Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
“You love me,” she breathed.
“More than I can possibly express.”
“I love you, too, Hayden,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t mean you can take control and just do whatever you want.”
I chuckled and brushed a kiss over her lips before meeting her eyes again.
“Baby, I don’t want to control your life.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow, so I added, “For the most part. I just want to be a part of it. To be a team. To make decisions together.”
“So no more trying to knock me up?” she queried suspiciously.
I rolled my eyes and smirked. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been hoping it worked since the moment you thought it was possible.”
Laurel huffed, then gave up pretending and smiled brightly. “I’d love to have your baby.”
“And marry me,” I added.
“Well…”
“That wasn’t a question, Laurel,” I growled.
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that making a decision together?”
“Yup.” I let the P pop, then grinned.
She sighed. “How so?”
“Because you get to decide when we get married.”
“I do?” A smile played around her lips, but she watched me intently, clearly waiting for me to elucidate.
“Absolutely. As long as it’s by New Year’s.”
Laurel gasped. “You’re giving me a few days to plan a freaking wedding?!”
I pretended to think it over, then nodded firmly. “You’re right. That’s too fast.” I beamed at her. “See? We’re making this decision together.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Four weeks should be plenty of time.”
“Valentine’s Day,” she countered.
I wanted to argue, but she wasn’t being unreasonable. And I needed to pick my battles.
“Okay, baby. By Valentine’s Day,” I agreed before taking her mouth in a kiss that had us both shaking with need.
“So…” Laurel stared at my chest, her cheeks turning pink. “Now that I’ve agreed to marry you, does that mean you don’t need to trap me by getting me pregnant anymore?”
Deep laughter burst from my chest, and I scooped her into my arms, heading straight for the bed. “Don’t forget the “sexy as fuck belly” and the “amazing mother” reasons I have for knocking you up.”
“Oh, well, then I guess we better get back to working on that baby.”
I grinned and tossed her on the bed. “Baby, if you’re already pregnant, we’ll still need to practice for the next one.”
I crawled onto the bed and covered her body with mine. “I love you, Laurel.”
Her blinding smile warmed me all over. “I love you, too.” Her expression turned sly. “And I know what I’m going to ask Santa for next year.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“To be snowed in for Christmas.”
EPILOGUE
HAYDEN
“Let me see the ring!” Bethenny exclaimed when we walked into the Snowed Inn Lodge. She came running over—with Raven hot on her heels—and grabbed my fiancée’s hand. “Nice work, Hayden,” she told me with a wink.
I grinned. “Thanks, boss.” I’d had the ring custom designed, so it had only arrived this morning.
Raven oohed and ahhed over it for a moment, then waved to someone who stepped inside and called out to her in greeting. Then another person called her name, and she sighed. “Excuse me, guys. I’ll see you at dinner.”
We were all meeting at the Winter Falls Grill—located inside the lodge—to celebrate our wedding. Laurel had decided on a small ceremony in the ballroom at the inn, with only my family and friends, who she’d taken to immediately, and Gwynne. Which was fine with me because it meant she’d only taken two weeks to plan it. Tomorrow, we’d tie the knot, and the next day, we would take off for a three-week honeymoon.
Glancing around, I didn’t see any of our other guests. My parents were on their way, but I’d expected at least the couples who lived on-site or nearby to have arrived already. Laurel and I were late because we’d been having our own little celebration over two pink lines.
“Where is everyone?”
Bethenny cocked her head toward the entrance to the steakhouse. “Gavin and Tori, Colin and Cara, and your brother are already in the restaurant. I’m not sure what’s holding up the others.”
Laurel giggled, and I raised an eyebrow curiously. “Um…I think I know why Jake and Hannah might be late.” She glanced up at me, her green eyes twinkling. “For the same reason we were.”
I grinned at her hint, then kissed the top of her head and smiled contentedly. Laurel had slipped seamlessly into the little surrogate family we’d built in Winter Falls over the years. The girls had all grown close, and I could see Laurel blooming into a more comfortable version of herself now that she had roots and a family who loved and supported her.
Bethenny smirked. “I remember those days…before we had kids.”
Laurel and I shared a secret smile, but it clearly didn’t fool Bethenny because she gasped, “You’re pregnant!”
I sighed and put my hand over Bethenny’s mouth. “I swear, when you stopped being mayor, you forgot how to be discreet.”
“You want to lose a hand, Douglas?” Lincoln growled as he walked up behind Bethenny. “Stop touching my wife.”