Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
She fell back in her chair and lifted her napkin to her face like she was dabbing something, but instead, she was hiding her emotion.
Hale gave her time.
Then he said, “Elsa and I met when I called her to warn her off talking about Tom and Mika on her show. She was a little brat. Totally not afraid of me. I was intrigued. That’s how it started.”
His mom lifted her gaze to him as he spoke, and he saw wet sparkling in her eyes.
“She’s still a brat a lot of the time, but I guess I like strong women who don’t let anyone shit on them. You might have something to do with that,” he concluded.
“Just…I’ll be right back,” Sam said quickly, clumsily getting up and hustling toward the bathroom.
He saw Elsa’s neck twisted, watching her go, then she turned back to him and said, “Okay, I think we might be getting somewhere.”
“I love you,” he whispered. “You’re pretty perfect too.”
She smiled and cupped his cheek. “I know. I’m awesome.”
He cupped her jaw in return, but he didn’t speak. He used it to pull her to him.
It was a racier kiss than he’d intended. They weren’t alone in that restaurant, and it wasn’t lost on him when they arrived, they’d garnered attention.
But fuck it.
Sometimes, you couldn’t worry about what the world thought. You needed to focus on what was important.
His mom came back, and although she tried, you could tell she’d been crying.
“Right, Mom,” Hale said quietly. “Let’s start again. Hey, Elsa and me are here to have lunch with you. Then we have to go to Arizona for Chloe’s wedding this weekend. We’re heading back to New York after that, because Elsa is moving in. I’m training a talented man to help me do the things I want to do with what Dad gave me. This, I hope, will free my time so I can have some to do the things I like and be with people I care about. It’d be cool if you came out to New York sometime. There’s plenty of room at the penthouse.”
Sam sniffled.
Licked her lips.
Then she replied, “I’m glad you’re going to slow down a little bit, Hale. I’ve been really worried about you.”
That was when Hale reached across the table to his mom.
He’d left her hanging.
But she met him halfway.
EPILOGUE
LOVE YOU TILL THE END
Elsa
“These are healing nicely.”
The father of the bride, dressed in his tux, was upstairs in Hale’s and my room at Duncan and Genny’s house in Prescott, Arizona, examining my cuts and re-bandaging them.
Where he was not was down with the milling crowd who were drinking champagne and cocktails and eating hors d’oeuvres from the multitude of trays held by servers who were floating around, all this happening in Genny and Duncan’s massive backyard.
And by massive, I meant it butted up against a National Forest, so it was nature for miles.
And this included a lake.
They had their own lake.
I waited until Tom expertly finished with the tape before I spoke.
“Tom?”
He lifted his gaze to my eyes.
“It’s okay to be a wreck,” I told him quietly. “I already know my father is going to be a disaster. For a bride, it’s an important part of the day for the dad to get verklempt.” I leaned closer to him conspiratorially. “But I’m going to let you in on a secret, and you can’t tell anyone. Especially our men. We don’t actually want you to let us go.”
Tom’s head ticked, and then I found myself in a hug so tight, I had to make do with a few wheezy breaths before he let me go.
“Apologies,” he muttered, looking surprisingly cute, considering the great Tom Pierce was embarrassed. “It’s an emotional day.”
“No apologies necessary,” I replied.
Tom wrapped his hand around my upper arm and squeezed. “I’m so glad Hale worked it out with you, sweetheart. And I’m so glad you’re here with us today.”
“Not more than me.”
He smiled.
Now there was the devilishly handsome Tom Pierce.
“I can go down and nick a bottle of champagne so we can hide up here and have some refreshments until you have to do the dreaded deed,” I offered.
His smile got bigger, but he shook his head, and made me a return offer I couldn’t refuse.
He held his bent arm out to me and asked, “May I have the honor?”
I hooked my arm in his. “Absolutely.”
I grabbed my bag on the way and Tom walked me down the stairs, through Duncan and Genny’s huge entryway and into the great room at the back of the house.
This was the family-only/backstage wedding area. There was a help-yourself bar fashioned on the edge of the island for Chloe and Judge’s nearest and dearest to get out of the crush, make themselves a drink, and have some quiet time if they wanted. The rest of the kitchen had been taken over by catering staff, with extra tables erected for prep and layout, and the rest of the vast living space currently was empty.