Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“A therapy appointment.”
“Brogan. Really? That’s incredible.” Briar squeezes my hand.
“Susan suggested it, and I gave myself some time to think about it. My heart and my head are in a battle. Maddox, he’s doing and saying everything right, but I still have this heaviness that weighs on me that he’s going to get fed up with having to be so patient and dealing with my insecurities.” I pause, and no one says anything. It’s almost as if they know I need to say more but need time to collect my thoughts.
“I really like him,” I whisper.
“He’s head over heels for you,” Maggie speaks up. “I’ve probably spent the least amount of time with the two of you, thanks to my work schedule, but his eyes never leave you. No matter where you are in the room, he knows where you are.” She points to each of us. “They all do it,” she says. “Makes this single girl’s heart hopeful that there’s a man out there who will seek me out like that in my future.”
“He’s out there, babe,” Emerson assures her.
“We found ours when we least expected it,” Monroe says.
“Tell me about it.” Briar laughs. “I never could have dreamed up my current life.”
“That!” I point at my sister. “It’s like I’m living in a fairy tale.”
“You are,” Monroe says gently.
“A real one,” Emerson adds.
“Found them!” Roman calls out, stepping into the room. Not ten seconds later, Forrest, Legend, Maddox, and Lachlan follow along behind him.
I watch as each man goes to their wives, including mine. Lachlan settles next to Maggie and opens his arms for Kane. She sticks her tongue out at him, but hands him the baby.
“You good?” Maddox whispers just for me.
“I’m good,” I whisper back.
“This is the kids' room,” River says, placing her hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” Rayne says, striking the same pose as her sister.
“Yeah.” Lilly mocks and mimics the older two.
“We’re all just big kids,” Lachlan tells them.
“If you stay, you have to play with us,” Rayne tells him.
“I’m babysitting, but you have an entire room to choose from.”
“Uncle Roman, it’s time for your hair appointment,” River tells him.
“Yeah, Uncle Legend. Your hair appointment too,” Rayne says, clapping her hands in excitement.
“What about me?” Forrest sticks his bottom lip out.
“Daddy, you had an appointment last night,” River reminds him.
I smile, because I have no doubt he’s had a lot of hair appointments.
“Fine, I’ll just play with Lilly. You love Uncle Forrest, don’t you, sweetheart?” Forrest scoops Lilly into his arms and pretends to fly her around the room, making her laugh.
“What about me?” Maddox asks the girls.
“Uncle Maddox, you have to wait your turn,” Rayne tells him.
“Yes, ma’am,” Maddox says.
That’s how we spend the afternoon. In the kids' playroom at the new Everlasting Ink facility with full bellies and the company of our family. For a girl who’s only had her sister and nieces for the past few years, it’s nice, and sometimes overwhelming, to be a part of this group, but I won’t lie and say my heart's not overflowing with love for my new Everlasting Ink family.
And my husband.
“We did it!” Legend hollers, slinging his arm over Monroe’s shoulders.
“Thanks to you,” Roman replies.
Legend waves him off. “I didn’t work for the money. Hell, I didn’t even know my inheritance existed until last year. I couldn’t think of anything better to use it for.”
“The kids’ room was a nice touch,” Briar speaks up.
“I can’t believe they’re all asleep at the same time,” Emerson comments.
“It was my epic storytelling skills,” Lachlan boasts.
He could tell the kids were winding down, and somehow, he managed to wrangle all four of them into letting him read them a story and all four crashed.
“I guess we should get them home,” Forrest says, looking to Briar for guidance.
“Actually,” I speak up, “is this place ready to go? Like open for business?”
“We are,” Roman answers.
I look at my sister and grin, and she nods, flashing me her own smile. I turn to look at Maddox. “What about now?”
Maddox studies me for a few heartbeats and grins. “You’re ready?”
I love that he knew exactly what I’m talking about without me having to tell him. “I am.” I glance over at Briar. “Are you?”
“Let’s do it.”
“I have a picture on my phone, but I can run home and get the original,” I say.
“Nah, just send me the picture and I’ll get it sorted out,” Maddox responds.
“What’s going on?” Maggie asks.
“Briar and I have talked about getting a tattoo for years, we just have never taken the leap.”
“Yeah, I think we were waiting so our husbands could be the ones to do it.”
“For real?” Forrest asks. His eyes light up as if he was just told he won the lottery.
“Yep.” Briar bobs her head.
“What are we waiting for?” He stands, takes Briar’s hand, and pulls her to his room.