Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
My lip wobbles as I take in his handsome face. The lines along his eyes that are more noticeable when he is smiling at me so contentedly, the way his eyes are dark chocolate and so scrumptious, how his lips curve for only me. “I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you.”
“You don’t owe me an apology. Like I said, this changes nothing.”
My heart swells, and it’s hard to breathe as I get lost in his gaze. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”
He chuckles, his eyes bright. “I ask myself every time you smile, Clara.”
We smile at each other, and I just love him so damn much. “I love you.”
His eyes darken, and he exhales a hard, shaky breath, like hearing the words affects him so greatly. “I love you.”
His gaze doesn’t leave mine, but I know he sees when Gretzky licks my chin. I kiss my boy’s muzzle just as Riggs says, “Can I ask why you can’t have kids?”
My eyes instantly fill with tears, but I hurry to blink them away. I swallow past the lump that forms out of nowhere, and in a guttural voice, I say, “I never got a period. All my sisters started around twelve, but mine never came. I think that’s another reason they hid me with everything inside them, because we were worried they’d kill me for not being able to procreate.”
He shakes his head. “Can I bomb this place? Like, take them all out? I hate them. You know that, right?”
I smile. “We all do.”
“I’m so thankful for your sisters.”
“Me too,” I say, my voice breaking. “Louisa took me to the doctor a couple days after they picked me up to make sure I was okay, and the doctor asked when I had my last period. Since I’d never had one, I went through some extensive testing to find out what I already knew. I don’t ovulate, so I can’t ever have a baby of my own.”
He nods slowly. “You were eighteen?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a lot to take in at such a young age.”
I shrug. “It was, but I think I was so glad to be away from that awful place, I didn’t let it get to me.” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “But when I met you, I think I knew it would be different with you, and it scared me that you’d reject me.”
He shakes his head. “Never,” he says, his voice laced with so much emotion. “Do you want children?”
“I want your children,” I admit, gazing into his eyes. “I want to watch you be a dad.”
He nods. “I never really wanted kids after I lost my parents. It scares me, the thought of leaving them alone.”
“That’s why we raise them to live without us and carry on our love.”
He curves his lips at that. “I never thought of it that way.”
“I don’t know… It’s all in the future, ya know?”
“Yeah, our future. Together,” he promises, and my heart explodes in my chest. “Who says we can’t adopt or get a surrogate? You have four sisters. Surely one of them would carry our baby?”
“But it wouldn’t be mine, and it costs so much.”
He shrugs. “I’ve got the money. If you want a baby, I’ll spend all my funds to give it to you.”
Tears spill over and run down my cheeks. “Oh, Riggs.”
“I’m serious, Clara. I love you. And I’m great with it just being us, but if you want a baby down the road, I’ll do everything I can to make it happen for you. I’d give you the world, and I’d also burn it down for you. Whatever you want, my love.”
My lips tremble as I whisper, “I love you too, Riggs.”
“Sound like a plan, my love?”
“A great plan,” I agree, swallowing hard. “I don’t know what I want.”
“And we don’t gotta decide now, aye? We’ve got our whole lives, and ultimately, it’s whatever we want. If you want it to be just us and the pups, traveling this world and having all the uninterrupted sex, I am down.” Laughter bubbles out of me as his eyes burn into mine. “But if you want it to be the pups, some kids, a white picket fence, and me getting it in when the kids aren’t looking, I’m there.”
“Really?”
“Really, my love. As long as I’ve got you, I’m the happiest I’ll ever be.”
I feel like I’m floating in the sky, so utterly loved I don’t even know how to process it. I’ve only ever known my sisters’ love and Peepaw’s, but Riggs’s is a whole different kind.
It’s all-consuming, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Same.”
He smiles. “Good. Now, stop it with all that crying. You’re breaking my wee heart.”
I wipe my face. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“I wish I were there to wipe those tears away.”
“Me too.”