Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Back at you,” I say, sauntering over to him with an extra sway in my step. The way he looks at me and touches me and talks to me makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. “Is this a preview of how you’ll look on our wedding day? Because if it is, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to last without jumping your bones.”
Pierce grins wide, and his dimple pops out, adding to his appeal. “The tux for our wedding is black, but I’m not opposed to you jumping my bones tonight.” He leans in, sliding his arm around my waist, and kisses the corner of my mouth so he doesn’t ruin the lipstick I just put on. “But with the way you look in this dress, I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait until then.” He peppers kisses along my neck, and I shiver in response.
“Mommy, Daddy!” Jordan calls, popping our intimate bubble. “I’m ready!”
She runs into our room, dressed in the most adorable pink snowflake dress with fluffy boots that she convinced Pierce to buy her while he was watching her the day my shopping trip ran longer than expected.
“Look at you,” Pierce says. “Like a beautiful snowflake princess.”
Jordan grins at the compliment and twirls around in her spot. I pull out my phone and snap a few pictures of her, getting a bit choked up with emotion because she’s growing up way too fast.
When we arrive at the Firemen’s Ball, several people Pierce has either worked with or knows due to his family stop him. Whenever someone does, he introduces me and Jordan as his girls.
“There you are!” Marta wraps her arms around me for a hug. “You look beautiful. And, Jordan, you’re like a pretty pink princess in that dress.”
“Daddy got me pink boots, too.” She lifts her foot to show off the boots.
“Wow,” Marta coos. “Why don’t you guys stand together so I can take a picture of the three of you?”
Pierce hands her his phone, then wraps his arms around me as Jordan moves to stand in front of us. We say cheese and Marta snaps several pictures.
As I look at them, I can’t help smiling at the sight of the three of us. At how happy we look. It’s not that Jordan and I weren’t happy before. My little girl is my entire world, and if it were us against the world for the rest of our lives, I’d be okay with that.
But there’s just something about sharing your life with another adult. To share the ups and downs and have adult conversations I can’t have with Jordan. On top of that, Jordan loves Pierce and Cinder and our new home. Without the stress of trying to make ends meet, it’s easier to be more carefree and enjoy each other as well as the moment.
“Mommy, can I go dance with Tilly?” Jordan asks.
“Of course. Save a dance for me.”
“Okay!” she says, grabbing Tilly’s hand and running to the front of the stage where the D.J. is playing the music.
We spend another hour or so walking around talking to everyone, and then when a slow song comes on, Pierce asks me to dance.
My arms encircle his neck, and he holds me tightly against his body as we sway to “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts while Pierce softly sings the lyrics to me with such emotion you’d think he wrote the song himself, just for me.
When the song ends, he cups the side of my face and looks at me with unshed tears in his eyes. “You are my North Star, Kels. For years, I was lost. I wasn’t sure if I would find someone to spend my life with. But now I know it’s because I was waiting for you.”
He leans in and his mouth descends on mine. It’s not a long kiss, yet it’s one filled with passion and love and promises of forever.
The kiss ends, though his mouth lingers on mine. “I want that to be our wedding song,” he murmurs against my lips. “I want to dance with you to that song after we say I do, and I want to dance with you to that song every day for the rest of our lives.”
“For the rest of our lives,” I repeat. “I love the idea of that.”
After we reluctantly break apart, dinner is announced, so we find Jordan and make our way to our assigned table. It’s a delicious four-course meal that is spent chatting with two other families—some high-powered attorney and a CEO of some fancy company I already forgot the name of. The point of the ball is to help raise money for firefighters since the tax dollars that pay them aren’t enough. The money goes not only toward pay but for gear and housing. Every plate costs thousands of dollars (firefighters and their families don’t pay), so to thank them, a firefighter sits at each table with the donors.