by Dani Rene
“Where are we?”
“We’re in NOLA,” Julian tells me, chuckling when I swat at him but miss because I can’t actually see where he is. He moves behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, and he guides me forward, then turns me toward the right, and soon enough, we’re stopped again. He steps back, then disappears, making anxiety twist in my stomach. I don’t know why I’m nervous, I don’t think he’ll leave me somewhere, but not having his warmth is disarming.
“Julian?”
“Hold on, gorgeous,” he tells me, and from the distance in his voice, I know he’s walked off somewhere. The darkness still has ahold of me, but then he calls to me. “You can take off the blindfold now.”
I reach for the material and tug it free. Blinking a few times, I try to focus on where he is and where we are. The road is familiar, very familiar, and when I look straight ahead, I see Julian grinning at me from across the street. He’s standing outside the house my mother had lived in.
Confusion has my brows furrowing together. He doesn’t say a word, so I make my way toward him. When I reach him, I’m about to ask him what’s going on when he drops to one knee.
“I had to bring you to this house to ask you this question.” The man before me is grinning like a fool. He’s so handsome, so everything I never realized I wanted. “I did something without your permission, and that’s why we had to come here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nea, I want to spend forever with you. There’s nothing in this world that would make me walk away from you, and I need you to know that you have brought so much color into my monochrome life. I want to show you every day how much you mean to me.”
“Julian—”
“Marry me, Nea.” He pulls out a small box and flicks it open. A gasp falls from my lips when I see the beautiful gold ring with a princess-cut diamond shimmering under the sunlight.
“Julian,” is all I can muster as tears brim on my lashes. “This is beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful. Be my wife, gorgeous,” he says.
“Of course!” My voice cracks as Julian rises and pulls me into his arms. When he finally gets the ring on my finger, I find myself trembling. It’s a strange feeling when all your dreams come true, but one thing doesn’t make sense. “What did you mean you did something without my permission?” I pull away, needing to know what he’s been up to.
“Well, I know how much you love New Orleans, and how much you love being close to the Quarter. I wanted to give that to you, Nea. I want to give you all your heart’s desires. So, a couple of weeks ago, I was heading into the city when I passed by this street.”
“Okay?” I drag the word out because he still hasn’t fully answered my question.
“Well, this was for sale,” he tells me, waving his hand toward the house behind him. My mother’s childhood home. “And I ended up closing on it two days ago. It’s our home.”
My heart stops. It does. My chest tightens, and I can no longer hold back the tears. I blink once, twice, and the salty emotion trickles down my cheeks. Julian buying this home for us brings happiness I haven’t felt in such a long time. I’m choked up.
“I hoped you would say yes to marrying me, and we could perhaps raise our own family in this home.” His voice is low, a whisper, but it is drenched in love and affection. His arms are still around my waist, he’s still holding onto me, and I’m thankful because I’m shaking.
“I . . . I . . . can’t . . . I mean . . .”
“All I need to know is if you’re happy.”
“I’ve never been happier,” I tell him. “Thank you.” I throw my arms around him, pulling him close to me.
For so long, I’ve lived in a cloud of pain and heartbreak, but Julian has dragged me out of it.
And it’s true, I’ve never been happier.
I mumble, “It’s never easy opening your heart to someone—”
“But with you, it’s been everything I needed,” Julian finishes.
THE END
The Boudreaux Universe
For more information about The Boudreaux Universe, click here:
https://www.ladybosspress.com/boudreaux
Acknowledgments
I can’t thank Kristen along with her team at Lady Boss Press enough for the amazing opportunity this has been. My second book with them and it’s been an incredible journey. I hope you all enjoy Julian and Nea’s story, as much as I loved writing it.
To my BETA readers, editor, and my proofer, thank you for getting this into a beautifully polished manuscript, and for loving these two incredible characters so much.
To my readers, thank you for always being there for me. IF it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be living my dream, bringing you stories that you can fall in love with.
And to all the bloggers who love and support me, thank you so much! You are invaluable with everything you do.
Mad love,
Dani xo
Also by Dani René
Stand Alones
Choosing the Hart
Love Beyond Words
Cuffed
Fragile Innocence
Perfectly Flawed
Black Light: Obsessed
Among Ash and Ember
Within Me (Limited Time)
Cursed in Love (collaboration with Cora Kenborn)
Beautifully Brutal (Cavalieri Della Morte)
How the Mind Breaks
The Devil’s Plaything
While She Sleeps (Dirty Heroes Collection)
Taboo Novellas
Sunshine and the Stalker (collaboration with K Webster)
His Temptation
Austin’s Christmas Shortcake
Crime and Punishment (Newsletter Exclusive)
Malignus (Inferno World Novella)
Tempting Grayson
Gilded Sovereign Series
Cruel War (Book #1)
Volatile Love (Book #2)
Sins of Seven Series
Kneel (Book #1)
Obey (Book #2)
Indulge (Book #3)
Ruthless (Book #4)
Bound (Book #5)
Envy (Book #6)
Vice (Book #7)
The Taken Series
Stolen
Severed
Four Fathers Series
Kingston
Four Sons Series
Brock
Carina Press Novellas
Pierced Ink
Madd Ink
Broken Series
Broken by Desire
Shattered by Love
The Backstage Series
Callum
Liam
Ryan
Forbidden Series
From the Ashes - A Prequel
Crave (Book #1)
Covet (Book #2)
About Dani René
Dani is a USA Today Bestselling Author of a dark and deviant romance. She lives in the picturesque city of Cape Town where wine is plenty, and the views are spectacular. She's also a proud member of the Romance Writer's Organization of South Africa (ROSA). When she's not writing, she can be found binge-watching the latest TV series, or working on graphic design. She has a healthy addiction to reading, tattoos, coffee, and ice cream.
www.danirene.com
[email protected]
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