Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
I was too stunned over the fact that this man knew Walton Whitley to correct him on Naomi being my wife.
“How do you know him?” I asked, stiffening slightly.
The man offered me his hand.
“I’m Dante, the owner of Hail Auto Recovery.”
“Dante Hail. The president of the Hail Raisers,” I droned. “I know who you are.”
“Unofficial president,” he corrected. “We’re not a true club, just recreational. That’s just what we’re called.”
I shrugged. “Brothers are brothers, man. You don’t have to call the club a club, but you are what you are. If it walks like a dog, acts like a dog, looks like a dog, it’s a fuckin’ dog.”
Dante Hail was the man that everyone in the room was talking about tonight. He was a friend of the Benton chapter’s president, Silas Mackenzie. And another member’s wife, Ruthie had been best friends with Dante’s wife. Until his wife had died about six months ago in a car crash, along with their two children.
Dante had, apparently, gone off the deep end. Even now he was obviously not in the best of shape. Hence the reason for him being in the dark part of the clubhouse backyard, sitting with me for over thirty minutes before either one of us had spoken.
“Walton Whitley was one of the longest standing employees that I had, but he was also in an accident about two years ago. Took his wife and kids.” His voice broke on the last three words, and I suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here.
Dante, this big bruiser of a man, was utterly broken.
“I can’t say that I would do the same if I found someone who looked like my wife,” he cleared his throat. “But I can see it now. I can see it, and I feel like utter shit. But I can see it.”
“God. They had the same color hair. The same color eyes. The same fucking smile,” Dante’s voice cracked as he remembered.
I said nothing.
There was nothing to say.
“Take it from me,” Dante’s voice cracked. “Don’t waste a second.”
My heart caught as I heard the emotion in the man’s voice. Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew that he was on the verge of tears.
I took his words to heart, though.
The moment I got my woman alone tonight, I was done wasting time.
I was going to have her back, and I was going to make her mine forever and always.
Chapter 26
Skinny girls shouldn’t be in charge of the thermostat. You need a middle-aged woman, thirty pounds overweight, with hot flashes named Bertha.
-Rules to live by
Naomi
I looked at Sean warily.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
In answer, he wrapped his arms around me and placed a wet kiss on my mouth.
Then he pushed me onto the bed and walked away from me, disappearing into the closet.
“What…”
He was back before I could ask him more, and in his hand was a black box that looked like a ring box.
“Sean…”
He dropped down to his knee in front of me, and I forgot how to freakin’ breathe.
“Sean…”
“Naomi, two years ago, I didn’t believe that I’d ever be here,” he said softly, looking down at the ring box that he had in his hand. “I’d been waiting to find the woman I was meant to spend my life with for so long, that I was starting to believe I’d never find her. I’d tried to give my heart away a few times, but no one seemed to want it. Now I know, though, that it was because all along it was meant for you. He looked up. “I didn’t know that you were out there, but you have the power to bring me to my knees. But now that I do know how my life can be with you, I don’t want to spend another minute without you being tied to me in every single way possible.”
Tears started to burn my throat.
“Sean…”
“When you nearly died…when our baby was taken from us,” his voice broke. “I nearly followed you.”
“Sean, no.” I lifted my hand to cup his cheek.
“I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you. I want to build our house, fill it with kids, and scream at them the way my dad and mom used to do to me.”
A sob caught in my throat.
“And I want you to be there with me, every step of the way.”
I nodded, tears flowing freely down my cheeks.
“Do you want my babies?” he asked. “I would understand if not after…”
“Yes.” I placed a kiss on his mouth and pulled back, waiting to see what he said next.
“Do you want to marry me?”
I nodded my head.
“Yes.”
“Can we get married tomorrow?”
I started to laugh.
“Yes,” I said. “I can call my mom and Aspen right now. They’ll all come up here.”
His eyes closed.
“I love you, Naomi.”
“I didn’t break, you know,” I said to him quietly.