“I’ve always wanted to be your wife.”
“Good answer,” he growls.
“Now, I promise you, it’s time to take me inside.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One Year Later…
Grayson
“You ready, buddy?” Ryder lines up a row of shot glasses on the coffee table. “Move boots, boys. We’ve got places to go.”
Brock walks by and smacks me on the side of my head as I push off my couch. “Easy there, killer.” I pretend to smooth down my hair. Then I join the guys standing around my living room.
Javier. Colin. Ryder. Ryan.
Groomsman. Groomsman. Groomsman. Best Man. Plus a couple of others. Fuck me. What a solid bunch of men to share this day with.
Ryder pours scotch for each of them and raises his glass. “To those you love, those you’ve lost, and those you’d die to see again. Cheers to getting the girl you’ve always wanted.”
The room fills with hooahs and hooyahs, then we throw down the shots. A couple of back slaps later, I nod. “Let’s do this.”
Emma and I opted to get married at our new home. Cally calls it her castle. Ems calls it our forever home. I don’t know if the place needs more of a name besides mine to go along with everything inside it. My house. My girls. Shit, my heart pounds in my chest, and I’m ready to claim my woman as my wife.
We move from the living room, where the walls have Cally’s framed art and Emma’s photography hanging proudly. There’s artsy, handmade stuff all throughout as we head toward the back and pass a sign that says Ford Family, and then there’s another that we pass in the kitchen that says, “Happiness is Homemade.” But it’s not just her artistic touch that makes this place amazing—it’s that Emma struggled over every detail, from the carpet to the paint on the walls, and the result rocks.
Just like this wedding. She wanted it close-knit and homemade, to make memories and to celebrate. I don’t need the ceremony any more than I need this house. These walls aren’t my home; my home is living and breathing. It’s my family, my life—everything I ever wanted and was too scared to go after. Emma and Cally are it for me. Where they are, I will go. They will always know how much they are loved and protected and that each breath I suck down is dedicated to making them the center of my world.
“No, no.” Ryder’s growling voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Well, shit. Everyone out.”
“What?” I’m pulling the tail of our group. They keep going straight to the back deck, but I turn around to see—Emma.
Her white-lace dress is fitted down her body, leaving her arms bare, and she carries a bunch of flowers and jewels bundled together in one hand. I’m speechless. The heavy, slow thump of my heart echoes in my ears. There are no words for how I survived life to get to this point.
“Hi,” she whispers. “Couldn’t stay away.”
I snap out of my awe and take two steps to pull her into my arms. “You’re gorgeous.”
Her eyelashes bat, and her cheeks blush.
“And sexy. Christ. You’re all mine.”
She nods, her teeth tugging on a glossy pink bottom lip. “You look handsome.”
“I look like I’m yours.” Her pink smile lights my whole fuckin’ world. “You okay, Ems? What’s with this?”
“Cally told me a story before she went off with my folks.” Her eyes brim with tears. “And she gave this to me, too. She wants you have it before we start.”
Emma pulls out a picture from where she’s been holding it with the bouquet. As she unfolds it, I see our new house and, in front of it stand Cally, Emma, and me. Cally is in the middle, and we’re on either side, holding her hands, but our outside hands rise over the little figures’ heads and clasp in the air. All connected.
“Before you first came home”—her voice shakes—“she drew me a picture of our old-new house. And on it, there I was, holding her hand, but my other hand scrawled off the page.” She closes her eyes like she’s trying to keep it together. “And tonight, she told me a story about a king who was lost until two princesses came to his rescue. Eventually, they lived happily ever after.” Tears slip down her cheeks until she laughs quietly. “Oh, and the princesses had a puppy. I think that’s her way of asking for a dog.”
“Smart kid.” I swallow away the lump in my throat. “Our girl wants a puppy. Guess we’re getting a puppy.”
I take the picture from Emma’s hand and fold it neatly, sliding it in my pocket, then pull my bride to my chest and drop a quick word to the guy upstairs, who I had once thought abandoned me. Hell, I thought that more than once. I prayed for a new life, prayed for an easier struggle, but the truth is that over the years, I always focused my thoughts back on Emma.
My whole life, while I thought my pleadings were going unanswered, my saving grace was with me. She was my answer.
I take a deep breath. “I love you with my whole heart, Emma. Hope you always know that.”
She nods against my dress shirt. “You’re my everything.”
I walk us back to the kitchen table and put her in a chair then kneel in front of her. “What I have to say out there is yours to hear first.”
“What?” Her eyebrows lift, and she puts her flowers on the table.
She deserves so much more than recited lines. If I can capture a tenth of what I think… “You’ve always been by my side. From the day we met. And God knows there were years of secrets and storms and pain and tears, until I came out the other side.”
“Gray…”
“I’m a better man, and I exist for you, for us.” I hold my breath and watch her silence. “You’ve got to know there’s no more important thing I can do than to take you as my wife and Cally as our daughter.” My chest hurts; my lungs burn. My throat is tight as I choke on the decades’ worth of sentiment. “I love both of you so deeply that my survival, my sanity, would be gone if I couldn’t be yours.”
My voice cracks, and her lips find mine. It’s a soft kiss but packs a powerful punch. She whispers, “We’re yours forever.”
Emma
I never believed that Grayson wanted me when we were in high school until he said almost those exact words and kissed me so sweetly that years later, I still get the shivers thinking about that day in my bedroom. But tonight, I believe every word that pours from his sweet mouth.
“Come on, baby.” I stand up and press against his chest. “Let’s go get married.”
He slides his arm around me as I pick up my bouquet, and we head outside.
My dad is by the back door, and as my eyes settle on him, warmth bleeds through me. He nods to Grayson then shakes his hand. “I’d say she’s the best thing I have to give away, but she’s always been with you. Guard them with your life, son.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I have no doubt.”
Dad kisses my cheek and leaves us as I see my Mom—who I left when I detoured to see Grayson—send Cally our way.
“Look at my dress,” Cally says as she spins. The skirt fluffs out until she slows and grabs my hand. “I look like a princess!”
“Absolutely.” Gray crouches down. “You remember what to do?”
She nods enthusiastically, pointing to the side of the wraparound deck that feeds into the backyard where our guests have gathered. “Walk over there and stand near Aunt Cherry.”
“Exactly.” They exchange fist bumps, then he kisses her cheek.
This isn’t a typical wedding. No one is seated in rows. There’s not even an aisle. Instead, a semi-circled group of all kinds of people awaits us—a nod to how we want to live. The guys from the Delta team—the men Gray refers to as his brothers—wear dark suits. Then there are the other Titan families we’ve grown close to. My family is interspersed with a few close friends. I’m sure Ryan has his arm around Sarah, Cherry has caught the eye of a few of Gray’s buddies, and Mazie is drooling over the groomsman lineup.
As Gray and I walk out together, I find that my assumptions were correct. Even my boss, Jeremy, is here—with ou
r secretary—and, yeah, this all works for me because it carves into stone what we want: an all-inclusive family.
The ceremony was planned to be casual, and there are kids running around in the grass, most of the girls wearing princess tiaras with ribbons that fly around their heads when they move. Everything about this is perfect for us.
As Gray leads me into the center, our crowd quiets, and my parents’ minister says his bit. I don’t focus on the words. Instead, I watch Grayson, memorizing how his blond hair is mussed perfectly and his bright-green eyes dance as they watch me. Then he says his vows, a heartfelt summary of what he just professed to me in the kitchen.
Now it’s my turn. Every face fades away except for his. My hands are locked in his protective grasp, and he pulls me closer.
Before I open my mouth to pledge my life to him, a memory surfaces and trumps what I’d planned to recite. “I remember the first day I realized you were my friend, not just my brother’s. We were at recess, and some kid pushed me off the swings.”
“Jerk,” he whispers, grinning.
I laugh quietly. “You chased him away, picked me up, and set me back on the swing. I think you even gave me a little push. Then you ran off to play. But you looked back… that was the day I fell in love with you.” I smile and take a deep breath. “There’s this saying: stars can’t shine unless they’re cloaked in darkness. I’m not sure that’s true. They’re always there, always shining. It just depends on whether we can see them. And that’s us.”
He squeezes my hands, his thumbs running across my skin.
“Our love has always been there. You said storms, but I say life, and Grayson, I will walk through a hurricane with you, no matter what challenges come our way, because I love you. I’m yours as much as you’re mine, and I want to be the family that holds you, that picks you up and cheers you on. I want to be Mrs. Emma Ford.”
“God, Ems.” He shakes his head as though he can’t believe he’s here listening to all that I’ve said. He pulls me close and kisses me deep. Somewhere along that kiss he dips me back. It’s one spectacular kiss.
I’m sure the ceremony carried on, and that his Delta boys gave him hell, but I’m lost to the rest of it, and he never lets go. I love this man. He gave me the fairy tale, but God, he’s given me so much more. Cheers to our forever love.
The End
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NOTE TO READERS
From the very bottom of my heart, I am throwing huge tackle hugs of thanks your way. The Only series was a leap for me, and this couple had their claws in my heart. I couldn’t stay away. Hopefully I will have news on similar books in the future (sign up for the newsletter to stay in the know!).
If you are new to my books, check out Sweet Girl on Amazon. It’s FREE at all retailers. If you loved Grayson and Emma, you will go crazy for Cash and Nicola.
Or if you’re already a Titan/Delta reader, thank you for trying something new. Parker’s book “Black Dawn” is on pre-order now at all retailers. Here is the Amazon link.
Titan hugs and happy reading. XO.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense, military romance, new adult, and contemporary romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon's Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.
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The Only Series:
Book 1: Only for Him
Book 2: Only for Her
Book 3: Only for Us
Book 4: Only Forever
The Titan Series:
Book 1: Winters Heat
Book 1.5: Sweet Girl
Book 2: Garrison's Creed
Book 3: Westin's Chase
Book 4: Gambled
Book 5: Chased
Book 6: Savage Secrets
Book 7: Hart Attack
Book 8: Black Dawn (releases July 14, 2015)
The Delta Series:
Book 1: Delta: Retribution
Book 2: Delta: Revenge (releases in 2015)
Each Titan and Delta book can be read as a standalone (except for Sweet Girl), but readers will likely best enjoy the series in order.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you, readers, for falling in love with Grayson and Emma! I poured my heart into the Only series and the overwhelming support has been amazing. I am forever grateful for you.
I cannot express how much Team Titan means to me. Every day we have a blast together, and I can’t count the amount of times you’ve made me laugh or made me teary. I love how supportive you are, both to me and to each other (even when claiming book boyfriends), and I’m proud to be part of our community. You will never know how much your messages, posts, tweets, shares, and reviews means to me.
Thank you to the wonderful, talented women I get the honor to work with every day. JB Salsbury, Racquel Reck, Claudia Connor, and Sharon Kay. I am forever a friend and always in awe of you.
This series would not have been possible without the support of bloggers, especially Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews, Grown Up Fangirl, Kame at TBQ, Danyella at ReadersIsle, Heather at Obsessed With My Shelf, and Stacey at Romance Ever After.
Another huge thank you to the team that makes my dreams come true. Thank you to Julia Sutherland for your heart and your time, to Red Adept for editing and proofing, to Okay Creations and Sarah Hansen for creating a cover that is brilliantly beautiful, and to Inkslinger PR—KP Simmon, Tara Gonzalez, and Amber Noffke—for the creative energy that you ignite.
Finally, thank you to my family who supports me without hesitation.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2015 Cristin Harber
All rights reserved. This book or any portions thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author and publisher except for the use of brief quotations used in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally.
ISBN-10: 1-942236-15-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-942236-15-3
www.CristinHarber.com
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