Her eyes are round as I kneel down in front of her and take her little hands in mine.
“Minna Dawes, please do me the honor of becoming my wife. I love you with all my heart. Do you feel the same?”
Her beautiful face flushes. “I do. I mean, yes. I’ll be your wife…I love you. Show me the pre-nup and I’ll sign.”
I throw back my head and laugh. “Fuck the pre-nup. I want to do this the old-fashioned way.”
I ease the Harrington engagement ring on her finger. It fits perfectly, as if it was made for her. She turns it in the light, so it sparkles.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“No,you’rebeautiful.” I stand up and take her face in my hands as she stands on tiptoe to reach my lips. Our bodies are pressed together and the birds are singing as I kiss my future bride.
There’s nothing fake about this.
This isreal.
EPILOGUE - MINNA
Six months later
“So we’ll expect you at the signing for eleven. Then there's lunch where the big cheese will wine and dine y’all. I can’t wait to meet you in person, Minna!”
I smile. My agent is brimming with enthusiasm. I sent her my finished novel on spec and it’s been accepted by a major publishing house. Blending elements of gothic romance with rom-com has worked in my favor, it seems. My agent is convinced we’re about to have a huge hit on our hands and they’ve asked me to do a six book series.
“Me too! And lunch sounds great. I warn you, I like to eat.”
She laughs. “I do too. And so does the big cheese. In fact, eat light beforehand. These lunches can go on for hours.”
When I’ve finished the call, I carry on with my packing. Kade’s already taken most of my belonging to the place he’s bought for us to live in together in Snowflake Falls. It’s a far cry from my tiny family home, with six bedrooms and an enormous backyard.
My phone rings and I pick up, dropping a bag filled with pencils into the final box.
“Minna! Are you done?” Millie’s voice is warm. She’s just found out she’s having a baby and is delighted that I’m coupled up. I think she’s hoping I might get pregnant at the same time as her.
“All done! I can’t believe I’m not going to be living here anymore. Mom is pretending to be upset, but I know she has great plans for this room once I’m gone.”
Millie laughs. “Your Mom is going to miss you. But you’ll have so many bedrooms to play around with. You could sleep in a different bed every night. How’s Horace settling in?”
“It’s the strangest thing. We were expecting to have to spend weeks getting him and Palladio accustomed to each other. But Horace seems to think that the dog is some kind of overgrown kitten. So he treats him with fatherly benevolence and even washes him. If he gets too naughty, he’ll give Palladio a swat.”
“That’s so sweet! Sounds like Horace is back to his old self.”
“Yes, he’s healed really well. I think Kade’s fallen for his charms. He ordered some of this eye-wateringly expensive cat food for him and a special bed. When we watch TV, Horace squeezes himself into the crook of Kade’s elbow and starts snoring.”
“Horace knows a good thing when he sees it. Let me know when you’re settled and I can come over and snoop around your new house.”
“It’s a deal.” I put my phone in my pocket and look around my room. Mom’s at work, but I leave her a note telling her to come over tomorrow and we’ll make her supper. I have a message from Gwen, excited about visiting us next week. She’s been voted in as the new president of the country club and is busy bringing it into the 21st century, getting rid of the out-of-date rules and regulations.
I take the box out to the car. I’m wearing a summer dress, as it’s been so warm recently, but the golden brown leaves are starting to fall from the trees and some houses already have their Halloween decorations up. I turn up the radio and sing along as I turn into the wide road where our new house is located.
Kade’s been on a mission to fix it up, doing the majority of the work himself. He’s kept the character of the house, adding more modern plumbing and a new roof. It has a big wraparound porch that I can’t wait to drink my coffee on in the morning. Of course, that’s after I’ve enjoyed the multiple morning orgasms that my fiancé is so good at giving me.
I squeeze my thighs together, my smile widening. As I park, Kade raises his hand and jogs down the steps to meet me. I get out of the car and he pulls me into his big arms, kissing me until I’m breathless. He takes the boxes into the house, telling me to go into the kitchen.
When I get there, there’s a big white box on the counter top. I set down my keys, trying to remember if I ordered something and then forgot about it.
Kade brings the last box inside and walks behind me, circling my waist with his arms.
