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Epilogue
One year later
Jamie
After spending months getting to know Regan’s parents, her father, in particular, I finally got up the nerve to ask him for permission to marry his daughter. No one does that anymore, or so he’d told me when he stared at me, unblinking, as if I were insane. He liked my old school values, which made his answer so much easier.
Two months after Charlie and Alex had gotten married, Regan finally left her job at the Wells Fargo Center, breaking away from her father and his legacy. I’d never seen her so happy to step out from her father’s shadow. By doing so, it allowed her to take a chance on the next phase in her life—this company and me.
Regan was and still is essential to the success of Foxy Developers. It had taken a while to find the right people, but once she did, our new offices in downtown Philly have been bustling with new programmers, full of ideas for even better games than The Fallen. With my advanced artificial intelligence software, we have transformed the gaming market.
Between Charlie and Mickey helping me out with the legal nonsense and Regan using her powers of persuasion, we managed to strike up a deal with TGS to collaborate with them on a few new games over the next year. I never needed Conway to make a name for myself in this business. It still pains me sometimes to think that I almost let Regan get away because of that job. I was an idiot.
And now I don’t have to beat my head against the wall, hoping I can make the games work. I found a foolproof plan that I execute every time now, making this easy in comparison. My team works well together, all of us so in sync that our ideas are cohesive. We have a new vision, one that Regan helped me discover.
Staring out the window of my office, I glance down at all the people passing by twenty-three floors below. R.E.GA.N. made all of this possible. But the real Regan, the girl who had stolen my heart and gave me the wakeup call I’d needed is the reason we turned one idea into a small empire. I bought Regan a giant rock to show her just how much she means to me.
I’d planned for this day for months. Timing is everything, and today, the timing is right. Our lives have changed so much over the past year along with the growth of the company. We have expanded to offices in Chicago and New York with the help of our investors.
The longer I wait for Regan to get back from the airport, after having her flight from Chicago delayed a few hours, my palms start to sweat. I never thought I’d be so nervous about making this official. Unlike other times when I had mentioned my intention to marry her, I am finally about to do it for real. This ring will solidify our bond and bring us even closer together. It’s been burning a hole in my pocket since this morning.
Clearing her throat, Regan announces her presence, as she steps inside the room. She closes the door behind her and slips off her heels, before running toward me, lunging herself into my arms. Wrapping her legs around my back, she peppers my face with kisses, not even giving me the chance to kiss her back.
“I missed you,” she mutters, her breath warming my lips.
“You were only gone for ten hours,” I say, even though I missed her like crazy in the short amount of time since I had dropped her off at the airport.
“I missed you the second you drove away. I’m not used to spending any time apart from you. I hate it.”
“Well, lucky for you, you will always have me around.”
Unhooking her legs from me, I place her on the ground. She peeks up at me, confused until I drop down on one knee and remove the box from my pocket. I was going to take her out to dinner, make this big production about our engagement, but I can’t wait another second. I need to make her my wife.
Her eyes widen in shock when I flip open the top of the box. Focused on the ring, she stands in front of me, unable to function, as if her body has shutdown. She had known this day was coming for a long time. But I wanted to keep the element of surprise.
Now, I’m delivering on that promise.
Taking the ring from the box, I clutch her hand in the other, holding the ring out for her to see.
Regan covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes so full and bright they just about jump off her beautiful face. A moment passes between us where my heart beats out of my chest, while she fans herself, looking as though she could pass out at any moment. I guess I had better speed this up.
“Regan Turner,” I say, my voice soft but firm, “I have been in love with you probably since the night you ruined Stark Trek, permanently scarring me.”
She chuckles, the tears streaming down her cheeks. “You started it,” she mutters through her laughter. “I wasn’t the one who brought up Stark Trek right before we were about to have sex. I just finished it.”
My shoulders shake, my body trembling from laughing. “This is exactly why I want to marry you. You call me out on my shit. And, yeah, I guess that makes me a super nerd for bringing up mind melding right before sex.”
“That was just one of the reasons I fell harder for you,” she interrupts, a wide grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You don’t care what people think of you, and you say things that other guys wouldn’t say, but those little things you do, make you different. And I like different because I have always skipped to my own beat.”
“Like right now.” I squeeze her hand with a smile. “I’m the one who is supposed to be giving the speech here.”
“Oh, right,” she says, blushing. And it’s really fucking adorable. “Continue, my love. I’m sure the speech you had planned for me is amazing, and I want to hear every bit of it.”
“Now, you’re making me even more nervous than I was before you started talking.” I shake my head at her. “As usual, I am at a loss for words with you, woman.”
“What do you have to be nervous about?” Killing the moment, she sinks to the floor and plops down next to me, still holding my hand. “It’s me, Jamie.” Regan cups the side of my face with her hand, the sweet scent of her lotion, filling my nostrils. “Y
ou don’t have to be afraid when it comes to me.”
