Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
But instead, my beautiful girl tosses her curls back.
“No, it’s fine, but when were you going to tell me about the party? And goodness, but what am I going to wear?”
With that, I smile and walk over to a closet in the hallway, pulling it open to reveal a gorgeous copper-colored gown.
“I got this for you,” I say. “You’ll look beautiful, sweetheart, and I can’t wait to show you off as my girlfriend for all the world to see.” But the curvy girl doesn’t answer. She merely raises her mouth to mine for another kiss and when our lips lock, my heart turns over. We’re together now, without any hidden secrets, and that’s the way it should be.
Epilogue
Pepper
Two years later.
The store is busy today, as it has been for the last year since we opened. But I love it because my dream of owning my own coffee shop became real almost a year ago to the day. Ultimate Grounds is a coffee shop on the outskirts of Corinthian, but our java is so good that word spread quickly, and it’s become quite popular. Travis is a silent investor, and I’m grateful to my boyfriend for making my dreams come true. He lets me have complete control, and I love every aspect of having my own business.
But my job isn’t the only thing that’s different. After I found out I was pregnant, Travis and I moved into his ranch so that we could have more space for the baby. Sally is the light of our lives and looks exactly like her daddy with her big blue eyes and dark as night hair.
“What are you thinking about?” Travis asks, smiling. He’s sitting at our usual table in the corner of Ultimate Grounds, bouncing our daughter on his knee. She coos and giggles, waving her arms. I smile at my handsome man.
“Just how far we’ve come since all this started.”
He chuckles.
“We have done pretty well, haven’t we?”
I reach out to our beautiful daughter and she wraps her tiny fingers around my thumb before squeezing. She’ll be two this year, and I can’t believe how fast time has flown by.
“We definitely have.”
“Especially with Salty here.”
Our daughter giggles again. Travis loves calling her Salty because it’s a play on our names. He says we’re his salt and pepper, instead of Sally and Pepper. It’s unbelievably sweet, and again, I ask myself: how did I get so lucky?
“Hey, Peps.”
I jump up from the table because Leslie just walked in the door with Frank trailing behind her. They both look good, although Leslie’s as big as a house.
“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming by until next week!”
My best friend grins.
“Frank and I decided to spend two weeks in Corinthian instead of one. Surprise!”
I pull Leslie in for a tight hug, so happy to see her. I don’t see my best friend that often anymore because she and Frank got married and moved to Nebraska so that he could take a new job. But they’re happy. Les is pregnant and her belly’s huge right now. It’s hard to even get my arms around her, but we embrace like nothing’s changed.
“Lookin’ good, girlfriend!” she laughs. Then she looks over at Sally. “Hi baby girl! Remember me? It’s your godmother Les!”
She coos over Sally as my daughter squeals with laughter, happy to be the center of attention. Then to my surprise, my parents also stroll into the coffee shop. What the hell? What are Maryanne and Ben doing here? They’re usually so busy with their business that I don’t see them that much.
But I embrace them in greeting because we’ve been getting along a lot better now. With the opening of Ultimate Grounds, they’ve finally accepted that I’m not going to be a real estate agent like them. Instead, I’m a small business owner, and they can support that, especially since I have a rich, handsome husband by my side and a baby girl to care for too.
At that, Travis stands from the table and holds his hands up.
“Now that everyone is here,” he begins.
I shoot him a questioning glance. What’s happening? But Travis continues with a big smile on his face. “I’m so glad to have Peps’ best friend and family here because this is the perfect time to declare my love for this amazing woman. She is my life, my future, and my everything, and I want to make sure she knows it.” Then, he grins and drops to one knee before whipping out a jewelry box which can only mean one thing. I gasp, covering my mouth with my hands.
“Pepper, you are the greatest thing to have ever happened in my life. I love you and Salty with everything I have. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I’m nodding before he gets all the words out. “Yes, of course!” I cry out happily, tears beginning to flood my eyes. “Yes, I’ll become Mrs. Masters!”