“No, I'm going to say this,” he tells me as I struggle to prop myself up on my elbows. “Fuck, Never, I have to say this before I forget how lucky I am and start to hesitate. Okay, so, you know, when it comes to relationships and friendships and all that other crap.” I smile at Ty because his diplomatic speeches are always full of dirty words. Always. It's part of what makes Ty, Ty. “People like to judge them on how long they've known each other, and I just … Never, I think a real friend is someone who sees you at your worst but likes you anyway, who's there for you even if they'd rather not be.” He pauses. “You're that friend for me,” he tells me, eyes on the grass next to my hips and not on my face. Whatever it is that he wants to say, he's still gearing up for it, getting ready to blow my ship out of the water, my rocket out of orbit, my heart from my chest. “And … you're more than that. You're … ” Ty pauses again and pulls a ring off of his finger. It's the blue one this time, the one that sparkles like the sea. “Never,” he says, and then he levels his gaze on me, connecting to my inner being with just a blink of his eyes, diving in, swirling around inside of me, consuming me in the only way I want to be consumed. “Will you marry me?” Ty slips off the ring and holds it in his palm like a shining symbol of the words he's just spoken.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
I struggle out from under Ty and stumble to my feet using my father's headstone for support. Ty follows after me and grabs me before I can go running, pulling me against him, his hands firmly planted on my hips, the ring digging into the flesh of my side. But then, he didn't even need to. See, I'm not into running, not anymore, I'm into guys like Ty McCabe. And guys like Ty McCabe, I guess they're into me, too.
“Are you serious?” I ask him because it's all I think to say. He nods and nibbles at his lip ring like he just can't keep still. His face is frozen, awaiting judgment. This boy, this man, that I picked up in a bar with no intention of ever getting to know has now just asked me one of the world's most perplexing questions. Now, I'm not a girl who's obsessed with weddings, who dreams about white dresses and tiered cakes, but I am a girl who dreams. I dream of a partner that I can split my pain with, one that understands me, that completes me, makes me whole, and now I've found him. And it's him, not me, but him, who wants to make it official, declare our love on paper, celebrate it. Ty McCabe wants me not just for now, but forever. I swallow and try to still my aching heart. It's been working so hard lately, beating for so many people, learning so many things. It's hard to keep up with it all.
I wondered once if Noah Scott could've been my knight in shining armor, but I see now that I was wrong. To be a knight, you have to save someone from something. Noah Scott couldn't have saved me from anything because there would've been nothing to be saved from. I made hard choices, wrong choices, bad choices, call them what you will, but they made Never Ross and I'm starting to see that she isn't such a bad person, that maybe she's more interesting than I thought. I see now that my knight is Ty McCabe, that he came in and helped save me from myself, and now, now I'm going to save him.
I lean over and kiss Ty on his perfect lips, feel his warm hands on my hips and decide that I won't tell him about the baby, not yet. First, I'll save Ty McCabe and then I'll tell him. I see his eyes are wide, and there's a bit of sweat on his forehead. I smile and realize that I've forgotten to answer the one question that I never thought I'd hear, especially not from Tyson McCabe, my bad boy, my tortured soul, my little piece of dark with bits of light that glimmer like stars.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Yes, I will.”
If you enjoyed this book, look for the third book In the Never say Never Trilogy!
Books by C.M. Stunich
The Seven Wicked Series
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Houses Novels
The House of Gray and Graves
The House of Hands and Hearts and Hair
The House of Sticks and Bones
The Huntswomen Trilogy
The Feed
The Hunt
The Throne
Indigo Lewis Novels
Indigo & Iris
Indigo & The Colonel
Indigo & Lynx
Never say Never Trilogy
Tasting Never
Finding Never
Keeping Never
Stand Alone Novels
She Lies Twisted
Hell Inc.
DeadBorn
Broken Pasts
Fuck Valentine's Day
About the Author
C.M. Stunich was raised under a cover of fog in the area known simply as Eureka, CA. A mysterious place, this strange, arboreal land nursed Caitlin's (yes, that's her name!) desire to write strange fiction novels about wicked monsters, magical trains, and Nemean Lions (Google it!). She currently enjoys drag queens, having too many cats, and tribal bellydance.
She can be reached at [email protected], and loves to hear from her readers. Ms. Stunich also wrote this biography and has no idea why she decided to refer to herself in the third person.
Happy reading and carpe diem!
www.cmstunich.com
Finding Never (Never say Never) Page 16
