The Best Kind of Forever (Riverside Reapers)
The Best Kind of Forever: Epilogue

AERIS

My heart’s palpitating in my chest.

If Hayes was planning to propose tonight, he’s been disturbingly calm throughout dinner. No sweat on his brow, no excessive water drinking, no darting eyes. He took me to Pasta La Vista, the place we had our first date. If that’s not some hidden clue, then I don’t know what is.

We just celebrated our third-year anniversary. Lila and Josie are convinced he’s going to pop the question soon. I want him to, I do, but I’m also scared that a lot will change once we get married.

Ever since Casen and Josie’s wedding, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about spending forever with him. I’ve daydreamed about our kids, and if they’ll grow up to play hockey like their father. If you think shopping for baby clothes is adorable, just imagine a big, burly hockey player teaching a tiny child how to skate.

“Do you want some champagne?” Hayes asks, roping my attention with those blue topaz eyes of his.

“I’m okay,” I say, an easy smile tipping up the corners of my mouth.

“Are you sure?”

Am I? I mean, I guess a few sips wouldn’t hurt. I did just get a promotion at work, so there’s a reason to celebrate. I’ve been promoted from caption writer to social media manager of Your Ass is Grass. And with my relationship with Hayes being so public, we’ve gotten a lot of traffic from hockey fans. A lot of athletes want to go vegan, I guess.

“You know what? I could go for a glass. Just one, though.”

Without so much as another word, Hayes flags down one of the waiters, requesting that they bring a flute of their finest champagne.

Heat collars my neck. It feels hot in here. Is it hot in here? I feel like everybody in the nearby vicinity is watching me, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The minute the glass is set in front of me, expectancy makes Hayes’ eyebrows inch toward his hairline.

The pink bubbles pop dauntingly in the liquid. Hayes hasn’t ordered a glass for himself, which I replace a bit odd, but I don’t pay much mind to it.

With his eyes boring a hole in my skull, I take a healthy gulp from my glass, but I only get a few sips in before a sudden pain crowds my throat. At first, I assumed it was just from the burn of the alcohol, but then my windpipe constricts on itself, and I can’t breathe.

My gasps for air quickly turn into a fit of coughs, and now I’m more than positive that I’ve disrupted the ambience of the entire restaurant. If I wasn’t so busy choking, I would be humiliated.

Unadulterated fear floods Hayes’ expression, and he’s up and out of his seat before I can stop him. He comes up behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my ribs and thrusting upwards.

Oh my God. Hayes is giving me the Heimlich maneuver. In front of hundreds of eyes. Will this end up on some Reapers fanpage? Will this haunt me for the rest of my life?

A group of waiters stand by the phone in case an ambulance is needed, and hushed whispers fall over the restaurant.

With one final pull, whatever was in my airway ejects out of my mouth, and I sag against Hayes’ chest, wheezing for oxygen. Saliva runs down my chin, and I’m pretty sure my eyes are bloodshot from bulging out of my head.

Something shiny gleams in my peripheral, but I’m too distracted to take much notice. You know when people say they saw their life flash before their eyes? They’re telling the truth. For a second, I truly thought I was going to die. Of course a post-dinner choking fiasco would only happen to someone as unfortunate as me.

Once the tears have subsided and my vision has cleared, I see Hayes bend down to grab something, and then my brain registers what I saw sparkling out of the corner of my eye.

A ring.

And not just any ring, but a ring with a stupendous diamond attached to it.

Is this really happening?

Hayes lowers to one knee, taking my shaking hand in his steady one, love sewn into his chiseled features. He doesn’t seem apprehensive—in fact, he’s never looked more certain of anything before.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip, hoping that the pressure will stop my body’s quaking. His touch is featherlight, and affection bleeds into my heart like watercolors seeping onto a blank canvas.

“Aeris, when I first met you, I never thought I’d end up on one knee for you. I never thought I’d settle down with anyone, actually. Every moment we’ve spent together has been the best kind of ride. I never believed that I was going to replace love, much less replace the person I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. And it just so happened that I got lucky enough to replace both in you,” he says, his voice laced with a tenderness warm enough to unfreeze an icy lake.

Tears rage behind my eyes, but I’m not sure if it’s because of his speech or an aftereffect of nearly choking to death.

“You’re the most incredible person I know. You have the biggest heart in the world, and I’d give anything to occupy just the tiniest part of it. I can’t imagine not spending my forever with you. I can’t go another day without letting everyone know you’re mine…without putting this ring on your finger and promising to love you until I take my last breath.”

Okay, the tears are definitely from his speech.

Words feel heavy on my tongue, and they’re also obscured by the water gushing down my face and over my lips. Awws spread through the audience we’ve attracted, and cameras flash on the outskirts of my vision.

“Aeris, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

I can’t believe this is really happening.

Remember when I said that Hayes was my life jacket? He’s more than that. He’s the very person who makes me want to swim, not just float. And I refuse to spend another second without taking his last name.

“Yes, Hayes. I would love to marry you.”

The minute that band slides over my finger, my future is sealed. Forever doesn’t seem so scary anymore, and I think Hayes Hollings is the best kind of forever.