Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
There’s no doubt about it, Brianna Lucas is my whole fucking world.
I smile down at her, letting her see the undeniable happiness in my eyes before pressing my lips back to hers. I kiss her deeply, and as she melts in my arms, her smile becomes too wide, making it impossible to not claim those lips for a second longer. I reach up and grip her chin, holding that gorgeous green gaze hostage. “And you’re ready to give this another try?”
“I am.”
Fuck me. It’s like music to my ears.
Forcing myself to keep my composure, I release my hold on her before slipping my hand into my pocket and finding the white gold engagement ring that’s been living there for the past five months.
The diamond catches Bri’s eyes, and she sucks in a gasp, not having time to question it before I take her hands and drop down on one knee. “Marry me, Brianna,” I tell her. “I know I’ve hurt you, and I’ve done everything in my power to be able to call you mine again, but now that I have you, I don’t ever want to let you go. I want to marry you, Bri. I want to call you my wife and raise our babies as a family together, under one roof, and I hope like fuck you want this too.”
Bri just gapes at me, her jaw slack and those gorgeous eyes focused heavily on mine. “Whaaa . . .”
I smile at her blank expression before getting back to my feet and cupping her face. I hold her stare, letting her know I’m not trying to fuck with her. I mean every fucking word. “You heard me, Brianna. Marry me.”
“Are . . . are you sure?” she questions, shaking her head in disbelief. “I thought . . . I thought you didn’t want this. I thought just wrapping your head around the whole baby thing was already pushing the limits.”
“Five months ago, I might have agreed with you,” I tell her, taking her hand and sliding the white gold engagement ring into place, right where it was always meant to be. “I was scared. I couldn’t picture marriage or children because I had no idea what it meant not to have that in my life. I didn’t know what the fuck I was missing, but baby, now I do, and I don’t ever wanna give that up. I want it all with you. I once told you I couldn’t give you the world, but if that’s what you still want, then please, Bri. Please allow me to give you everything. I don’t want to go back to a world where we don’t exist.”
She looks down at the ring on her finger again before looking up at me, tears brimming in her eyes. “When did you get this?” she whispers, barely able to find her voice as her hands shake.
“The night of Logan’s championship game.”
“You left the game early,” she says. “I thought you left because I was there.”
“No, I left because I realized I’d lost the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Her eyes begin to sparkle as she starts putting the small pieces of our puzzle together. “That was before you found out I was pregnant,” she says, realizing that this proposal has nothing to do with the fact she’s pregnant with my children, but all to do with the way I love her.
“Yeah,” I tell her, a smile pulling at the corner of my lips. “You’re kinda leaving me hanging here.”
“Oh shit,” she laughs, her tears falling a little faster. “So, this really has nothing to do with the babies?”
“No, but I won’t lie—they definitely sweeten the deal.”
She wipes her tear-stained face and meets my stare. “All this time, I was worried that you wanted to get back together because it was the right thing to do for the babies, like you were just trying to man up. I was worried you might have thought I was trying to trap you in this.”
“No, babe,” I say, running my hands down her body and picking her up. I slide her back onto the kitchen counter to take the pressure off her swollen feet and step forward to place myself right between her legs.
Bri places her hand around my neck and pulls me in tighter. “If you knew so long ago, why’d you wait so long to ask?”
I lean in and press a kiss to her neck before answering. “Because I needed to give your heart a moment to heal first, then you threw me a curveball and said you didn’t trust me anymore. That day I came to your apartment after finding out about the babies, I was going to ask you then. I had this whole thing planned, but I realized we couldn’t start a marriage like that. It was important to me to earn your trust before taking our next step together.”