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Epilogue
One year later
Nick
“Daddy! You’re home!”
Dropping his bags just inside the entryway, Nick kicked the door shut behind him just in time to catch the two squealing women hurling themselves at him.
“Hello, darlins. Did you miss me?”
“Nah,” Allie said with an impish grin. “We kept ourselves busy.”
“Oh, really?”
“Not like that!” Michelle rushed to assure him. “We were good, promise.”
One of the first rules he’d implemented for their long-distance relationship was that they both had to ask permission to come. Which meant if they wanted to play together, they both needed his permission first. Often, they’d video call him, so the three of them could, ah, enjoy the time together, but just as often he let them have their time alone. It was important to him that their relationship not suffer just because he was a part of their lives.
But since neither of them had asked permission during the day, he was glad to hear that they’d behaved themselves. As much as he enjoyed the playful punishments he handed down on a regular basis, he was in the mood for something a little different tonight.
It was Christmas Eve, after all.
“I think my good girls deserve a reward, then.”
“Actually…” Glancing at Allie, Michelle tilted her head to the side in silent question. Allie nodded and a moment later they were wiggling away to stand in front of him. They were dressed in matching Santa’s little helper type outfits in bright red with white-fur trim along the bottom of the skirts. The matching outfits were one of his favorite things, and they knew it.
What were they up to?
Before he could ask, they joined hands and looked up at him. Allie was beaming, as usual, while Michelle’s smile was distinctly more nervous.
“We have something to ask you,” Michelle began.
Allie jumped in, nervous excitement practically radiating from her. “It’s something we’ve talked about a lot, and we think we’re ready to take this step together, but we wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t take it with us.”
“What are you talking about, darlins?”
“Will you marry us?” Michelle blurted out before shooting an apologetic glance at Allie, who just rolled her eyes. Obviously, they’d had something more involved planned out and Michelle had jumped the gun.
Marriage, huh? It was something the three of them had discussed, and recently at some length. Considering they couldn’t all three legally be married, it was a bit of a logistical nightmare. But in spite of the roadblocks ahead, he knew without a doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his beautiful girls.
“Just a second. I’ll be right back.”
Grinning at their outraged gasps, he hurried for his bedroom and pulled a black lockbox down from the top shelf of his closet. His fingers shook a little as he punched the combination into the pin pad and opened the lid. Plucking the contents from the box, he didn’t bother returning it to the closet before he rushed back to the living room.
“Close your eyes, darlins.”
He gave them a moment to obey before moving to kneel in front of them, holding up two matching little black boxes. “Okay. Open.”
Their eyes popped open with excitement, and then they both froze when they realized what he was doing. Allie, as he’d expected, recovered first, launching herself at him with a happy squeal.
“You… you were going to ask us?” Michelle asked, her voice soft and almost uncertain.
“Yes, pet. I had planned to ask you both at dinner tonight at the Ranch, but you beat me to it. So, what do you say? Will you two make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”
“God, yes.” Now it was Michelle’s turn to throw her arms around his neck, and the weight of both of them sent him tumbling backward. The jewelry boxes clattered to the floor with him, distracting Allie who snatched them up and opened them.
“Oh. Oh, Nick.” Eyes filling with tears, she held the rings up for Michelle to see. “They’re perfect.”
