I handed her my drink as I made my way across the room. The moment his boots hit mine, his mouth consumed me with a rumble in his throat.
“You have someone with you, right?” I mumbled against his lips, peering over his shoulder.
“Well…”
“What do you mean? He came, right? Did he not make it?” Words tumbled out, a rush of tears choking my throat. I hadn’t seen Landen in two years. They all convinced me not to come home for Fredrick’s funeral, as Aunt Lauren decided to have his ashes sprinkled back at the Manor. She and Landen did it privately.
“Spence…”
“No. He needs to be here… What happened?”
“Silence, my kinfolk! This is tradition!” A booming voice pushed through the door, his arms open wide, his face set in an expression I knew too well. Glee jumped up my throat like an excited child, happy tears replacing the sad ones. “Dying in your beds many years from now…”
“Oh, god.” My hand went to my mouth, trying to keep in the rush of emotions coming over me as he started the famous movie quote he did every Christmas. Our tradition.
“Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance… Just one chance…” He held up his finger, stepping deeper into the room, the performer in him lapping up the new crowd taking him in. He was such a ham.
“To come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take …” He paused dramatically, the room silent, all eyes on him, waiting.
“Our freedom,” he bellowed out, tipping his head back dramatically.
Instantly the room broke into cheers and clapping as I ran to Landen, his arms wrapping around me in the best hug.
“You’re here!” I squeezed him, my feet bouncing with excitement.
“Cuz, I wouldn’t have skipped this for the world.” He tucked into me, hugging me tightly. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Tears slid down my face, happiness bubbling over, needing a release. “I’ve missed you too. So bloody much.”
We hugged for a little longer before I pulled away, wiping at my eyes.
“Made her cry first.” Landen pointed at me, talking to Lennox. Lennox’s jaw tightened, his eyes squinting at Landen before he headed for the bar.
“What was that?” I peered between them.
“Nothing. Lennox always looks that way, right?”
“So, where’s your friend?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Couldn’t make it. The dog sitter fell through. Murphy sends love, though. Next time, promise.”
“Weird you still call each other by your last names.”
He shrugged, a salacious expression in his eyes. “We like it. Especially in the bedroom.”
“Ugh. I didn’t need to know that.” I shook my head.
“Please, girl, I think I hear you having it all the way in New York!” He tossed his arm over my shoulder, turning us to the room as I introduced him to our new friends and world at the animal sanctuary. Landen was working as an assistant to a theatre director and spent all his free time in acting classes or auditioning. He made crap money and complained all the time about the business, but I had never seen him so happy, either. He didn’t know if it was a forever thing, but it was his right now thing, and I couldn’t have been happier for him. “Mina sends her love too. She’s dating her boss, who’s like twelve years older than her, but she’s happy. And her family is thrilled he’s a ‘blueblood.’”
“Good, glad she’s happy.” I nodded. We weren’t really friends anymore, but I would always wish her the best. I’d always miss the friendship we used to have.
“I’ll have to catch you up on all my latest acting stories and the crazy Americans in New York, but first, I need a drink!” He led us to the bar, the party getting into full gear. I mean, it wasn’t a rager, but life was simpler here—more about family and friends. Kids from our group ran around, excitement busting through the room along with the cheer…and alcohol.
Ava and a couple other wives had prepared an enormous buffet of gorgeous food, and the smells wafting from the kitchen attacked, making my mouth water.
“Spencer?” Lennox touched my back. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Yeah.” I peered up at him. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah.” His jaw rolled. “I just want a moment alone.” He reached out for my hand, tugging me through the doorway to the deck overlooking the park, where we could see the outlines of the animals roaming, the sunset glittering the horizon like magic. Except I couldn’t enjoy it as fear trickled down my throat, feeling like I was about to hit another bump in the road. Lennox’s gaze wouldn’t meet mine, a nerve in his jaw twitching.
“You know after Gracie, I vowed I would never fall in love again,” he said lowly, his tone tight, twisting more fear in my gut. Gracie had been laid to rest over a year ago, Lennox leaving me in Spain to attend her funeral near the farm with Arthur and Mary to say his final goodbye. I wanted to be there for him, but we knew my presence at Gracie’s funeral would be uncomfortable to Arthur and Mary. Also, going back to the country was not a good decision. Two years later and the tabloids still ran articles about me, the hate still palpable. A “journalist” actually tracked me here to run a story about me. He was quickly chased off the property by a handful of protective bodyguards.
Lennox kept in contact with Mary and Art; they were the nearest to parents he had. They asked about me and even sent me a Christmas gift, which was all Mary. Arthur and Lennox still had a turbulent relationship, but I felt over time, their stubbornness would ease now Gracie was at peace, and they would let the pain of the past go.
“Yeah.” I felt my heart knock against my chest.
“Fuck…you bloody messed all that up.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, acting nervous. He was always confident—dominant—and sometimes a little controlling, which I tried to beat out of him.
“Lennox, you’re freaking me out.”
“I am totally screwing this up, but I guess it fits with us.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been shot, beaten, stabbed, and almost blown up…but it was a tiny, blue-eyed girl who destroyed me. You broke down every wall, every defense I had. I couldn’t fight you. Nor did I want to. I fell in love with you. And that’s never going to change.”
A prickling sensation ran down my nerves, my heart starting to pound for an entirely different reason.
“This time I know it’s right, that I found my match. I found the person who challenges me, makes me laugh, puts me in my place—who makes me feel so fuckin’ lucky, I can’t even handle it sometimes. I stare at you in utter disbelief that you are mine, and this is our life.” He motioned out to the land. The sound of a lion roaring goose-bumped my skin despite the sticky air.
“Christmas Eve, two years ago, everything changed for us. We thought our lives were destroyed until I almost lost you. I want to make sure I never lose you again. That this change is positive…” He dug into his cargo pants.
“Oh, god.” My hand went over my mouth, my eyes filling with tears again.
“This doesn’t mean this has to happen anytime soon. We have forever to figure it out, but I want you to know, this is it. You and I…this crazy life…we’re in this together.” He held out a ring, a simple braided gold band, our names carved through the plaits. Simple and beautiful. The perfect ring for me. I didn’t want flashy or gaudy, especially with what I did, and I refused to wear diamonds ever again—not after you saw the bloodshed over them here.
“I want to always be the one watching that body.” He held up the ring.
My watery eyes lifted to his, choking on the emotion in my chest. He never got sentimental. Hearing him be so honest and vulnerable, I couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down my face.
“So…what do you say, Duchess?” He stepped up to me, his palm sliding up my cheek, his eyes locked on mine. “Want to jump on this crazy, bumpy ride with me?”
I h
ad been proposed to before, the dramatic one knee in front of everyone declaration—the supposed fairytale proposal. But now I understood how different the two were.
This time I had no doubts or fears. When you truly loved someone, there was no choice to make. I didn’t want to marry the fairytale. I wanted the turbulent, crazy life with this man.
The sensation of eyes on us, our new family crowding around the door trying to be quiet as they waited for my answer, giggling and shushing each other, made me smile wider. This time I didn’t care about the audience watching me; the whole world could for all I cared. All I saw was him.
I smiled up at him, “Fuck, yeah.”
Buckle up; this was going to be a bumpy ride.
Thank you to all my readers. Your opinion really matters to me and helps others decide if they want to purchase my book. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on the site where you purchased it. It would mean a lot. Thank you.
Also check out my Contemporary Romance and Paranormal Romance novels listed in the front of this book.
Acknowledgements
Hope you enjoyed the conclusion of Spencer, Theo, and Lennox’s story! Reviews are everything to us authors and if you want the story to continue on with Eloise and a Theo POV, please spread the love of this story! Thank you so much!
A huge THANK YOU to:
Emily at Social Butterfly- Thank you for all your hard work! You are amazing.
Mo Sytsma: [email protected]
Hang Le- These covers are everything! Thank you so much!
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To all the readers who have supported me: My gratitude is for all you do and how much you help indie authors out of the pure love of reading.
To all the indie/hybrid authors out there who inspire, challenge, support, and push me to be better: I love you!
And to anyone who has picked up an indie book and given an unknown author a chance. THANK YOU!
About the Author
Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.
She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts.
When she’s not writing she’s out hiking, spending time with friends, and traveling. She also volunteers helping animals and is eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and the environment should be treated kindly.
To learn more about Stacey or her books, visit her at:
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Royal Command (Royal Watch Book 2) Page 30
