Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“I know, but I needed to make a good impression on your parents.”
“You’ve met them. Besides, if you’re who I chose to be with, and they know I’m happy, they’ll be happy.”
Her words help ease some of my worry about tonight’s meeting. “They said seven, right?” I ask.
“Yes. They went shopping for a few last-minute items for their cruise and are heading home now. It works out great because who wants to cook and clean and finish packing the night before you leave for vacation?”
“I couldn’t tell you. It’s been too damn long since I’ve been on vacation.”
“We should go.”
I turn to face her. It’s still light out, but the sun is setting, casting a warm glow across her cheeks. “Yeah? Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can say we’re going on our honeymoon, but really, it’s just a vacation? Mom and Dad tried to get me to go on the cruise with them, but I’d just started my job and didn’t want to take the time off. Not to mention, who wants to be the third wheel on a romantic cruise with their parents?” She makes a grossed-out facial expression, which makes me laugh.
“I see your point. So, what about a little time off for a honeymoon?”
“Yeah, I think I can make that work.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Nothing fancy. Maybe we just rent a cabin in the Smokies for a few days? Or, we could do a destination wedding there. Have the gang all go with us. Can your parents travel?”
“Yeah, they can. Is that what you want? How do you see our wedding day?”
“You know, I never really thought too much about the day. It was always the man who would be waiting for me at the altar.”
“And what about the man?” It’s not really any of my business, but over the last few days, we’ve been talking on the phone a lot at night after ending our days and texting throughout the day, and I’ve discovered that I’m desperate for any morsel of intel I can get on the dark-haired beauty.
I know her, but in a way, I don’t know her.
Before Sunday night, I knew her on the surface. I knew she and Emerson were thick as thieves, and I knew she was someone we all trusted. What I didn’t know is that she always wanted a sibling, that she wants a big family of her own, and that her favorite color is light pink. That’s just the short list of things I now know about my future bride, and I’m eager for that list to keep growing.
“It was never his looks, you know?” She glances over at me, and her cheeks turn the sexiest shade of pink. “You don’t want to hear this.”
I glance at the clock on the dash. We still have twenty minutes, and I’d be content to sit here for all twenty of them and listen to her talk. “I do.” Reaching over, I lace our fingers together. Her hand is a perfect fit within mine. Something I try not to think about. “I want to know.” We need to get used to these kinds of touches. Not that it’s new for us. We flirted like crazy, but it feels different knowing she’s going to be my wife.
She nods and closes her eyes as she rests her head back against the seat of my truck. “He’s someone who cares, who listens and appreciates what I have to say. Someone who will put his love for me and our family before anything else. I never wanted anything lavish, just a true, honest connection. Like Emerson and Roman. Their wedding was perfect. You could see the love they share, and everyone who was important to them was there as well. Small and intimate.” She turns to face me, and her eyes slowly blink open. “What about you?”
Unable to resist, I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear so I can have a clear view of those electric-blue eyes. “Something real.” My words are soft. “My parents, they fought to be together, and they knew they were it for one another. I want to feel that. To know that no matter what, I have one person in my life who shares my last name, who is there for me through it all. It’s not something I’ll ever settle on.” I shrug. “I guess that’s why I’m still single.”
“Not anymore you’re not, mister.” She points at me with a teasing smile. “Something real,” she says, sobering her tone. “Can we do that?”
“I promise you, Mo, it will be as real as we can make it. This will be a real marriage. There will be no one else for me while you’re my wife.”
“Just us.”
I nod. “Just us.”
“So, yeah, a small, intimate wedding. I think here, in town somewhere, and then you and I can take a trip. We can have some fun and learn to be the new us, you know, married and all that, while we’re gone. That will alleviate the pressure. We can learn how to be us without the eyes of everyone who knows watching us.”