Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Once we reach a door at the end of the hallway, Drake pushes it open. When he does, my eyes stretch wide. My walking turns into baby steps.
Right in front of me is one of the greatest ocean views I have ever set eyes on. The deck is set up of tables with white umbrellas over them and tall bar chairs. The vaulted ceiling above is made of smooth brown wood, the lights dim set.
Drake steps aside to hold the door open for me and I walk out on the deck slowly, in complete awe. The blue water ripples and shines with the bright San Diego sun. Music I’ve written and recorded flows through the speakers in the corners above me.
I turn around rapidly to look at Drake.
But as I do, I realize the door is shut and he is no longer standing.
No.
He is now on one knee, and stepping up the stairs that I didn’t even notice to my right is Kylie, Oscar, Otto, and Preach.
Kylie has her phone in her hand and on the screen is…Dad? Yes, it’s him! He’s on FaceTime and he’s smiling so hard right now. I cup my mouth when I realize what’s happening. My eyes shoot down to Drake, and the wind lightly passes by me, creating a moment like never before.
My heart is pounding, my mouth dry from a lack of words.
“I needed witnesses,” Drake murmurs, smiling so boyishly it makes my pounding heart melt. “Come here, Jenny.”
I swallow thickly, walking forward. He reaches for one of my hands and I give it to him. Holding it in his, he kisses it with his lush lips, and then he looks up at me beneath thick, black eyelashes.
“Jenny, from day one, I knew you were someone that I would never be able to deny. When we were in fifth grade and I heard you defend me in front of the whole class, I just knew. I knew you were going to be the girl that would either be my ruin, or turn out to be my serenity. Fortunately, I was dealt the latter.” He laughs and I let out a mix of a sob and a giggle.
“I have known you for most of my life. We’ve laughed. We’ve cried. We’ve endured some of the wildest shit in such a short period of time. We lost one another once, and it was the hardest thing to accept. Knowing that my girl was out there. Not knowing what she was doing or who she was with or how she was handling herself.” His eyes line with tears, and mine fall as he holds my hand tighter.
“I wanted to fight against this before and I don’t know why. I guess I was just thinking I was as corrupt as my dad, or maybe like I would never amount to anything—better yet, enough to have you. I thought one day you’d see me for who I really am and you’d go running. But you never did. You saw the real me, and you accepted me for who I am. You welcomed me into the swinging doors of your gentle heart and loved me like I’ve never been loved before.”
He cracks a half-smile, huffing a laugh. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Jennifer Roscoe, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t care what challenges we may face or what we may go through, but I do know that as long as you fight, I will fight. I know that I will never love another woman as much as I love you. I don’t want to love anyone else because you are all I need. You are all that I want and you, Jenny, are the woman that I want to share the rest of my crazy life with. With you, I’m not just Doomsday. With you, I am a person. I am real, and you have never given up on me. With you I am Drake Winslow Davenport. So…”
He pulls away and looks at Oscar. Oscar walks forward and hands a black jewelry box to Drake, winking at me in the process.
A laugh bubbles out of me as he opens the jewelry box and reveals the large, square cut diamond placed delicately on top of a shiny silver band. It sparkles beneath the sun, the reflections dancing on my skin.
“Will you marry me, Jenny Roscoe?”
That squealing I promised him comes through tenfold and I throw my arms around his neck, landing on my knees. My mouth attacks his, kissing him deeply, so deep I feel like I’ve fallen into him.
My head is bobbing and my body is so close to him. I’m not sure how to react, all I know is I have never felt happier in all my life.