Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“I just wanted you to be happy. I was doing what’s best for you.”
“I think you were trying to get rid of me so you could move to Argentina.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“I’m moving out anyway.”
“You are? Where?”
“I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past few days,” I tell her as I glance at Leo. He’s cooking lunch in the kitchen. He glances back at me. This man always has a protective eye on me. I love it. “I met someone.”
“You did?”
I want to tell her all about Leo and how he saved me and how he’s a bear shifter and how strong our bond is, but she’s going to think I’ve gone mad if I unload all of that onto her right now. I’ll tell her eventually, but I’ll take it slow.
“Thank you for the wedding, Mom,” I say with a deep breath. “And thanks for trying to look out for me, but I’m fine now. I’ll be okay from now on. You and Dad can live wherever you want. It’s time you take care of yourselves for a change. Cynthia and I are all good.”
She takes a few deep breaths. “Are you happy?”
I smile so wide my cheeks hurt. “I’m very happy.”
We say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone and turn to my man. He’s moving around the kitchen with his adorable gray apron on, already looking and feeling like home.
An intense appreciation of the world and everything in it settles into my body as I watch him.
“That sounds like it went well,” Leo says as he spreads mayo on the toasted bread. “Would you like tomatoes on your sandwich?”
“Yes and yes,” I say as I get up and walk over.
He raises an eyebrow as he watches me approach. “You’re staying here with me, right?”
“If you’ll have me.”
“I’ll have you,” he growls as he swipes the counter with his arm, pushing the ingredients to the side to make some room on the granite. “I’ll have you right fucking now.”
I squeal as he picks me up and puts me on the counter.
That sexy lustful look in his eyes… Holy fuck… He looks like he wants to eat me for lunch.
My man is a ravenous one.
And that’s just how I like it.
Epilogue
Leo
Thirteen Years Later…
I love snow days.
We got about three feet of snow last night and it’s still coming down. The roads haven’t been cleared yet, so we’re stranded here.
I’m so happy. This is exactly what I wanted—a day with my family.
The kids are thrilled because school is closed and the best part is, we lost electricity, so no Internet for today. All of the tablets, phones, computers, and video games are dead. I drained the batteries of all of them before I went to sleep last night.
I just wanted a fun family day with no distractions.
And that’s exactly what we’re having.
I smile as I watch my three kids in the snow. They’re pushing the middle ball for a snowman while I push around the enormous base. Tara is in charge of the head.
“I think that’s big enough,” Tara says with a laugh when she sees the ball I’m pushing around. It’s up to my chest. “It’s going to be August before that thing melts.”
I love watching her in the winter. Her cheeks get all rosy and her green eyes sparkle. She has a colorful scarf wrapped around her neck and a cute little hat on her head. After all these years, I’m still obsessed with my mate.
“It might come in handy this summer,” I say as I grin at her. “We can stick beer cans in it to keep them cold.”
She laughs. “Now, you’re thinking.”
I smile as I watch her try to push the ball, but she keeps slipping. It’s as big as she can get it.
“Need some help?” I ask with a grin as I walk over.
“Yes, please,” she says with a sexy little smile. “Unless you want our snowman to look like he has a shrunken head.”
The base I made is enormous, and our three kids are making a huge middle section too. All three of them are grizzly bear shifters, so they’re incredibly strong.
I start rolling the head and making it bigger as Tara watches me with a loving look.
I still can’t believe she’s mine.
The thought of her nearly marrying another man always makes me sick. It turns out that David found the love of his life after Tara left him at the altar. He’s happily married and they have a few kids too. Tara was happy to hear about that. I was just happy that he was out of the picture for good and she’s all mine.
“Dad!” our oldest, Anthony, calls out. “Can you help us lift this on top of the base?”
“Sure,” I call out. “Just roll it closer.”
The three of them grunt and groan as they struggle to push it over.