It made each of his quiet groans a revelation. Each of his breaths was just for her. It made the rocking motions they could maintain for hours even more intimate. When they were like this, the rest of the world melted away. All of their worries. Everything they were working toward or running away from. When they came together as one, it was the most important thing in their lives.
And as Ivy flew apart at an orgasm that arrived quicker than she thought possible, Cole moving exactly how she liked it, she knew they could continue to do this for the rest of their lives and never get tired of it.
And if they did get tired of it? If they found that they’d done the same old thing a few too many times? Ivy sincerely doubted they’d struggle to reignite the spark.
Because, God bless it, there was always sexting to spice things up.
Epilogue
Cole
One Year Later
“Something came for you in the mail today,” Ivy said, looking up and smiling at Cole as he walked in through the door. He took in the tableau—books spread across the sofa, a notebook full of neatly taken notes, complete with different colors of highlighters separating ideas.
“You’re supposed to be studying,” he said.
The commute between their new condo and the Prime Security office was blessedly short. He’d gotten home before six, even with rush hour traffic. It probably would’ve been even shorter if he’d taken transit, but he needed a car so he could investigate cases. It was rewarding work. There was nothing as satisfying as coming home at the end of the day, knowing he had done good work and helped people. Plus, he got to come home to Ivy.
Cole frequently pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It was hard to believe this was his life. He felt so happy all the time that he sometimes worried something was wrong with him. Was a person supposed to be this happy?
Ivy held out her hands at the mess around her. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m totally studying.”
“Looks like you’ve been checking the mail.”
She smiled at him, and his heart stuttered a couple of times at just how much he loved her.
“I knew you were expecting this particular piece of mail,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure it was in the mailbox.”
“It would’ve still been there when I came through to check it,” he scolded her, remembering his disappointment at the empty mailbox just moments before. “You should be focusing.”
“I am focusing.” He gave her a dubious look, and she bit her lip to hold back a laugh. “I mean, I will be focusing. Just as soon as you open that letter.”
“This is your last exam before graduating,” Cole reminded her. What a year it had been. Twelve months ago, right around this time of year, when the cherry blossoms were still in bloom, he’d woken up to a text from a stranger, catapulting him into the happiest adventure in his entire life. “Don’t waste all that hard work just because you’re curious about my letter.”
“The longer you put off opening it, the more time I waste,” Ivy said so mischievously that he had to laugh. “Open it, Cole! Come on. I almost did it myself.”
The letter in question was an innocuous-looking thing, the brown envelope resting on the coffee table among all of Ivy’s study materials. It didn’t bely the bombshell that waited inside for him. The possibility of a brand-new future.
Cole picked it up carefully, like it might burn him, before holding it out to Ivy. “Here. You open it.”
She shook her head. “That’s your future in there. You should open it. Though, for the record, I think Curtis should’ve just told you at the office instead of mailing the decision to you. That’s torture. It should be against the law.”
“You’re my future.” He looked at her. “Whatever happens, whatever’s in that letter, you’re my constant. And Curtis loves surprises. This kind of thing is right up his alley.”
Her green eyes twinkled, and she let go of haranguing his boss. “I’m your sure thing?”
“My future,” he confirmed quietly. “That’s right. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. Open the letter.”
“If you’re sure…” Ivy discounted her apparent reluctance to open the letter by tearing into it, nearly destroying the paper that was inside the envelope.
“What does it say?” Cole did his level best not to fidget. Whatever was inside that envelope was already written. His future was already determined. It wouldn’t change just because he was shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Ivy read it to herself, first, as Cole slowly died from anticipation.
“Okay, sorry.”
“Sorry what?” His heart was in his throat.
“Sorry that I made you wait,” she said. Then, her eyes brightened in recognition. “Oh, no. You thought I said sorry because the letter said you didn’t get the promotion.”
“Ivy. I’m dying here. You have to put me out of my misery.”
She grinned at him, dangling the letter between two of her fingers. “Sweetheart, was there ever any doubt? Of course you got the promotion. Curtis wants you to head up your own team. He says you’re the best thing to ever happen to his firm.”
Cole’s heart leapt in his chest. “Are you serious?”
“Read your damn letter,” she said, laughing wildly. “You are being ridiculous.”
The words were on the page, printed right there for his eyes to see. It still felt surreal, though. A year at Prime Security had paid off with this promotion. And now his life was going to pay off, too. There was no better time than this. He sank down to his knees in front of Ivy.
“Cole?” Her voice filled with concern as she reached out to him. “Are you okay? Do you feel faint? Have you eaten recently? Are you going into shock?” Her mind was still fully planted in the medical texts and symptoms and diagnoses she’d been focused on these past few weeks.
“I want you to marry me,” he said, producing a velvet box out of his pocket. “I told you that you were my future, no matter what. But now the future’s going to be even brighter.”
Ivy gaped at him, at the box. “What is going on?”
He cracked a grin at her even as the vulnerable parts of him squirmed. On his knees in front of her, asking her to be his wife, was both the easiest and the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. SEAL missions included.
“I’m asking you to marry me,” he said. “Do you want to do that? Be with me, I mean.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life,” she said, throwing herself into Cole’s arms, down on the floor with him. “I love you so much.”
Those were words that would never fail to stir him. “I love you, too, Ivy.” He loved everything about her. The way she looked at him. The feel of her wrapped up in his arms.
She reared back a little to eye him. “Were you still going to propose if you didn’t get the promotion?” she asked.
Cole blinked. “Well, yes. Eventually.”
“But not today?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve had the ring for six months.” He took the box from her and opened it. “Here, you haven’t even seen it.”
The sparkle of the stone drew her eyes away from Cole. It was breathtaking, a deep blue sapphire surrounded by a ring of shimmering diamonds. “Cole, this is beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you are.”
She breathed out a quiet laugh. “It reminds me of your eyes. I love that you picked this out for me. So, who are your best men going to be? Jason and Curtis?”
Cole laughed. “How do you figure that?”
“Jason was the one who more or less introduced us. And Curtis was the one who inspired our engagement.”
“I wanted to marry you regardless of the promotion,” Cole said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her softly. “And I actually meant to wait until after finals. I didn’t want to distract you.”
She laughed softly, nuzzling the palm of his hand. “You did kind of jump the gun on that. I’m going to be too busy star
ing at my ring to focus on the test.”
“Well, if that’s going to be the case, I’ll just take it back.”
She captured his hand before he could take the ring away from her. “No. This is mine, now. You gave it to me, and I’m going to wear it.” She slipped it on her finger and Cole had to admit that it looked like it’d been made just for her. “Why did you have the ring in your pocket if you weren’t sure when you were going to ask me?”
He shrugged. “I just wanted to be ready for the right moment.”
Ivy studied him. “You said you bought that ring half a year ago.”
“Yes. Right.”
She cocked her head. “And you’ve been carrying it around in your pocket this entire time?”
Cole coughed. “When you put it that way, it sounds pretty ridiculous. I just wanted a safe place for it. And to be prepared. And when I realized I was getting the promotion, and that life was about to really change for us, I thought this would be the perfect way to capture the day.”
“Sort of like the cherry on top?”
“The whole sundae,” he corrected. “Bowl, spoon, ice cream, syrup, and all the cherries in the world. That’s what this is to me. How excited I am to be with you, to marry you.”
“Well, you’ve officially ruined finals for me.” Ivy laughed at the expression of horror on his face. “I’m only joking. I can’t put into words how happy you’ve made me.”
“You’d better ace that final tomorrow,” he warned her. “I’ll never forgive myself if you don’t.”
“I have this,” she said, her confidence in herself making him proud. She was constantly impressing him. Sometimes, he just loved to sit next to her and watch her pore over her textbooks and notes. Ivy was such a hard worker.
“I know. You deserve this diploma. You deserve every good thing in the world.”
“I deserve you,” she said, a mischievous smile. “What would you say to a little celebration for your promotion and our engagement?”
He smiled. “What do you have in mind?”
“I could sweep all this study material aside, and we could christen the new couch.” She patted the cushion beside her invitingly. “It would be fun.”
“It would distract you from your studying,” he reminded her. “We’ll celebrate after tomorrow. We could go out for wings and beer.”
Ivy perked up.
“Only if you ace the final.”
She gave him a salute. “Yes, sir!”
He smiled. “But if you are already distracted right now…”
“You want to have sex,” she crowed. “I knew it.”
Cole only narrowly stopped her from sweeping all of her books from the couch. “No, no. I’m serious. No sex. I don’t want to mess up your system of organization on the couch.”
Ivy pouted, but he knew better than to believe those pursed lips when her green eyes were sparkling like that. “What do you have in mind, then?”
“Some news.”
Her mouth dropped open. “More news?”
“It was another one of those things I was saving for after finals.”
Ivy laughed at him. “You’re so terrible at waiting. You know, there’s a such thing as delayed gratitude.”
“I like the instant payoff,” he said. “And besides, I’ve been sitting on this for a whole week. I deserve a little credit.”
“All right, out with it.” Ivy shook her head. “Though I can’t imagine what would be left to say.”
“It’s about your future.”
“My future’s with you.”
“Your future in the D.C. medical world.” He smiled. He’d managed to shock her into silence at that. “Curtis was asking about you, and I told him that you were nearly done with medical school. He wanted to know if you’d like him to reach out to his contacts at the hospitals around the district. He’s worked with administrators at most of them on various cases.”
She gaped. “Seriously?”
“I mean, the man still has a rolodex. That thing is fat with contacts. He’s lived and worked here his entire life. He said that he’d be more than happy to make introductions or set up lunch meetings. It’s your call.”
“An in at any of the hospitals here would be amazing,” Ivy admitted.
“Yes, then?”
She laughed and her enthusiasm was contagious. “Yes. Definitely.”
“I’ll let him know.”
“Do you understand what kinds of bombshells we’re going to be dropping on my parents when they get in town for graduation next week?” Ivy asked, shaking her head. “Your promotion. The engagement. Our new connections into the medical world.”
“I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Cole grinned.
“I think one of them might drop dead with shock.”
“At which of those points?”
“Any. All. At the combination of all three.”
“Well, I was going to mention it to you. Let you know at some point, I mean. But I actually called your dad to ask permission to marry you.”
“All these secrets going on behind my back!” she exclaimed. “He is going to get an earful when I see him. When did you call him?”
Cole winced. “When I bought the ring.”
“Six months ago?” Ivy shouted.
“We agreed it would be a good surprise. That we’d keep the secret.”
“And I thought I was the one with all the secrets.”
Cole had first met Ivy’s parents the previous Christmas. He’d especially connected with her dad, seeing a kindred spirit in a man just looking to protect his daughter and make sure she was happy. It was all Cole wanted for Ivy. The reason he’d always do everything in his power to make her life better.
“Okay, back to the books, you,” Cole announced, clapping his hands. “Playtime’s over.”
“I’m still betting on sex later,” Ivy informed him slyly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to use my feminine wiles to convince you.”
“That’s later. Studying now. I’ll brew some coffee.”
“Cole?”
He turned, already on his way to the kitchen. “Yes?”
“Do you ever feel like all of the pieces just keep falling into place?” she asked, her eyes shining as she looked up at him.
Cole couldn’t help the grin that all but split his face apart. He looked at the vase on one of the shelves of the bookcase in their living room. It still contained the ridiculous, mismatched bouquet he’d gotten her. Fresh roses one day, a conglomeration of wilting flowers the next. It was perfect in its imperfection. The idea of the two of them overcoming everything to be together, just as they were meant to be.
Just like that ring looked like it was meant to be on her finger.
Neither of them was perfect, though he was of the opinion that Ivy was pretty damn close. He remembered telling her about the Silver Star late one night, several weeks after they’d moved in together. He knew he had to let her know the circumstances, especially since they would be sharing the same bed, night after night.
“You need to hear about the Silver Star, now,” he’d said, both of them in bed, waiting for sleep to find them.
“Are you sure you want to talk to me about that?” she’d asked him, turning so that she cuddled up on his chest. “Right before bed?”
“Now’s a good a time as any,” he said, though he’d been hedging around it for days, trying to figure out the best way to tell her.
“I’m ready if you are.”
And so he’d told her. About the desert and its sand. How, months later, he’d find sand somewhere unexpected, like in his wallet, or the pocket of his pants. It haunted him, the desert.
It had been amid a sandstorm that he’d earned that Silver Star, pinned beneath enemy fire, trying to draw them away from an injured comrade while awaiting evacuation. Cole never forgot the claustrophobic desperation of those long minutes, waiting for rescue, waiting for the enemy to run out of bullets. Hoping that he wouldn’t be hit. Resigning himself to
the fact that they might get lucky.
In the end, half losing his mind, Cole had rushed the enemy position himself. This was the point of the entire situation that got the most interest, in retellings. How Cole had mustered the courage to flush out the enemy, securing the area by himself just as help was arriving.
It hadn’t been like that, though. Cole had been close to giving up. He’d just wanted it to be over. And if the enemy thought they’d killed him, maybe his friend could get out alive. At the very least, he wouldn’t have to wait another moment, wondering which of those bullets would find the mark. He’d take action, take control of the situation.
He still remembered their faces, the men who were shooting at him, as he stormed their position. How surprised they’d been. How young they had looked. The way their bodies had gone limp when he fired his rifle.
It wasn’t the first time he’d killed, but he’d never had such a close encounter. At that kind of range, death was a personal business.
“I don’t feel like a hero, even if they tell me I am,” he’d finished, absentmindedly stroking Ivy’s back as he ended his story. “They tell me I should be proud of what I did, but it’s not that simple. They were just people, too. And we were just on opposite sides of an issue. All of us fighting for what was right.”
He’d fallen silent, bracing himself for what Ivy might say. Her shock that he’d experienced something so horrifying. He’d waited for her platitudes, for her assurances that she really did think he was a hero. That he should suck up his feelings about the entire thing and accept the fact that he’d gone above and beyond the call of duty. That if he hadn’t have done what he did, he could’ve been the one lying limp in the sand, along with his injured friend.
But Ivy hadn’t said anything. Cole looked down to see if maybe she’d fallen asleep after all, but she simply looked up at him, not flinching away from his gaze.
“I love you,” she said, hugging him a little tighter. And she didn’t say anything at all after that.
He had loved her so much in that moment, just her hushed presence, awake but quiet on his chest, pinning him to the bed, not allowing the bad memories to get to him.
Sext Me Page 12
