Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“You didn’t?”
He shakes his head. “I asked for three weeks. I’m gonna take you someplace nice. Somewhere comfortable, where you can relax in a pool with a virgin drink.”
The thought of lying on a floatie with a daquiri makes me giggle. Still... “What about Kenzie?”
“She can come, too,” he says. “And when we get back, I’ll be transferring to the cybersecurity division.”
“What?” I sit up straighter. “Why would you do that?”
He runs his knuckles down my cheek. “Because you deserve to know that your daddy’s gonna come home safe every night.”
“But you love your job. You’re good at it.”
“I love you more, Holly.”
My breath catches. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing him say it, and frankly, I don’t want to.
I press against him, clinging to his shirt as he leans in to kiss me. My eyes start to water. He draws back to look at my face, wiping the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.
“I told you I’d take care of you no matter what, and I meant that,” he says. “But I didn’t realize until last night how much my own life needs to change before I can be the daddy—and the partner—you deserve.”
Cal pulls me onto his lap and kisses me deeply. I kiss him back with equal fervor. I feel reborn, fresh and perfect, and most importantly, adored. I feel wanted and needed and loved in ways I’ve never been before.
“Thank you,” I say.
“No need to thank me, baby girl,” he says. “It’s me who should be thanking you for stopping me in my tracks and showing me what’s really important. I was on a downward spiral before you came along.”
“I had nothing before you came along.”
“That’s not entirely true,” he says, and I know he’s right; I had Kenzie, and we had each other. But now, I have Cal and Kenzie, and hope for the future.
Cal drops back onto the bed, taking me with him. I kiss his jaw and his neck and let my eager hands rove over him. I still can’t believe every inch of Cal is just as much mine as I am his. I look forward to the day I can say I know this man by heart.
When I feel him harden beneath me, I start to rock against him. I know we shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. I want him. I know there will never come a day when I stop wanting him to kiss me, touch me, take me.
His hands grip my hips savagely. I can already feel the bruises.
“We’ll take McKenzie with us on vacation, but she’s getting her own damn room,” he growls.
I chuckle and nod. “Deal.”
He runs his fingers through my hair as he kisses me sweetly. I lick the taste of him off my lips, reaching for the buttons on his shirt.
“As soon as we get back,” he says, “we’re gonna buy a house and turn it into your dream home. Exactly how you described it.”
“Is that a promise?” I ask.
I gasp as he flips us so that he’s on top of me, pinning my hands to the bed.
“Consider it a threat, little girl.”
Epilogue
Holly
One Year Later
I dab a bit of cotton-candy-pink gloss onto the center of my lips. My eyes are lined in glitter, and my cheekbones glow like pearls. I swipe one final layer of blush on the apples of my cheeks.
“Okay,” I say to Kenzie’s reflection in the mirror next to mine. “How do I look?”
“Like a movie star,” she says. “Here, let’s put on your veil.”
I run my fingers through my soft, shoulder-length curls. Kenzie wedges the comb attached to the veil’s hairpiece behind the small French braid I had her make at the center of my head. She pins the comb in place, then draws the front of the veil over my face.
“Now it’s official, Hollywood. You’re a blushing bride.”
I eye my reflection through the semi-sheer fabric. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Cal and I met. Seven whole months since he asked me to marry him, and I said yes.
So much has happened in the meantime. Kenzie and I both sat for our High School Equivalency exams and passed with flying colors. She got a job at a restaurant, and I signed up for classes at the Tennessee School of Beauty. I wish I could say it’s been nothing but sunshine and roses, but the two consecutive trials Kenzie and I testified in were grueling.
I wanted to sink into the carpet each time I had to tell my story to a room full of strangers. Reliving the night Kenzie disappeared, again and again, was almost as bad as going through it the first time.
The reverend’s lawyers were awful, asking the most invasive questions. Kenzie got the worst of it. They were determined to paint her as an unreliable witness. But she held it together; we both did, and the reverend and his brother were convicted. The reverend first, then the governor, after he lost the election.