Page 12

Willow made a face. “Sis, that’s your man. I don’t want him. I want his square footage.”

I smirked and kept eating.

By the time I finished, the kitchen had turned into the usual combination of Granny Liz fussing over everybody’s plates, Willow talking too much, and Lakelyn threatening to leave both of them behind if they kept embarrassing her.

I thanked Granny Liz for breakfast, carried my plate to the sink despite her telling me to leave it, and prepared to leave.

Lakelyn followed me toward the front door.

The second we were out of the kitchen, I heard Willow call after us, “And, Lakelyn, let that man go handle his business! Don’t have him back upstairs for two more hours, then come down here swearing you needed help with moving something in your room!”

Lakelyn rolled her eyes. “That girl, I swear.”

I was still grinning when she shoved my arm.

“You are enjoying this way too much.”

I shrugged, still laughing. “What? That sister of yours is funny as hell.”

“Don’t forget to include aggravating,” she added then opened the front door, letting the cooler morning air drift inside.

I stepped onto the porch but turned back before leaving.

Lakelyn remained in the doorway with her arms folded loosely across herself.

The irritation from Willow’s comment had already faded, leaving that softer smile I liked much better.

She leaned against the doorframe. “Have a good day, baby. And don’t let your business face get anybody killed.”

I laughed under my breath. “No promises.” I stepped back toward her and kissed her once, slow enough that she relaxed against me before I pulled away. “I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“Okay. I love you too.”

I kissed her forehead one last time, then headed toward my truck.

I planned to meet Muiz later that afternoon, handle the rest of my business, and make sure I was back at Lakelyn’s place before eight-thirty.

What Lakelyn didn’t know was that the party wasn’t the part of that night I was thinking about most.

I had been waiting for the right moment to ask her to marry me… somewhere she wouldn’t expect it because she was too damn observant for some big, obvious setup with rose petals covering the floor and candles spelling out Marry Me. She would’ve figured that shit out before I ever got down on one knee.

Maybe I’ll wait until after the party to ask her once I have her back at my house and it’s just us… or maybe I won’t wait that long.

Knowing me, I might pull the ring out before we ever make it inside and ruin every plan I had simply because I’m impatient.

I was undecided.

What I did know was that I was done asking Lakelyn to build a life with me while expecting her to accept less commitment than she wanted. I wanted Lakelyn back at my place, and that time I wasn’t going to ask her to move into my house while expecting her to compromise on the one thing she had been clear about from the beginning.

Lakelyn wasn’t interested in playing wife without actually being one. She wanted to know that I was choosing her permanently, and the more I thought about it, the more I respected her for standing on that.

I had the house, Muiz had finished the ring, and if everything went according to plan, by the time November 1st rolled around, Lakelyn would be wearing my diamond and be one step closer to carrying my last name.

Only thing is, I had no idea that before the sun came up again, the house I had built for our future would become the only place in the world I couldn’t leave, and that ordinary goodbye at the front door would become the last time Lakelyn ever saw me alive.

Chapter one

Lakelyn Monroe