Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 19640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
As soon as he spots the smears of blood and wine decorating my skin, he rushes to the sink and wets a towel and begins to clean me off with tenderness.
"Do you need a doctor? Should I call someone?"
"I already told Shane that she left on us–I sent him her GPS coordinates. He's probably been following us, he'll be back as soon as he can."
And just like that, the man of the hour walks in with a distressed look ravaging his beautiful eyes.
He crosses to me without words, cradles me in his arms, and pulls my face to gaze into my eyes. "Are you okay?"
His words are soft and tender but I can tell he's angry. I nod and then sob out an apology.
"There's no need for apologies, baby girl. I've already ended the life of the Selinsky bastard that sent the order to take yours. After that night at the club, I knew that they were focused on one thing and one thing only. You."
I nod, wishing to hell I'd asked Rafe or Gio to fetch the medicine and the wine for me, and then I wouldn't have blood on my hands.
"I've made up my mind." Shane looks from me to Gio. "We're going to Costa Rica."
Epilogue
Shelby
I suck in a gulp of warm salty beach air as Jane, our helper on the private island estate, tightens the lacing on the back of my white A-line dress. I smile when she puts the finishing touches on my lipstick, and then slip my soles into the cobalt-blue heels I've chosen to wear today. Not an easy feat on the beach, but I love them. I always wanted to have my princess moment, and I’m finally getting it. Much sooner than I ever expected, but getting it still. In a big way.
I take a moment to pause when Jane packages up her small bag of makeup at the small makeshift vanity in the beach villa. My lips turn up as I look out over the boardwalk and down to the sparkling azure waves.
Set up next to the shoreline is a large white canopy, flowing with every shade of white flower known to man, along with vibrant blue-tipped roses in bundles that add a stunning pop of color to an already beautiful scene. Shane's brothers linger on the raised boardwalk platform built just for this occasion. Baby pink bows decorate four posts on each side of the canopy and line the boardwalk–my makeshift aisle–and in the middle stands the man hired to marry us.
It's a wedding plucked right from a fairytale, and I've been pinching myself in every moment leading up to this one. From the roses to the lace A-line gown with the sweetheart neckline and delicate beadwork that Shane commissioned a tailor to make in just three short weeks. My prince.
Shane.
Butterflies turn in my stomach as I press my hands to my belly and think that I'll need to get out of this dress soon. The waist pinches and the shoes rub. I'm also praying that my light wash of mascara won't run with the tears of happiness that will soon be blurring my vision.
"Ready, dear?" Jane hums. She's been like a second mother to me from the moment we stepped on the private island that Shane bought for us a little over a month ago. Within twenty-four hours of my attack, we were on a plane headed here, Isla del Cay, our new home.
"I'm ready." I nod and swallow the anxious lump in my throat before turning and flashing her a smile. “I've been counting down the days to this. I'm more than ready."
Jane slips open the wide French doors and gives a small wave down to the beach before soft piano music starts. Tears instantly burn my eyes as I recognize the familiar wedding march.
Just another of Shane's touches. He’s spared no details and leaped right into wedding planning mode after he proposed to me with a ring more expensive than any house I’ve ever lived in. I said yes right here on the beach our first night on the island, and fell into his arms as happy tears surged down my cheeks and the waves kissed our ankles in the moonlight.
I knew long before then that he was the one that I was meant to walk this Earth with. An energetic swell consumes me the second he enters a room, a combustible reaction in the atoms that launch themselves between us. There is no turning from him, I’m as helpless against his force as I am to anything, and I love him and his brothers with a fierce faith and loyalty.
After all, our connection is bound in blood.
Gio and Rafe have chosen to split their time between here and Chicago, but Shane and I will never return, and I attended the last of my classes virtually, and even attended my graduation ceremony at the community college from our little island off of Costa Rica.