Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
He saw the tears in her eyes. Putting the bowl down, he cupped her face and stared into her eyes. “Shut up,” he said. “Shut up and know that I love you. I’m not going to let you pay for his sins. This is you and me now. No one else is going to get in the way of that. It’s just you and me, and I’m going to love you for the rest of our lives. Just you and me.”
She sniffled. “I love you too.”
He placed kisses on her lips.
“Colt?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you help me?”
“With what?”
She climbed off the bed. He loved it when she wore his shirt and she took his hand. They walked out of her bedroom and a few feet, to what he assumed was Gabrielle’s bedroom. He took hold of her hand, and then he stepped forward, twisted the door handle, and stepped inside. The moment Rosalie was inside her mother’s room, she fell apart, and he was there to hold her.
“I’ve got you, baby. I will always have you.” He kissed the top of her head and let her fall apart. Allowed her to mourn.
This was Gabrielle’s room, and as the minutes passed, he held Rosalie, waiting for her to be ready. He didn’t know if or when she’d be ready, but she suddenly pulled away from him and nodded her head.
“It’s time for me to go through her stuff.”
****
“So, you and Colt are now a thing?” Petal asked.
Rosalie looked up from her toast to see Petal walking into the dining room. It had been a week, and she and Colt were living together, between her and his home.
“Yes.” She held up her hand. “I guess we’ll always be a thing.”
Petal nodded. “I can see that.” She took a seat at the table.
“Are you okay?” Rosalie asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve had some stuff to deal with, but I’m fine now. Are you happy?”
Rosalie thought about it and nodded. “I’m happy.”
“I saw, er, I saw that your mother’s room had been cleared out.”
“Colt and I went through everything. I’ve kept a lot of her stuff, but things like clothes and shoes and stuff, I’ve sent to secondhand stores.” Petal had never been able to fit into Gabrielle’s clothes, neither had she.
She looked at Petal and something seemed different with her. She wasn’t exactly sure, but it made her a little nervous.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know, I just woke up this morning, and I thought today was going to be a good day, you know.”
Rosalie smiled.
“See,” Petal said, laughing. “You’re already laughing. Come on. It’s time for us to go to work.”
Petal took her hand and before Rosalie could argue, they were already outside in Petal’s car. Her friend had pulled the hood of her car down. It was hot, and according to weather forecasts it was going to be one hot week.
Pulling her hair out of the tight bun at the back of her head, she watched the scenery pass her by as they headed toward the diner. She never in her life thought she would be excited at the prospect of going to the diner, to her new workplace, but she was.
When they pulled into the parking lot, she was a little taken aback. There were bikes, lots of them. All with the Satan’s Death Riders MC insignia on.
“What’s going on?” Rosalie asked, climbing out of the car.
Kim rushed toward them, laughing and smiling, and then pulling her into the diner, where Colt stood. Rosalie frowned and then turned to Petal.
“I might have had something to do with this,” Petal said.
The diner didn’t look any different, but Warden stood just behind Colt.
Stepping toward Colt, she frowned. “I have no idea what’s going on,” she said.
“Well, it’s pretty simple. When we were first married, it was at the whims of a man we both despised. A deal that had to go through. Then, the wedding we had was a church wedding, one that your mother wanted, and I was more than happy to go through with you. Now, this time, you and I are in love.” He looked around the diner. “You hear that? I love my wife. I love Rosalie and I want to spend the rest of my life with her, so this time, you and I are getting married in front of the people we love the most.”
Tears filled her eyes as she saw a picture of her mother on the main counter.
“And I’m going to do it so you know that I love you and that the whole club knows you’re mine. I’m doing this the way it should have been done all those months ago,” he said. He reached into his jacket pocket and she watched as he pulled out a velvet box. “And this is your belated birthday gift, because I didn’t know it was your birthday then, but I do know now, and I promise I won’t allow another birthday to pass me by.”