“Is everything okay?” she asks, helping me into the dress.
“It’s perfect.”
“He must really care if he drove all this way in the middle of the night.”
I smile. “He does. I love him,” I say, smile widening.
Mom fluffs the skirt, beaming up at me. “Are you two able to stay for another hour or so?”
“Yeah, we’ll stay for breakfast but then should head back to Eastwood. Figaro probably misses me.”
“I texted Sam about Dean.” Mom bends down and pins the hem of the dress. “He said he likes him and thinks he’s a good guy.”
“Mom, seriously?”
“I thought you’d be happy your brother likes your boyfriend. Out of the last few guys you’ve dated, none of your brothers have been a fan.”
“That is true. I should have dated Sam’s friends a long time ago.”
Mom stands back and has me spin, making sure the dress swirls the way she wants it to. Satisfied, she helps me out of the heavy dress, and I put my pajamas back on. “You’re glowing.” She takes my hands in hers. “I have a good feeling about this, Rory.”
I beam. “I do too.”Chapter 39DeanFour months later…“I lean across the bar, showing just the right amount of cleavage, and ask Tomlin if he’ll let me have a room for one gold piece instead of five.” Rory looks at me, giving me a wink. “He finds me very hard to resist.”
Quinn pushes her little pewter game piece next to Rory’s. “And I stand behind her, causally running my finger over the blade of my dagger.”
Rory nods. “My friend and I would really like a room. We’re quiet and will tidy the place when we leave.”
“Tomlin’s resolve is strong,” I say, looking down at the guide. “Two gold pieces and the room is yours.”
“Thank you, kind sir,” Rory says. “I pay for our drinks and go up to the room in the inn.”
The oven timer beeps, and I get up, putting the Dungeons and Dragons game on hold. Quinn, Archer, Weston, and Scarlet are all here, and we’ve made D&D an almost weekly thing. It took a while for us all to get into it, but now we’re all slightly addicted.
“And I have to pee.” Quinn puts her hand on her stomach. “Help me up.”
“Of course, babe.” Archer stands and helps Quinn to her feet. Quinn is finally feeling less nauseous but now has a lot of back pain. They found out recently they’re having girls, making Aiden the Quinn of the family with four sisters instead of four brothers.
Rory goes to the stove and takes out the cookies she put in right before we started our games session.
“That smells good,” I say, snaking my arms around her waist. “I want one.”
She stands on her toes and gives me a kiss. “You’ll get my cookies later.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I kiss her hard. “Can we end the game now?”
“We haven’t even left the tavern!”
“I want to take you to the tavern.”
“Ohhh, I like when you talk nerdy to me,” she coos.
“You have work in the morning, right?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she groans. “It’s a full moon tomorrow too. It’s going to be crazy.”
“Poor babe. I can meet you for lunch.”
“If I get a lunch.” We kiss again before she turns to take the cookies off the sheet, putting then on a cooling rack she then carries to the table. We resume the game, playing for an hour and a half before putting it on hold again until the next time we’re able to sneak a few hours away from our adult responsibilities.
As soon as I close and lock the door, I make a rush at Rory, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder. “You’ve been kidnapped by orcs,” I say, putting my Dungeon Master hat back on. “But you are insanely attracted to him.”
Rory laughs, trying to squirm out of my arms. I carry her upstairs and toss her down on my bed.
“The only way to escape my clutches is through the power of seduction,” I go on and Rory laughs, but looks at me with lust in her eyes at the same time.
“Well, in that case…” She pushes up on her knees and grabs my hands, pulling me down onto the mattress with her. My heart swells in my chest, and I look at Rory, falling in love with her a bit more and more every day. And every day, I think it’s impossible to love her more than I already do.EpilogueDeanA year and a half year later…“Hey!” I say, stepping into the kitchen of my parents’ house. It’s Sunday night dinner, and the whole gang is here. It hasn’t happened too often lately, with scheduling issues and Emma and Jackson busy with extra circulars.
“Oh my goodness, how cute!” Rory drop my purse on the ground and goes over to Quinn, who’s sitting at the kitchen table with both babies in her arms. They’re dressed the in Elsa and Anna dresses we got them for Christmas. “Dean, look!”