Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Oh my god, they’re so awful. The Scottish ones are okay, and I’m glad your mom likes those best. Sexy highlanders are always more fun than Regency stories. I find Dukes to be so uptight, but then, I guess that was the whole era. It’s just not as much fun.”
“You could just say no the next time she begs you to read it so you can have your own little personal book club. She could join a real book club, even if it’s just online.”
“Oh, but if I refuse, she gives me the well-used mop sad eyes, and I just can’t say no.”
“I remember you once accused me of being ball-less when I was in the same boat.”
“I didn’t truly understand, but if I must be ball-less, then I will be equally as ball-less and happy for it. I love being a part of your family.”
My heart has grown accustomed to singing in her presence, but there are special moments when it hits a high note. Like right now. “I love both those things too.”
She elbows me. “You’re silly.”
“I know,” I say with a smirk.
“I love it.”
I love hearing her say the word love, especially when she’s telling me that she loves me. I never thought I’d be so cheesy about it all, but for this woman, I would do anything. And I know she would return the favor. She’s been fearless when it came to blending our lives together and making all of this work, even when we were in two different countries. She was hurt in the past, hurt terribly, but she threw her whole self into this relationship with me and never held back.
“I know.”
“I love you.”
I don’t care if this is the world’s goofiest grin right now. Let the world see it. I’m not ashamed. I’ll never be ashamed of how deeply I care about this woman and how I’m so head over heels in love with her. “Do you now, my lady?”
“That’s My Lady to you.” She says it with the proper deepness and faux authority in her voice, making it clear that one has capital letters and one does not.
“So, do you now, My Lady?”
“I do indeed, Mr. Knight. I do.”
“I love you as well, darling.” I sweep a hand over the courtyard, indicating the rose gardens in full bloom, the hedges, and the over-the-top fountain in the middle of it all that has water spouting out the top between four golden cherubs before puddling into a gold basin below. “Are you sure I can’t give you this somewhere, a piece of our own paradise?”
She leans in and gives me a firm stamp on the mouth with hers. Then, I pull her back for a softer, more leisurely kiss. “No,” she breathes. “I mean, yes. No, because we don’t need a castle. We already have our own piece of paradise back in Tampa. Besides, anywhere with you would be a paradise.”
“Sounds straight out of a cheesy romance novel.”
“Yes,” she grins. “And I’m so darned happy and proud that it’s ours.”
The End.