Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Yeah?” I asked, putting my own socks and shoes on.
She was heading into work, and I was heading into the circus.
Though, she’d obviously hit a snag when her phone had dropped into the water in the sink.
Which would explain the dripping wet phone.
“What happened?” I chuckled.
“I was talking to my mom on it and had it pinched between my shoulder and face and accidentally dropped it.” She winced.
“That’s literally your second phone to do that in only a month,” I pointed out, not mad at all.
“I know,” she grumbled. “I was supposed to do better… but you know how I am.”
I knew how she was.
Accident prone was too kind of a word for Ande Carter.
“You didn’t accidentally do it on purpose because your mother keeps hounding you about when you’re getting married to me, did you?” I ask curiously.
I’d heard them arguing about it when I’d walked in the room to get my shoes on. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had, to be honest.
Her mom was being a bit overbearing.
It’s like she’d pinned all of her hopes and dreams of super big weddings and babies and all the fun things on Ande now that Addison wasn’t around anymore—and her sons showed no signs of settling down. Ever.
“It was a definite thought,” she admitted. “But really this time it was just me trying to readjust because it was pinching my ear weird, and plop.”
She shook off more suds.
“I’ll take it in today if I have time,” I said as I stood up after tying my boots.
She blew out a breath, then handed me her phone.
I took the still dripping device and placed it on the counter next to her, then pulled her into my arms.
“Ande,” I said softly, smoothing her wild hair away from her face.
Her shoulders drooped. “Yeah?”
“Meet me at the courthouse tonight at five,” I said. “I’ll get your parents.”
She blinked. “What? Why?”
“Because we’re going to get married. We’re going to allow your mom and dad to be there. And we’re going to stop worrying about what everyone wants. My sisters don’t factor into this. Your brothers. Your mom or your dad. This is what we want. And that’s to get married and live happily ever after. You don’t want the fancy wedding, and I only want what you want. So meet me at the courthouse.”
Her smile was glorious.
“She’s going to be angry with you,” she pointed out.
“She’s going to be happy as a clam because you’re happy,” I promised.
And she was.
After a little convincing.
She stood next to the judge’s desk, Germaine’s arm wrapped around her, and watched as we said our vows.
And when Ande kissed the hell out of me afterward, I knew I’d made the right decision.
“You’re my husband,” she professed as she offered her lips to me.
I twisted the ring around her finger.
It was a simple gold band. No frills. Just something that fit perfectly with the engagement ring I’d already given her.
“I’m your husband,” I confirmed.
“I’m your wife.” She started to bounce on her toes.
“Damn, you’re cute.” I pulled her in close, her stethoscope pressing into my chest as I kissed her.
Only after we were close to being indecent with her parents not three feet away did I pull away and confirm, “You’re my wife.”
• • •
4 years later
Life had a funny way of coming full circle.
Years ago, I would’ve never thought that we’d once again be living in the same fucking place again.
Yet here we were.
All seven siblings, under one roof, living like we had for the majority of our lives.
I wasn’t sure how it happened.
Really, I was fairly sure that Ande drugged me with her kisses to get me to say yes.
But here we were, on a hundred acres, in Sunnyvale, Texas, in a mansion.
A literal mansion.
Winston, billionaire that he was, wanted to make his wife happy.
And apparently, the way to do that was to build an estate in the middle of nowhere so that her entire family could live under one roof.
No longer were we all living in the heart of downtown Dallas.
Now, we were all living under one proverbial roof.
Though, saying that, we weren’t technically in one house.
The entire compound of houses was all one roof, connected by breezeways. In the middle of the houses was a single guest house with the kitchen of all kitchens—built for fucking ninety people to fit in comfortably. It had four bathrooms, and one bedroom. A bedroom in which there were only pallets of blankets on the floor, diapers and baby shit in one corner, and tons of sleeping children at any given time.
There was also one hell of a living room set up that could easily accommodate forty people at once.
And it was currently being utilized.
“Anyone know how to unspoil a child?” Ande yelled over the cacophony of voices. “I’ve messed this one up.”