Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Oh, my goodness,” I gasped. I had more tears, but these ones were happy.
Damian held his hand out toward me to help me step through the window. He led me over to Aiden, who had the biggest smile resting against his face. That smile controlled my heartbeats.
“Hey, you,” he whispered.
“Hey, you,” I replied, stepping in front of him.
“You know, I’ve practiced this speech many times throughout the years, but actually doing it is another thing.” Aiden nervously laughed as the ring box shook in his hand. The ring box. The ring. It was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen in my life.
He continued speaking as my tears continued to flow. “Hailee Jones, you are my person. The reason I believe in destiny, the reason I believe in love. I’ve played many different characters in my life, but the best leading role I’ve ever played was the one where I had the privilege of being your best friend. You are my morning coffee and my bourbon at night. You are the Jerry to my Tom. You are my north star that guides me home each night. I know people say you’re supposed to fall in love, but the truth is, I was born in love with you. From the moment I took my first breath, my heart longed for you. So marry me, Hailee. Marry the good parts of me and the messy ones, too. Marry my confidence and my insecurities. Marry me. Marry all of me, the good and the bad, and give me the joy of loving you more and more until the day I die. Will you marry me?”
I lowered myself down to his level, sitting on my knees in the snowy grass right beside him. I placed my hands against his cheeks and smiled. “Yes.” It was the easiest yes I’d ever spoken. Being loved by Aiden was a gift. Aiden Walters was the kind of man a woman never truly got over. I was given a second chance with his love, with his heart, and I swore for the remainder of my life, his heart would remain in my protection.
I kissed him long and hard as our families cheered from behind. Laurie had a camera in her hands taking photographs while Mama and Dad snapped their own. The proposal taking place in the exact spot where I’d first fallen in love with him felt like kismet.
I was going to marry Aiden Walters, and he was going to be mine forever.
He was going to marry me, and I was going to be his always.
For as long as we both shall live.
“Can we just live in the part of wedding planning where we sample cake flavors for the rest of our lives?” I asked Aiden as we sat in front of eight different samples of cakes. It was fair to say that picking out a cake had been my favorite part of the wedding planning process.
He wiped his finger into the chocolate buttercream frosting and stuck it into his mouth. “I think that’s the greatest idea you’ve ever had.”
“Now, this one is an orange peel cream. The cake is a white cake with a hint of lemon zest. Not to toot my own horn, but it’s astonishing,” Mama said as she brought out yet another piece of cake for us to try. We’d been sitting in Hailee’s Bakery for the past two hours trying cakes, and I wasn’t complaining one bit.
The fact that Mama oversaw the sweets for the wedding, and Laurie was in charge of the elegant meals felt so exciting to me. It was the best of both worlds. Our mothers were masters in their fields, and they were bringing out their best for Aiden’s and my wedding.
Aiden and I took a bit of the orange peel cake, and we moaned in unison.
“Holy,” Aiden groaned, shutting his eyes as he fell into euphoria.
“This is the one.” I nodded. I looked to Aiden. “Isn’t this the one?”
“This is absolutely the one. Penny, I don’t know how you did this, but I’m so glad you did. This is it.”
Mama grinned ear to ear. “Trust me, I already knew.”
Aiden gave Mama puppy dog eyes. “Do you by chance have any more samples of it in the back so we can be extra sure?”
“I think I can manage grabbing a few more bites for you.” She headed to the kitchen, leaving Aiden and I in cake heaven, finishing up all the bites we didn’t finish previously.
As we were eating, my phone dinged with a new email. I went to open it, and my eyes instantly watered over.
“What is it?” Aiden asked, becoming concerned with my expression.
I turned to him as I choked on my next words. “I got in.”
“What?”
“I got into the master’s program of psychology at Adler University in Chicago,” I breathed out as my heart pounded wildly within my chest.