Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
I put my hands on his chest. “We did it. We’re a pretty good team, Beau.”
He nods his head. “We’re the best team. Nat, you’re beautiful.” He trails his fingers over my bare shoulder. “And no matter how good you look in this dress, I think I’m going to like it better when it’s lying on our bedroom floor.”
My eyes widen with understanding. I know what he’s asking me, but I want to hear it. “What do you mean?”
He grips my shoulders and pulls me flush against him. “I want to move back in, baby. I want to go to sleep and wake up with you in my arms.”
I want to say yes. Everything inside me wants to say yes.
People are pouring in, and I know we can’t keep standing off to the side. He has duties. As the CFO of Blaze, I know he’ll be donating a check later tonight. I pull at the lapel of his jacket and point to where his brothers are all standing with their wives and fiancées. “You’d better get to it, Mr. Blaze.”
I take a step back and am about to go in the opposite direction. I know I can check on the food and the desserts, but I’m sure Emery and Violet have it completely under control. But I could probably hang with them in the kitchen or even help carry things out. I’ve never been one for just standing by. I take two steps before I feel Beau moving behind me. He loops his hand into mine, and I stop. “What are you doing?”
He looks in front of us. “I don’t know. What are we doing?”
I force a smile to my face. “You’re going out there and doing your thing. I’m going to make sure everything is ready.”
He just smiles at me. “Everything is ready. And I’m doing my thing.”
I try to pull my hand from his, and he threads our fingers together and holds my hand tighter. I pull our hands up. “Okay, what exactly is your thing? Because I don’t think you’re going to get anything done like this.”
He holds our hands up to his chest. “This is my thing, Nat. Whatever you’re doing, I’m doing. I want to spend the evening with my wife. Is that so bad?”
I shake my head slowly. “No, but…”
He smiles at me. “No buts. Now do you really need to go check on things, or can we go over to where our family is waiting on us?”
I stutter out the words. “Our family?”
He nods and points to where all his brothers and their families are standing. “Yeah, our family.”
There’s a yearning inside me. I want to go over there with him, but fear is holding me back. “Uh, you go ahead. I’ll be there in a while.”
His smile drops, but he doesn’t let me go. “Don’t do this, Nat. Don’t draw into yourself. Don’t think about the past. Think about now and our future. I want to take you over there to my family. I want to hear them brag on how you’ve saved this whole event. I want to introduce you to all the people here as my wife. I want—fuck, I can’t believe I’m saying this—I want to see the men that look at you and for them to know you’re going home with me. I promise you… I’m not going to let you down. I’m going to stay right by your side the whole night.” He holds up a finger. “I do have to do a small speech, but I won’t be gone long.”
I take a shaky breath. “Are you sure about this, Beau?”
He nods and kisses my forehead, our hands still tucked against his chest. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I take a deep breath. There’s a part of me that knows if I go over there, I’m agreeing one hundred percent to giving us another chance. It’s no longer just empty words; I’m going to play this out and give it my all. I nod my head. “Okay, let’s go.”
He instantly starts walking across the foyer. He’s like a man on a mission, or he’s afraid I’m going to change my mind or something. As soon as we get near his family, they all start talking at once.
“There she is… the woman of the hour.”
“You saved us, Natalie.”
“What would we have done without you?”
I’m passed around between all of them. They each take turns hugging me, but Beau never leaves my side. Ford, the oldest brother, stops me. “Thank you for everything you’ve done this week, Natalie. We could never have pulled this off without your help. I know you have your gym, but at some time, I’d like to talk to you about possibly helping us part-time with special events.”
I look at Beau, and he’s smiling proudly at me. I turn back to Ford. “Uh, sure, I’d love that.”