I pulled up to the Hutton House. After stepping out, I handed my keys off to the valet who traded me for a basket with a few special items—bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a cashmere blanket.
“What are we doing here?” Harlow asked, stepping out of the car, the sound of gravel crunching under her high heels. She looked beautiful in a blue strapless dress, the warm breeze tousling her auburn strands.
I came around the front of my Range Rover, taking her hand in mine. “Do you remember, about a year ago, on a night particularly reminiscent of this one, you and I took a rowboat out for a spin?”
She sighed, looking up at the sky. “Yes, I think I remember.”
“Call me sentimental, because I wanted to take my lady for a moonlight boat ride.”
“How romantic of you.”
We walked across the newly cut grass to the beach where she balanced her hand on my shoulder to take off her heels. I helped her into the boat. Once she was settled, I handed her the basket.
I rowed a good distance, but close enough to the shore where we could still see the flood lights from Hutton House. In one . . . two . . . three . . . soft blue lights flashed in the distance and that was the cue I’d given myself. I pulled the ring box from my pocket—the same color as the lights wrapped in a white ribbon.
“Holy crap,” Harlow whispered, as I placed the box in her hands.
“Harlow Trembley, is it okay if I ask you to be my wife?”
Wrapping her hands around the box she stared at it for a long moment. Her hands shook as she lifted the lid with her thumbs. Tears slid down her cheeks. My hands framed her face, swiping the tears away.
“But, I thought you didn’t want to get married?”
“Loving you is the easiest thing that I’ve ever done and at the end of the day you’re the person I cannot live without. Loving someone, truly loving them, means you work day in and day out making that person happy. I love you and you make me happy, that’s what you’ve done for me and it’s important to me that you’re happy.”
Seconds turned into minutes and my throat felt as dry as sandpaper. Finally, Harlow looked up at me, one shaking hand covering her mouth.
“Sweetheart,” I said, pulling the canary diamond from the box. Yellow, the same color of pineapples—the fruit she adored. Call me cheesy, but I knew that Harlow would appreciate the sentiment.
“Will you marry me?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No.” I repeated.
Fuck. No. She said no. She doesn’t want it. Should I jump overboard now and drown myself in the ocean or get drunk? Better yet, I could drop by the stables and have Elsa kick me in the balls.
“What do you want? Do you want the moon? The Ocean? Anything you want, sweetheart, name it.” Was the panic in my voice obvious?
“Wait this is all wrong . . . ask me again,” she murmured. “The original question, just like you said it the first time—all the words.”
I huffed out a laugh. Without hesitation, I knew exactly what she needed to hear. “Is it okay if I ask you to marry me?”
“More than okay,” she breathed, tears cascading down her cheeks. “My answer is yes.”
My heart jackhammered in my chest as I slid the ring onto her finger.
She smiled, as the pad of her thumb brushed over the center stone. “I can’t wait to marry you, Grady James.”
THE END
Playlist
Amazing Grace by II Divo
Walk On The Ocean by Toad The Wet Sprocket
Millionaire by Cash Cash, Digital Farm Animals, featuring Nelly
Side to Side by Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj
This Girl by Kungs vs. Coookin’ On 3 Burners
Needed Me by Rihanna
Good For You by Selena Gomez, A$AP
Idle Eyes (Clara 3000 Remix) by C.A.R.
Extasy—Sharapov Remix by Andrey Exx, Max Lyazgin, Casey, Sharapov
Hurricane by Luke Combs
All For Love by Madison Beer, Jack & Jack
I Got You by Bebe Rexha
Shout Out to My Ex by Little Mix
True Disaster by Tove Lo
Obsessed by Dan + Shay
Now Or Never by Halsey
Naked by DNCE
Like This. By Jojo
Love Wil Tear Us Apart by Joy Division
Good Girls by LANY
BONUS: Playlist for Ronan and Holliday’s Wedding
Strip It Down by Luke Bryan
All My Friends by Snakehips, Tinashe, Chance The Rapper
Drinkin’ Problem by Midland
Every Time I Hear That Song by Blake Shelton
The Mack by Nevada, Mark Morrison, Fetty Wap
The Weekends Series
Fifteen Weekends
The Scripted Series
unScripted
Perfectly Scripted
The Harbour Series
Bound to Me
Healed by You
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I can get a little wordy when it comes to saying thanks, as I never want to leave out a thank you or a nod of appreciation. Writing a book can be a very lonely process at times, but for the people who love romance and adore this genre none of this would happen without your love of reading.
To my hubby, Kevin, thank you for keeping the ship in order while I’m locked away in the cave. More importantly for keeping my drink glass filled.
My Editor, Missy Borucki, you my dear, deserve a star on the Editors ‘Walk of Fame.’ I cannot thank you enough for your insightful feedback and honest suggestions. More importantly thank you for catching my “dumbass mistakes.” It’s the most entertaining part of the editing process. #Lightening #Jealously
Special thanks to the people who made book look so damn gorgeous—Sara Eirew, this cover blows me away. It’s perfect. Once again, Stacey Blake you’ve outdone yourself with the formatting of this series.
Kelly, it’s never been a better time to support me and my books. When the crazy train is barreling down the terminal at full speed, you’re always there with the comic relief and/or supportive nudge. {It’s always a toss-up.} Also, thank you for all your history of horse knowledge. I’m so happy that degree of yours was put to a good cause. “Dear God! This parachute is a knapsack!”
Andrea Joan, Fabiola Francisco, Michelle Rodriguez, and Rachel Blaufeld, when the recipe calls for one cup cluster and two parts fuck, I know I can always count on the four of you to keep it real—all day every day.
Christina, I freaking adore you! Thank you for making my book world life a little more organized and fun. Your friendship and support mean everything to me.
My Reader Group, ya’ll know how to keep it #ClassyAF. Don’t Change.
To My After Hours Book House #AHBH Bitches (Cary, Aubrey, Fabi, Jen, and Britt), I didn’t choose the Tribe Life, the tribe life chose me. Thank you for all the support, snark, sass, and sarcasm. #MyTribe #Middlefinger #EggplantEmojis4Life
Huge thanks to Kylie, Jo, Jeananna, and the entire Give Me Books team for an amazing cover reveal and release.
Jennifer Norman Corzine, you are forever #GradysFirstLady
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Christy Pastore lives in the Midwest with her husband, two lovable dogs and their crazy cool cat. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising and Marketing. Writing has always been a part of her life. Her first writing gig was for a celebrity entertainment website. Later she went on to create her own blogazine and media company combining her love of writing with fashion and marketing.
When’s she not writing flirty and dirty books or updating her celebri
ty fashion blog, she loves shopping online, binge watching her favorite shows and daydreaming.
She believes books, especially love stories are an escape from the real world.
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