Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I grinned at him, unsure if my cheeks would ever relax again. “Have you seen anyone force-married?”
Bash smirked and opened his mouth—
“Don’t say it,” Silas warned. “I was drunk, and you know it. I still maintain Vegas puts some kind of get-married drug in their drinks. Why else would so many people do it? It’s weird.”
Zane had full-on heart-eyes. “I think it’s amazing. You and Kenji, both so clearly in love. Finally.”
I tugged my cuffs, smoothing my sweater. “Do I look marriageable?”
“You’ll do.” Dev pushed off the wall and brushed invisible lint from my shoulders. “I’m so fucking happy for you.” His voice was thick with emotion. “You deserve each other. And I don’t mean that the way it sounds.”
Everyone chuckled, stepping in to slap me on the back and fidget with my appearance.
I’d dreamed of a moment like this. Being surrounded by the men who loved me most in the world—with the sole exceptions of my father and Kenji. No longer having to hide who I was or who I loved. Getting ready to celebrate something real. Something joyful. Something forever.
My eyes burned. “I’m so sorry for not telling you guys. About London, about the earldom. About…” I stopped to take a shaky breath. “I was so afraid of losing you. This. What we have.”
Bash’s hand landed on my shoulder, firm and steady, like the big brother he’d always been to me. “I want to say it doesn’t matter that you’re a motherfucking viscount—” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “—but it does. It matters because it’s a part of you. And I—we—love you.”
“But if you think this means we’re calling you my lord,” Dev said gruffly, “then… you’re absolutely right. I plan to be obnoxious about it.”
My laughter came out slightly soggy. “I’d expect nothing less.”
“If my brother is a viscount,” Silas mused, “what does that make me?”
“Still a pain in the ass,” Zane said cheerfully, then yelped when Silas pretended to lunge for him.
“This Brotherhood has been the greatest gift of my life. Until now,” I added. “Thank you. For standing by me.”
Dev smirked. “Where else would we be…?”
“Don’t do it,” Silas and Bash warned in unison.
“…my lord?”
Laughter exploded around us, unrestrained and giddy.
“Landry Davis… Davencourt… Whatever The Fuck, get your ass out here,” Foster boomed through the door. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
My chest filled with something vast and unshakable.
I wiped my eyes, took a steadying breath, and grinned.
Time to marry my husband.
As we all filed out, Foster muttered something about me being better off just becoming a Toma. I could only imagine the look on my father’s face if I even tried it.
Come to think of it, maybe he’d accept it better than Nan would.
Halfway down the hall to the family room, someone reached out and yanked me into a bedroom, slamming the door behind us.
Kenji was dressed in a crisp white button-down shirt and gray trousers with the slightest hint of a mustard and navy tweed plaid in it. His dark hair was pulled into a purposefully messy bun, and his collar was open just enough to reveal the dip between his collarbones.
He looked like someone who would upstage me on any runway.
“You okay, baby?” I shot him a smile that had to look smug as fuck. “I heard someone’s forcing us to get married today.”
His expression was serious. “I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous.”
My smile faded. “Hey. We don’t have to do anything you don’t—”
Kenji stopped me with a kiss. “Nervous I won’t get this right.” He brought my hand to his lips, then met my eyes. “But marrying you? I have never been more sure of anything.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I may have been the last to know I’d been in a serious relationship for the last three years, but I see it so clearly now. Midnight snacks in my office. Lunch-break runs in the park. Bickering over takeout menus. Deep conversations about everything. Friday night sex that lasted until dawn on Saturday, and Saturday sex that turned into watching Sunday football on the sofa.”
He swallowed, pressing my hand to the center of his chest. “I tried so hard to keep you from getting in here, Landry. So fucking hard. I was terrified I’d let myself fall and would never get back up.” His lips curved slightly. “Turns out I fell a long time ago.”
He stepped back, then sank to his knees. “I know it’s cheesy, but I need you to know I am down on my knees begging because I love you more than I ever thought possible. I am yours for life, in whatever kind of life you want that to be. Everett Landry Davencourt, Viscount Hawling… will you marry me?”
I yanked him up and crashed my mouth into his, pulling him in so tight he had to hop up and wrap his legs around my waist.