Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“I know.”
“Tell me how,” he asked, his tone almost pleading.
I cupped his cheek, loving how he leaned into my touch. “You’re a good man, Alex. You’re intelligent and thoughtful. You take care of people around you without even thinking about it. You treat your partners well. You’re a trusted friend. You hide your goodness under a grumpy exterior, to keep people away, but you care about them.” I smiled. “You’re a deeply beloved fiancé. You’ll be a good dad. I know it. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I won’t be like her—I know that now. You would never let me. And I can’t be because, unlike her, I can love. I do love. I love you. I love the nugget.”
“The nugget?”
“The baby.”
“You pick awful names.”
He grinned. “I pick great names. Hedgy, Nugget, and Maggie darling. All excellent choices.”
I shook my head, and he lowered his voice. “I love you.”
“Really?” I whispered. “You’re not just saying that because you feel bad?”
“You want to know a secret, Maggie darling?”
I nodded, the tears beginning to glimmer in my eyes.
“I send you the flowers every week.”
I blinked. “What?”
He picked up a pen and scribbled on a napkin. “It’s not Ty. It's T.Y. Short for thank you.”
I blinked again.
“It wasn’t what I told the kid to write on the card. He shortened it. You were so confused, it made me smile. All your sleuthing trying to figure it out amused me.”
“Why did you send me flowers?”
“At first, because you deserved them. It was only going to be the one time to say thank you. But the way you reacted—as if the flowers were the best gift you had ever received—I had to keep sending them. And the more you meant to me, the bigger the flowers became. You were right from the first run-in, Magnolia. You were, you are, perfect for me. Personally, professionally. In every way. I wanted you to know, yet somehow the mystery made it even better.”
“You acted miffed every time they were delivered.”
“I was a little pissed this Ty person was getting all the credit.”
I laughed. “But he didn’t exist. You just let me think he did.”
“I had to—I didn’t know how to tell you it was me. But I loved seeing your reactions. The way you touched the petals. Took the flowers home.” His lips twitched. “Your concerns about poor Ty and his girlfriend never getting the flowers he sent.” He chuckled. “I was sure you’d figure it out.”
I shook my head. “I wondered at one point, but it was too out of character for you.”
“You are too out of character for me. It’s another reason I love you so much.”
“That is the grandest gesture I’ve ever heard of. A little twisted when I think about it, too. Over the top.”
“I am over the top when it comes to you.”
I sniffled. “So, you’ll stop sending them?”
“Nope. I want to be your secret admirer. I liked the way you would smile when the bouquets arrived. Excited, yet worried. When they were late, you were disappointed. I loved watching your reactions.” He cupped my face. “I love you, Magnolia Myers soon-to-be Bane.”
A sob escaped my mouth. “I love you.”
He smiled. “Can we start now? Living our life? Come home with me. Let me move your things. Stay.”
“Yes.”
He bent and kissed me, his lips tender. Everything was in that touch. His love, his devotion, his promise.
“And I’m coming to the doctor.”
“I know.”
“Add it to the schedule.”
“I will.”
“And marry me, Maggie darling. Soon.”
I sighed, snuggling closer. “Okay.”
He huffed a breath. “Finally, some cooperation.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He smiled, then tickled my chin. “Never. And by the way, when you were listing my attributes a few moments ago, you didn’t say I was a good boss. To you.”
I bit my lip. “Maybe we should just leave it.”
“Magnolia…”
I laughed, and he joined me.
“Good man, good husband, good dad,” I murmured.
“And?” he said, lowering his voice.
“Good boss. My favorite boss.”
He smiled widely, tucking me close. “I’ll take it.”
“Good.”
Epilogue
BANE
“Myers!” I called, looking at the file on my desk.
She shuffled in, clutching her notebook, her belly swollen. She glared at me as she sat down with a loud huff.
“That’s Bane, thank you.”
I chuckled. “I can’t call you Bane. You call me Bane. We can’t both be Bane.”
“But we are. Maybe I could hyphenate. Myers-Bane.”
“No. I like Magnolia Bane.”
“Then call me Maggie.”
I shook my head. “That’s my name at home for my wife. I’ll stick to Magnolia.” I sighed. “If I remember.”
“What do you need?’ she asked, trying to bend to touch her feet. I stood, rounding the desk, tutting when I saw her swollen ankles.
“Magnolia Bane,” I scolded. “I told you that you need to stop working. Look at your feet.”
I lifted the offending appendages to my lap, pulling off her shoes and massaging the puffy skin. I knew they had to be hurting when she didn’t protest, instead shutting her eyes and emitting a contented little sigh.