Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
“Row.” Cal’s eyes were glittering with tears. “You don’t even have a ring.”
I rummaged in the front pocket of my cargo pants, producing a Tiffany box.
Her jaw dropped. “How?”
I shrugged. “You never know when the love of your life decides it’s a good day to take her head out of her ass and come say hi.”
“How long have you been…on standby?” She dropped her own ring box, covering her mouth as I popped mine open. It had a diamond so big, it could barely fit in the box. It was a solitaire cut—the nineties popular design.
“I prefer not to say,” I drawled.
“I didn’t ask for your preferences.”
“In that case, since our first kiss after you came back.”
“That night on the swings?” She looked puzzled. We hadn’t even been together. “Wow, you’ve got it hard, dude.” She grinned.
“Not the only hard thing about him right now, I can bet.” Rhyland cupped his mouth, hollering from the sidelines.
“I asked you a question,” I reminded her, ignoring my best friend. He got a pass for helping her put this together. “I don’t want to look back anymore, Dot. I want to look forward. So, do you have an answer for me? Preferably this decade. This moment is probably streaming live on YouTube.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure. I’ll marry you.” She flung her arms over my shoulders and gave me the best kiss of my life.
As a chef, my future wife ticked all the boxes.
She tasted delicious, just the right balance between sweet and biting.
Most important of all…
She tasted like forever.
CAL
One Year Later
oBITCHuary: Hey.
McMonster: Hi.
oBITCHuary: You’re back.
McMonster: Only momentarily. I needed to sign in so I can keep all the conversation records before they’re gone forever.
oBITCHuary: Are you ready to celebrate Christmas?
McMonster: Celebrate is a big word. I’m ready to tolerate it.
oBITCHuary: Oh shush. You’ll have fun.
McMonster: I will, but only for one reason.
oBITCHuary: Red reminds you of blood?
McMonster: I will be spending it with the love of my life.
CAL
“Back for Good”—Take That
“Doesn’t she look so much better now that her face caught up with the size of her nose?” Dylan cooed, nuzzling her nose against Grav’s cheeks. Grav gave her a bitch, you ain’t no Gisele either look, spinning on her chubby heel and stumbling her way to the open arms of my husband.
Let me say that again for emphasis—my husband. Whom I’d woken up next to every day for the past year, in our gorgeous London apartment. The first thing he’d done when he carried me back to his place after my love-declaration-turned-engagement was give me a tour around our flat. Everything was so classy and decadent. I had turned to face Row and asked, “Can we please christen the floor?” He’d dutifully obliged. Since then, we’d christened the carpets, each bedroom, laundry machine, countertops, cupboard, library, and drawing room. We were faithful like that.
I never ended up returning to the U.S., let alone Staindrop. There was nothing left for me in the States. A week after I’d come to London, I had found myself a recording studio for my podcast, which was now taking off and already had ten thousand subscribers across all platforms. Maybe it wasn’t huge for other people. But for me, it was a win.
Mamushka visited us often. She loved traveling and the plane time was a great excuse to knit more mittens. Her Etsy shop was thriving. She made a great living and enjoyed helping Dylan with Gravity.
As for Dylan, she’d tried encouraging Tucker to get involved with Grav, but he’d seemed grossly disinterested. He was still with Allison, who was awaiting trial for her Staindrop shenanigans while on house arrest. Her reputation was in the same place her personality was—the shitter. Frankly, they deserved each other.
“Don’t listen to your mother.” Row snatched Grav after she tumbled into his arms, tossing her in the air like pizza dough. She almost hit the ceiling. He always gave me so much anxiety when he did that to her, but it made her produce that never-ending toddler giggle that danced across my skin every time I heard it. “You are the most beautiful girl in the world. Only second to Auntie Dot.”
“Grav was always going to be beautiful,” Kieran, who was now good friends with Row, pointed out. We were all sitting at a Christmas table, Zeta, Mom, and Taylor included. “With a mother like Dylan.”
Dylan smiled charitably, taking a slow sip of her wine. She’d been dodging Kieran’s efforts ever since she’d come here three days ago, and it didn’t look like she had any romantic interest in him whatsoever. Guess once the raging hormones had subsided, the idea of entering a passionate affair with one of the most famous soccer players in the world hadn’t held the same shine.
“I do know how to make them.” Zeta beamed proudly.
“That, you do.” Mamushka patted her knee from the seat next to her.