So this is my attempt at an epilogue and I'm hoping it's not too predictable. Please let me know what you think!

Epilogue

"Text me when you get here."

Emily felt giddy as she finished sending her text, tucking her phone back in her pocket before heading back over to the stove, just in time to hear the buzzer inform her that it was preheated. She opened the door and placed the waiting tray of chicken wings inside, setting the timer for half an hour.

As if on cue, she heard footsteps approaching the apartment door, causing her heart rate to quicken, and she looked over her shoulder to see Oliver walk through it, looking exhausted and relieved to be home.

"Hey," he greeted her with a happy sigh and walked over to place a kiss on her cheek. "Did you have any trouble getting in?" he asked.

"No, your key worked fine," Emily informed him.

"You know, you didn't have to do this. I could have cooked myself, or just come over to your place," Oliver said, feeling bad that Emily had to lug food over to his apartment.

"I know I didn't have to, I wanted to," she tried to explain. Emily had insisted on cooking Oliver dinner at his place after a long set of days, wanting him to feel relaxed and not have to worry about cooking or heading back to his apartment afterwards. "How was practice?" she asked, changing the subject when Oliver grimaced and rotated his shoulder a few times.

"They're getting better. And I'm getting older," he admitted to Emily and himself. He had volunteered to help coach the girls basketball team at Emily's school when no one was available to coach, which would have resulted in a cancelled team. Emily was touched when Oliver offered to help out one of the girls' dads with coaching when he could, despite having a very busy schedule.

She walked over the him and draped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a quick kiss and then a tight hug. "What's this for?" he asked in surprise but not complaining, wrapping his own arms around her waist and hugging her back.

"Just a little thank you," she answered. "I know how busy you've been lately," she paused and pulled away. "And that is why I'm taking care of dinner and we're going to relax tonight."

Oliver let out a deep breath. "Sounds perfect," he admitted, then stepped back and took off his jacket. "You okay if I take a quick shower?" he asked, looking forward to a long hot shower after his day.

Emily stepped back into the kitchen and headed for the fridge. "Of course," she answered, and opened it, looking for the dip she bought earlier that day.

"K. I shouldn't be long," Oliver assured her then headed down the hall towards his bedroom. As an after thought he called out to her. "So what do you have planned for tonight?" he asked as he rifled through a drawer for a clean change of clothes.

"I rented a movie," Emily answered from the kitchen.

Oliver exaggerated a groan. "Ugh, not a chick flick!"

"How many chick flicks have I made you watch?" she laughed in response.

"First time for everything," he answered smartly.

"Relax, it's a comedy," she answered.

"YES!" he hissed triumphantly with an arm in the air as he walked across the hallway and into the washroom.

Emily, from the kitchen, shook her head and laughed at Oliver's reaction.

It had been just shy of three months since the night that Oliver and Emily ran into each other at the Penny and it didn't take long for them to start dating exclusively after that. It took some time for Emily to get used to his work schedule and worrying about him while he was on shift, but things were now starting to get into a comfortable rhythm and both were very happy with how things were going. Although she loved hearing about Oliver's daughters and asked questions about them frequently, Emily had yet to meet them. They had discussed it, at length, and Emily explained her hesitation in making that big step. Having worked with children of divorce, she was all too familiar with how hard it was on children to meet a parents new partner in the early stages of their relationship. And if they grew close to them and things didn't work out, they often became heartbroken as well. Emily told him that although she was looking forward to meeting his girls, she wanted to make sure that their relationship was solid first, which Oliver completely understood and actually appreciated. He had no doubts that his girls would meet Emily, and when they did they would love her.

Emily had just heard the shower turn off and knew that Oliver would be coming out of the washroom at any minute. She brought out the platter of wings and placed them on the coffee table in Oliver's living room just as he came walking down the hallway, with a disappearing cloud of steam trailing behind him. He felt so much better after the shower and was looking forward to spending time with Emily, and the spread she set out.

"You really outdid yourself," he admired as he approached the table.

Emily caught a whiff of Oliver's body wash and inhaled deeply, loving the smell. She cleared her throat and looked at the table. "They're just snacks," she answered, not knowing why he seemed so impressed. She had put together an assortment of finger foods that would be perfect for the night ahead. Chicken wings, a meat and cheese tray, veggies and dip, mini meatball, nacho dip and several different types of chips waited in front of them. Perfect, she thought.

Emily's phone vibrated in her pocket, catching her off guard and startling her a little. She excused herself as she walked by Oliver, saying she needed to grab bowls for the wing bones, and headed for the kitchen. Once hidden from Oliver she pulled out her phone and opened the text message. "We're here," it read and she smirked as she peaked over to see what Oliver was up to. He was leaning over the table, waving his fingers while deciding what to grab first, giving Emily a opportunity to head over to the door. She pressed the buzzer which opened the main door to the apartment building then quickly grabbed the bowls she said she needed.

"So what movie did you get?" Oliver asked as he threw himself down onto his couch, letting out a deep breath.

"Um ... it's ... you know what, I actually forget the name of it," she lied as she placed the bowls onto the table.

"Hm, sounds promising," he said, giving her a small grin as he popped a chip into his mouth.

They both turned when they heard a knock at the door and Emily straightened up a little too nervously, telling Oliver that she would get it. He looked at her skeptically and wondered what was going on.

"Hey," Andy greeted her as Emily opened the door.

"Hi, come in," Emily offered, as she stepped aside to let Andy and Sam pass.

"Hey, uh, what's going on?" Oliver asked from the living room as he stood up from the couch.

"It's nice to see you, too," Sam joked as he began taking off his jacket.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Welcome, come on in, but really," he turned to look at Emily. "What's going on?" he asked, looking confused. Sam and Andy slowly made their way into the living room, stopping near Oliver.

"Well," Emily began and walked into the kitchen. "You've been working really hard this week and ... beer?" she called out, looking out at Sam, who nodded with wide eyes. She opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer while continuing. "I figured that you needed to just relax tonight," she paused again, heading into the living room and handing a beer to Sam. "So I figured you and Sam could use a guys night," Emily shrugged as she handed Oliver his beer.

Since they had started dating, most of Oliver's time was divided up between spending time with his daughters and Emily, working, and now coaching basketball. He hadn't had much of an opportunity to see Sam outside of work lately and Emily was starting to feel really guilty about that, since they were usually so close. "Oh, and I didn't rent a movie. I know there's a game on that you wanted to watch tonight so I figured you two could just sort of pig out and watch that," she added as an after thought, nervously waiting for a response from Oliver.

With his mouth dropped open and his eyes fixed on Emily, Oliver stood still, completely surprised by what she had done. It was true, he hadn't spent much time with Sam lately but Sam understood that new relationships had their honeymoon periods and had told Oliver this, and that he was happy for him. And despite being busy lately, Oliver was enjoying spending time with and getting to know Emily.

"So what are you two going to do?" Sam asked, looking back and forth between Andy and Emily. He had been expecting to watch the game at Oliver's place with all four of them there and was confused by the sudden change in plans.

"Andy and I are going to grab a bite to eat," Emily answered, looking over at Andy. "You hungry?"

"Starving," she answered, with wide eyes.

"God, I love you," Oliver let out in a sharp exhale, surprising Emily.

She quickly looked over at him, feeling her mouth drop open slightly as her chest began to pound. Oliver took a step forward and stood right in front of her, shaking his head slowly and wearing a small smile that reached his eyes. "I love you too," she answered quietly, feeling almost out of breath. Oliver took an extra step towards her, closing the distance between them, and kissed her with a sharp intake of air before wrapping his arms around her waist in a tight embrace, still holding on to his bottle of beer. Emily felt her knees slightly give out and lost herself in the kiss, lifting her arms and holding on to either side of Oliver's neck, needing to feel him closer to her.

Behind them, Sam looked over at Andy with a raised eyebrow and shrugged. They both knew that they were clearly missing something since they didn't understand why Oliver and Emily were kissing so passionately in front of them. Sam never took Oliver as one for public displays of affection and he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable watching his best friend kissing his girlfriend.

"Um, guys ... little uncomfortable over here," Sam cut in with squinting eyes.

Oliver broke the kiss and opened his eyes, still keeping his arms around Emily's waist. "Yeah, sorry Sammy," he began, then cleared his throat to get his voice back. "Just saying goodbye," he added with a small smile, knowing that Sam and Andy didn't get it.

Looking down, Emily dropped her hands from Oliver's neck and stepped back, feeling a little lost. She finally snapped out of her trance and headed for the kitchen table to grab her purse then looked over to see if Andy was ready to go.

"All set?" she asked, feeling a squeak in her voice.

Andy nodded and gave Sam a quick kiss. "Have fun," she said with a wink then headed for the door.

Oliver grabbed hold of Emily's hand as she passed by him on her way to the door. "Thank you," he said sincerely, running his thumb across the back of her hand.

She answered him with a smile and cupped his face with her free hand, giving him a gentle kiss. "I love you," she said quietly, then blushed.

"Love you too," he answered, feeling relieved.

"What was that all about?" Andy asked as her and Emily made their way down the hallway of Oliver's apartment building.

"What was what about?" Emily asked innocently.

"Uh, the crazy make out session we just had to watch," Andy explained.

Emily smiled deeply and felt herself blushing. "Sorry about that," she paused and shook her head, still smiling. "That was ... that was the first time we said 'I love you'," she explained.

Andy smiled, remembering how excited and goofy she felt when she first told Sam that she loved him, even though he didn't say it back. She knew how Emily was feeling and understood why she was acting so giddy. "That's great," she genuinely offered, not knowing what else to say.

"Wow," Emily suddenly exclaimed, almost startling Andy.

"What is it?"

"I get to meet Oliver's daughters," Emily excitedly answered.