Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“I won’t change my mind, Gideon. I love you. I enjoy you. I have fun with you. I want to keep exploring what we can be together. Because I’m pretty sure it’ll be remarkable.”
“Only the best for you, huh?”
“I don’t do things by half-measures, Gideon.”
“I love your arrogance.”
“You didn’t always,” she reminded.
“I don’t know why, that self-confidence is one of the sexiest things about you. Well, that and your ripe, sexy arse.”
She laughed and tilted her head back to smile into his gleaming eyes.
He couldn’t resist the invitation of her plump lips and kissed her deeply, voraciously, like a man who’d never expected to partake of her bounty again.
They were both breathless when he lifted his head again.
“Tell me,” he begged, and she smiled, knowing exactly what he needed from her.
“I love you, Gideon. I love you so very much. This is just the beginning of a bright, beautiful future for us. From now on, I’m forever yours.”
Epilogue
THREE YEARS LATER
“I don’t understand why you two chose to live in this place. How are you supposed to raise a family in a two-bedroom cottage?”
“Three bedrooms,” Beth informed her father-in-law with a tart smile. “I told you—we’re converting my old office into a third bedroom.”
“This place is a hov—”
“Call my house a hovel one more time, Old Man, and I’ll kick you out on your ass and you can hang out with your son at a swanky hotel somewhere.”
Gideon grinned, and dragged a baking tray of biscuits from the eye level oven. The house smelled like Christmas. Beth and Gideon’s third as a couple, their second as husband and wife.
“She’ll do it too, Dad, don’t test her. She’s been particularly grouchy lately.”
“You’d be grouchy too if you were the one carrying around this massive child of yours, Gideon.” She glowered at him and he made a zipping motion across his lips. Something he often did lately, when it looked like she was about to lose her cool with him.
The third trimester of her first pregnancy was proving to be a doozy and she was not comfortable.
Cam had happily sold the house across the road to Gideon, and Beth and Gideon had renovated the front room into a massive shared office space where they happily worked together, usually in silence, every day from nine-to-five. Gideon was one of the most sought-after artists at his company and Beth had gone from being a successful technical writer to a renowned technical writer.
They were happy.
They’d converted the three rooms of Gideon’s house into guest bedrooms for when his family visited. A novel experience for their spoiled, rich butts…and yet James Hawthorne was always finding reasons to visit. Even while constantly bitching about the substandard accommodation and Beth’s tiny house.
This was the second Christmas he was spending with them, and Beth knew that he secretly loved it.
The doorbell rang.
“Come in,” Gideon called loudly, and his father winced.
“Hi hi! Merry Christmas,” Cat greeted cheerfully as she stepped into the house. She was followed by Cam who was wrangling their two-year-old boys, and Lucy who was holding her long-term girlfriend, Zoe’s, hand. As was their framily custom, everyone had brought food.
“Leave the door open, Zo, I saw Kylie and Adam pull up just as we stepped in.” Kylie and Perfect Adam—as Gideon still called the man—had been seeing each other for almost two years now and the group was expecting a happy announcement from them very soon.
“How are you all doing?” Cat asked, and flitted over to James to plant a kiss on his craggy cheek. He looked both grumpy and pleased by that. “Where are Niall and Kenny?”
“Out on the patio with Smith, setting up the table,” Gideon said. Smith and Kenny’s marriage was still a mystery to the rest of the family and The Old Man had never truly warmed to Smith. It was clear he had no expectations of the marriage lasting. Yet the couple seemed content, despite the lack of warmth between them.
The interior of the house was too small for the twelve-seater table that they used for family and framily occasions. Which meant eating out on the patio.
“And how are you, mama?” Cat asked Beth, dropping onto the couch beside her.
“Ready for this kid to come out,” Beth admitted between gritted teeth.
“Three more weeks,” Cat said, as if Beth needed a reminder. “You’re nearly there.”
“‘Let’s have a baby,’ he said,” Beth muttered, glowering at Gideon. “‘It’ll be fun,’ he said.”
Okay, maybe she had been the one to say it. Maybe they both had. Whatever, Beth was ready to shove all the blame for her current discomfort squarely at her husband’s feet. He glanced up, met her glower, and smiled sweetly at her.
Her heart melted a little. So she was a total sucker where the man was concerned. How could anyone resist someone who loved you so unreservedly?