Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
"Why?"
"I can't say that either." Acacia tried freeing herself again, and her shock was palpable when he actually let her go. Her confused gaze flew up to his—
Don't wait until it's too late, and you've already lost everything.
And it was then he heard himself say, "Marry me."
Acacia's cheeks lost all color. "That's not funny."
"I know. It wasn't meant to be a joke."
She shook her head. "I d-don't know what game—-"
"Not a game either." He cupped her face, this time leaving her no choice but to look into his eyes so she could see the truth for herself. And then he said it again.
"Marry me, Acacia."
And the words felt more right than ever.
"If you're asking me out of pity—"
"Do I look like an idiot to you?"
A choked laugh escaped her even as her eyes filled with tears.
"Marry me."
"This is insane," she whispered. "People will think—"
"Who cares what other people think?"
"But—"
"Did you ever stop thinking about me since the last time we saw each other?"
She shook her head, a single tear tracking down her cheek.
"Neither did I, darling." He cupped her face, catching the tear with his thumb. "Neither did I."
"D-Do you really want to marry me?"
"More than I've ever wanted anything else."
"Why?"
It pained him to see the fear in her eyes as she whispered this.
"Why me when you could have anyone else?"
It was as if she was terrified to hear what he had to say—-
"There can be no one else, Acacia."
—-when, in truth, he was the one who had everything to lose if she were gone.
"I thought what I had and lost in the past was love. But you showed me I was wrong."
Ronan saw her lips part in shock at what he was saying without words, and he had to fight off the urge not to chain her to him, for good.
"I didn't know the past was holding me back until you," he said rawly. "And that's why it has to be you, no one else. You made me start living again."
Chapter Ten
"BILLIONAIRES?" I GASP out. "Everyone here is a billionaire?"
It's my bridal and baby shower combined, with Redwood Cafe transformed for one special night into a place of magic and fairytales, and what was once a masculine interior has turned into a whimsical landscape, with the ceiling completely covered with blue and pink flowers and concealed projectors turning the walls into evening skies filled with dragonflies flying all over the place.
Everyone has been so warm and welcoming, but the best thing of all is having Story and my goddaughter Ellana with me. Ellana, with her cherub cheeks and infectious giggles, has been the star of the show, with the royal toddler wowing everyone with the sheer magnitude of her impossible-for-a-toddler vocabulary.
Instead of 'big', she says 'gargantuan.'
Instead of 'hard', she says 'complex'.
And when we asked her how she had learned all of these "gargantuan" words, Ellana suddenly had an angelic look on her face as she answered our question.
'Classified.'
It's an almost perfect night, really, except for this part where my close friend tells me the truth about our remote but not-so-ordinary little town.
Kady squeezes my hand in sympathy as I struggle to wrap my head around the truth. "You'll get used to it eventually." A rueful smile touches the other woman's lips. "It's not like you have a choice. Ronan's a billionaire, too, you know."
Oh.
Kady's eyes widen.
Right.
I'm vaguely aware of Kady looking at Story, and then all the girls are looking at each other.
"Ronan's a billionaire."
It's only when everyone bursts into laughter that I realize I've blurted the words out.
Hmph.
I make a face at them, but this only has everyone laughing harder. Oh, please. Can't they cut me some slack? Having billionaires as next-door neighbors is already a stretch, but for my fiancé to be one as well?
"So let me get this straight," I say, once the laughter dies down. "Hartland isn't just some random small town. It's a... what? A billionaire sanctuary?"
"The Hartland Initiative," Story explains, bouncing Ellana on her knee. "A place where the wealthy and famous can live normal lives away from the public eye."
"That's why there's no internet," Blake adds. "And why the town looks poor on paper."
"But the hospital..." I murmur, thinking of the state-of-the-art facility where Ronan works. "The bookstore... everything is so..."
"Nice?" Frankie supplies with a grin. "That's because we have the money to make it nice, but we keep it subtle. Well, subtle-ish."
I think back to my first impressions of the bus station when I arrived—how everything seemed too perfect, too polished. How the entire setup felt staged somehow.
Because it was.
My mind reels as pieces fall into place. The way Ronan appeared at precisely the right moment to help me buy my ticket. The luxurious but empty bus. The "coincidence" of him being seated next to me for that long journey.
None of it was a coincidence.