPTER THIRTY

OLIVIA

One year later…

I just logged off from my last meeting of the day when Sean pokes his head into our bedroom. I’ve turned a corner of it into a temporary office space during the remodel.

The oven fire damage ended up being far more extensive than we suspected. Or at least, that was Sean’s excuse for deciding we needed to update the whole kitchen. Everything snowballed from there. If we’re remodeling, we might as well create an office for me, and if we’re adding more rooms…

So, for the last year, we’ve basically been adding a whole other house onto the back of his rambler.

Working during all the construction has been a challenge, but it’s almost finished now. The new appliances were scheduled to be delivered this morning, but I’ve been so busy, I forgot all about them. Until now.

“Are you finished?” Sean asks from the doorway.

“I am, finally.” Thank God it’s Friday, and I’ll have the next few days to spend working on the house. Turns out, remodeling can be a lot of fun. Painting especially is turning into my new favorite hobby, which means every room in Sean’s house is now a different color.

“I have a surprise for you.” He’s practically vibrating with pent-up excitement as he reaches out to me. This makes me nervous because, in the last year, I’ve discovered Sean’s idea of a surprise is always over the top, so I can’t begin to imagine what he’s done this time.

Threading my fingers through his, I let him pull me through the house and into the kitchen, where everything is sparkling and brand-new. Including the new appliances.

“Oh!” The quartz countertop is a bright contrast to the dark mocha cupboards.

A huge farmhouse sink with an apron-style front and commercial sprayer takes up the back wall with a huge gas range and matching fridge and dishwasher.

The matching quartz island was my idea, and the one thing I wanted the most. It reminds me of my childhood, of my mom at the stove and my dad and me at the island while the three of us talked about our day.

“Oh yeah. They came this morning,” Sean says dismissively as he drags me through the kitchen to a doorway. “That’s not the surprise.”

I’ve asked a few times what he was planning for this room, but Sean kept brushing it off. When I pushed him to tell me, he played dirty and used sex to distract me. Which worked every damn time.

He turns to grin at me as he grips the doorknob. Then, with a flourish, he pushes it open and waves for me to go inside.

I take a step and then freeze. It’s… an office. My office?

I turn back to Sean with a confused look. “But I thought I was going to use one of the smaller rooms…”

Sean shakes his head and pushes me through the doorway.

The walls are painted a soft dove gray with white accents.

Two huge picture windows will ensure light streams in throughout the day.

An electric sit/stand desk is against one wall, with a brand-new desktop and two massive screens sitting on top of it and a walking treadmill tucked underneath.

A filing cabinet sits beside the desk, and a cozy rocking chair is tucked into the corner.

The wall across from the windows is nothing but built-in bookshelves.

It’s… it’s beautiful. And perfect. It’s like he somehow reached inside my head and pulled out my dream office. The one I never ever expected to actually have, so never told anyone about.

“How?” I ask as I spin around. Only it’s not just Sean anymore. Owen and Jenny are there too. And all of them are grinning at me.

Then Sean slowly bends down. On one knee.

My head starts to spin, and he reaches out to take my hand. Steadying me. Squeezing my fingers in his.

“Olivia, this ring has been burning a hole in my pocket for months,” he admits as he pulls out a small black box. “I had a whole speech prepared, but… fuck it. Will you please put me out of my misery and marry me?”

A harsh laugh bursts out of my chest as I throw myself into his arms, nearly knocking him backward.

“Um, is that a yes?” Owen asks.

My “yes” comes out muffled against Sean’s shoulder.

“Don’t you want to see the ring first?” Jenny sniggers. “You might change your mind.”

“I don’t care about the stupid ring.” I lift my head. “I want to marry you yesterday!”

Sean looks up at his brother, since he and Jenny were the first to tie the knot. “How fast can we do it?”

“You’ll have to wait till Monday to register at the courthouse. Then you have to wait three days, and after that, it’s just a matter of finding someone to perform the ceremony.”

“One week, baby,” he turns back to me, “then you’re all mine.”

“I’m already yours.” I wrap my arms tighter around his neck. “And you’re mine.”

“Can I please show you the ring now?”

Reluctantly, I disentangle myself from him enough that he can slide a ring onto my left hand. Then I wrap my arms around him once more. I need him close. In fact, if we didn’t have company right this moment, I’d be a whole lot closer.

“Aren’t you going to look at it?” he asks.

“Don’t care,” I mutter into his neck. “I love it.”

“Olivia,” he says against my temple, “you’re hurting my feelings.”

Looking at it will make it real, and all of this is too good of a dream to wake up from yet. But just in case it isn’t a dream…

Keeping my arms wrapped around his neck, I hold my left hand up so I can see it over his shoulder.

I gasp.

Everyone laughs.

“It was my grandmother’s ring,” he whispers to me.

It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. White gold with a square-cut diamond solitaire in the center and smaller round diamonds decorating the thick filigree band. It’s exactly the ring I would have picked out for myself.

“But…” I look up at Jenny, zeroing in on her emerald engagement ring that sits atop her diamond infinity band. “Shouldn’t you have gotten this?”

Jenny wrinkles her nose. “Not my style. Besides, Sean asked for it first.”

I lean back to stare at my soon-to-be husband. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Pretty much since I jacked off in front of you in the cave.”

Behind us, Owen groans, “I did not need to know that.”

Next to him, Jenny bumps her shoulder against his. “Whatever, like you’ve got room to talk, stump-humper .”

Shaking my head, I decide I do not want to know what that’s all about. Then I lean back so Sean and I are face-to-face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

My arms tighten around his neck and shoulders, and I press my lips to his. I was going for a sweet kiss, since we have witnesses, but sweet quickly turns to carnal and… when we break apart, we’re all alone.

“Let’s move this to the bedroom,” I suggest.

Sean shakes his head as he slides his hands under my shirt to unfasten my bra. “Absolutely not. It’s good luck to christen a new room.”

I let out a soft giggle. “Well, I’m not usually superstitious, but I’m not going to be blamed for jinxing anything.”

So, we christened my new office, and then the new kitchen, and all the other new rooms in our practically new house.

The End