The Many Loves of Samantha Greene

Epilogue | Three Years Later

"I'm going to go out with Andrew tonight, is that alright?"

I would never get used to having to ask my parents for permission to do things upon arriving home for the summer. It was so odd to go from having complete and total freedom to having to ask to hang out with my boyfriend of almost four years.

"That's fine." My mother replied. "But remember to behave yourselves."

"Mother, I'm almost a senior in college. I know how to "behave" myself."

"I was just checking."

I shook my head and jumped off of the couch to call Andrew. I had already told him that I was available without checking first, but it was good to let him know that our plans had been "approved".

"Hey babe." I laid down on my bed with the phone pressed up against my ear. "What are we doing tonight? Plans are approved."

"Sounds good." I loved hearing his voice, it never got old. "I was thinking of going on a picnic? You know, recreating the first date?"

"Oh, it must be a special night." I grinned, feeling my heart start to race. He had been hinting at popping the question for a few weeks now.

"Don't get your hopes up, Sam." Andrew laughed. "You're never going to see this one coming."

"Oh, I'm sure." I rolled my eyes. "And why is that?"

"I can't exactly one-up my cousin on his special day."

"His what?"

"You'll get a phone call soon, I'm sure." He laughed. "But for now, just be ready at seven with your adorable self."

I rolled my eyes, partly at his lack of information and partly at the fact that I had blushed at his last comment.

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up the phone and placed it on the bedside table, picking up a random book and flipping through the pages. I always told myself I should read more, but college left little time for anything other than poring over textbooks.

Ring, ring.

My phone began to ring the moment I found a chapter title that looked interesting. I set the book down and reached for my phone, the Caller ID reading exactly who I suspected Andrew had been talking about.

"Hey Jess."

"Look out your window."

"What?"

"Look out your window."

I dragged myself out of bed and opened up the window across the room, the one that faced the outside of the house. There was Jess, standing on my front lawn and waving at me like a lunatic.

Then I saw it.

"That is the biggest rock I have ever seen."

"I know!" Jess squealed into the phone before stopping the waving. "Isn't it magnificent?"

"Well come inside and let me see it up close."

We both hung up and I rushed down the stairs before swinging open the front door and grabbing my best friend's left hand.

"This is insane!" I laughed, "Congratulations!"
Jess was grinning from ear to ear as I examined the engagement ring that had to be bigger than anything I had ever seen before. It was absolutely beautiful, and if a ring could match a personality, this one definitely mimicked Jessica's larger-than-life presence.

"Kevin is just the best." She sighed as we made our way into the kitchen to show my parents. "I mean, he has to be the most perfect guy on the planet. Besides Andrew, of course."

"Of course." I laughed, "We're actually going out tonight."

"Oh, fun! Maybe you'll get your own rock soon."

"Let's hope."

<><><>

"Here's the thing--I don't want to ruin Kevin and Jessica's special day. It's important for them and all that."

I couldn't help but laugh at Andrew's nonchalant tone as he talked about his cousin and my best friend's engagement.

"You're right." I replied, popping a strawberry into my mouth. "I sense a "but" coming."

"You know me too well." He grinned. "But, I've kind of been planning how I want to propose to you. How I want this to all go, and how I want everything to look and feel. And this is what I want. Right here, right now, with you."

I was silent. Was he proposing?

"Samantha Greene Carter," Andrew looked at me with love in his eyes. We had been sitting down at our picnic for approximately seven minutes. "I love you. I love you more than anyone has ever been loved in the entirety of time. And we've had an amazing love story, spanning years and states and lives. We know each other so well. I feel like I could probably pretend to be you for a solid week and no one would realize it. But I'm getting off track."

I giggled slightly.

"Sam, I love you. I've loved you for almost four years now. And I want to make this official. I want to declare our love in front of people, and show them just how much you mean to me. And I can't think of any better way to do that than by asking you to become my wife."

"So, Samantha Greene Carter," Andrew pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a ring that rivaled the size of Jessica's, "Would you do me the honor of dropping the "Carter" from your name, and becoming my wife?"

I looked at him and my answer came without a sliver of hesitation.

"Yes, Andrew Greene. Yes I will."

He slid the ring on my finger and kissed me, knocking me over onto the picnic blanket. I kissed him back and wrapped my fingers in his hair, my mind free of all emotions but bliss.

The second I found out that his last name was Greene, I had had a feeling he was the one.

There had been doubts. There had been times when I wasn't sure if we could make it.

But deep down, the whole time, I knew the right one was there. Sometimes people just need more than one chance. Nobody's perfect, and realizing that might have saved me a bit of heartache all those years ago.

But I was happy with my choices. My choices had led me here, to my fate.

And I wouldn't have traded the journey for the world.

A/N: before I get comments about how "What?? The story was so short!" I said at the beginning of the book that it was a cute summer read, and summer is over! So the book is too. It was just a cute little spin-off, and now I can really focus on getting Recalling Lincoln Carter polished, edited, and maybe...published?

Let me know your thoughts on the book as a whole! I hope you guys enjoyed it.

-Katherine