by Miranda King
“Those are my four favorite words that you say.” He smiles and kisses her forehead. Then he drops down on one knee, opening a velvet ring box. “Marry me.”
She squeals and presses her hands to her cheeks, but then she lifts her hands away and shakes her head. “That’s only two words. I need three.”
Now it’s his turn to ask, “What does that mean?
She curls her lips into a slow, seductive smile. “I need those three words that I promised one day you’d say to me.”
He smiles back, knowing exactly what she wants, and comes to a stand. He reaches around her waist, bringing her closer, and he stares into her eyes. “I love you.”
His heart beats at maximum capacity, trying to contain all the happiness pouring into him, now that he can finally tell her the words she’s been longing to hear.
“Oh, Logan, I love you, too.” She rests her hands on his chest. “Yes, I will marry you.” She’s laughing and crying and smiling all at the same time.
He takes her left hand, brushing his fingers over her soft skin, and slips on the ring.
Finally she asks, “What took you so long to tell me you love me?”
He smiles. “Let’s just say I felt like I needed your brother’s blessing, and today I realized he’d already given it to me through you.”
“How?”
“I saw the text you sent Poppy about Dante. He’d said I was the Han Solo and I could have the girl with his blessing. Han, like me, was in love with his friend’s sister. It eventually all worked out, even though it caused some tension at first between Han and Luke.”
“I remember Dante talking about Chewbacca being Han’s best friend. But who exactly is Luke?”
He chuckles. “Maybe everything would make more sense if we just watch Star Wars.”
“Oh, God, isn’t that like a twenty-hour marathon of movies?”
He caresses her breast with his hand, stroking his thumb over the lace covering her nipple. “We can binge watch in bed.”
She moans. “Let’s do it now.”
Many, many months later…
Poppy barges into Logan and Eden’s bedroom without knocking.
Logan curses. He was just about to take an afternoon “nap” with Eden.
They disentangle their bodies from underneath the blankets, scrambling to sit upright in bed—and still stay fully covered—to face Poppy.
“’kay, I didn’t see anything. I swear.” Poppy has her eyes covered with her hands. “I’m so sorry, but for crying out loud, why would you be doing… um, adult activities in the middle of the day?”
Eden giggles. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
“After you’re married,” Logan warns.
Eden smacks his arm. “Don’t lecture her. Sex is a beautiful thing. She shouldn’t have to wait until she’s married. We didn’t wait. Obviously.”
“’kay, this is too much talk about sex with my brother in the room.” She wiggles her legs. “Can I look now? Because I have something important to tell you.”
“This better be good,” Logan growls.
“Oh, it is.” Poppy uncovers her eyes. “We’re going to Los Angeles,” she squeals. “Eden and I have been nominated for Golden Globes. Me, for Best Screenplay. Eden, for Best Original Song.” She jumps up and down. “And Bo even got a nomination for Best Actor.”
“Of course he did,” Logan grumbles.
“Oh, Poppy, we’re both nominated!” Eden’s voice sounds like popped champagne.
“I know, can you believe it?” Poppy dances, shimmying her shoulders and hips. “I can’t wait till we go.”
“So Grandfather and Adam are already okay with you going to L.A.?” Logan asks.
“I didn’t think about that.” Poppy’s body freezes. “I don’t care what they say.” She shakes her head. “They can’t stop me.” Her fists clench at her sides. “I’m going, even if I have to run away to do it.”
I love fashion design—the creativity, the details, the tailoring—and Integrity Toys’ family of dolls allows me to experience that on a miniature scale.
Integrity Toys, Inc. produces high-end, ultra-limited edition, 12-inch vinyl fashion dolls. The clothing and accessories of these dolls are exquisite miniature couture.
These aren’t just dolls—they are master works of art, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s no surprise that my characters love Integrity as much as I do.
These are some of the people behind the scenes that make the dolls I refer to in this book possible:
Integrity Toys:
The Newsum Family
Kilson Chan
Carol Roth
All the W Club Members
Veronique
The Design Team (in alpha order):
Jessy Ayala
David Buttry
Vaughn Sawyers
Chris Stoeckel
Alain Tremblay
Jason Wu
Integrity Toys, Inc. is referred to in the book as simply Integrity. Most of us collectors refer conversationally to Integrity Toys as either Integrity, IT, Fashion Royalty, or FR. I chose to use Integrity for consistency.
For more information on the entire line of Integrity Toys, Inc. products, please see their website:
http://www.integritytoys.com/page/about_us/our_company
For more information about the W Club, please see this website (note: registration to join is only open during a limited window of time each year):
http://www.integritytoys.com/w-club/
For more information on Jason Wu and his fashion designs, please see his website:
http://www.jasonwustudio.com
Please know that I am not a representative of Integrity Toys, Inc., the W Club, or Jason Wu.
For pictures from my private collection and those from other collectors, please see my website:
http://mirandaking.com/
