Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
“An obvious conclusion,” I mutter. Several people snicker but my goal isn’t to humiliate Gray.
Despite our audience, he never looks away from my face. It’s like we’re the only two people in the room to him. “I’ve been hurt. When I realized I was falling in love with you, I was scared of that happening again. So I pushed you away, and fuck, I’ve regretted it every moment since. I know I don’t deserve a second chance with you but I’m asking for one anyway.”
I want to reach for this second chance with him so badly. But my heart hurts too much. “You acted like I didn’t matter. I can’t do that again.”
“Never again,” he promises as he steps around the desk and into my space. “Never again will I guard my own heart instead of yours. From this moment forward, your heart will always come before mine. You’re it for me, Piper Parker. I love you, and whether we’re together or not, you’ll be mine for the rest of my life.”
“Gray…” Tears spill down my cheeks despite my resolution not to cry.
He reaches out to catch one of the tears on his finger. “I’m signing away the lodge to my sisters, and moving here. They can run it without me. But I can’t live without my sunshine.”
“I love you too.” I hiccup softly.
A soft smile crosses his face. “I’ll spend the rest of my life—”
I press a finger to his lips. “I don’t want you to make anything up to me. We’re together now and that’s in the past.”
He presses a soft kiss to my fingertip. “Yeah, we’re together now.”
Then despite our watching audience which includes my brother, Gray brushes his lips against mine. It’s soft and gentle at first. But then I grip the front of his plaid button down and that’s all it takes. His tongue is sweeping into my mouth and I’m pushing against him, trying desperately to get closer.
I don’t even realize anyone has cleared their throat until he’s pulling away from me.
Brock is scowling at the two of us. Actually, I think he’s scowling at Gray. “You ever pull a stunt like this and you’ll drink all your meals for the rest of your life while someone changes your diapers. You got that?”
“She’s my whole world,” Gray answers.
I can’t help the grin that stretches across my face when he says that. Because this mountain man in front of me? He’s my whole world too.
EPILOGUE
GRAY
I put another box in my truck. In just a few minutes, I’m about to drive cross-country with my wife. It’s been six months since I begged her forgiveness in the middle of the police station and one week since we got married.
It’s hard to manage the lodge remotely. I thought handing it off to my sisters would be a smooth transition. There have been a lot of bumps along the way and the truth is I miss my hometown.
Still when Piper suggested that we move there, I hesitated. I don’t ever want her to be unhappy for any reason. But the more we talked about it, the more I realized she was excited by the idea.
Piper’s writing career is taking off. She publishes a lot of romance books. Her best-selling ones all happen to be about studly mountain men who are grumpy and claim their curvy woman. In each dedication, she thanks me for being her real-life inspiration.
Her brother Brock had just started to warm to me then I proposed to Piper and the warmth faded. He finally accepted the idea that we were getting married and warmed to me again. Now he knows that Piper is moving halfway across the country to help me run the Forever After Lodge. At this rate, I’m pretty sure he’s going to spend the rest of his life hating me. Not that I can blame him. Piper is one of a kind.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask after I’ve secured another box. We’ve only been living together a few months and we’ve still managed to amass a staggering amount of household items.
“Do you want me to stay behind?” She pouts.
I grab her around the waist and pick her up in my arms. I press a kiss to her temple and whisper in her ear, “Do you want me to prove how much I want you to go with me?”
She shivers. “Yes, please.”
Inside her house, there’s only one piece of furniture still assembled. Our bed. I was supposed to take it down earlier this morning but given my habit of making sure my wife orgasms at least twice a day, I figured I could put that off for a little while.
I set her down, gently. Reverently. She’s the most important person in my world. Hell, she is my world.
She reaches for her clothes and quickly removes them. Six months together and she knows I adore her body. I worship every inch of her skin and regularly remind her of how sexy she is.