“You and I building our family together. I like the sound of that.” His heartbeat raced. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
She smiled at him. “Depends on what you think it means.”
He pulled her into his arms and tilted her face up so he could see her. “Are you going to marry me, Eleanor?”
“I think that’s what I said.”
He crushed her to him, relief flooding his body. He and Eleanor had a future. After a few seconds of holding her close, he asked, “So which option do you want for the paper?”
“Which one do you want?”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as I have you, it doesn’t matter.”
She pulled back and looked up at him. “What about your father? Which option will impress him most?”
He looked deep into her eyes and knew he was a changed man because of her. He’d come to Lamar to impress his father with a mega business deal, but somewhere along the line he’d fallen in love with a mouthy Southern miss who’d showed him what was really important. “I think Dad wants me to be happy. As long as my decision keeps you in my life and in my bed, he’ll be impressed.” He paused. “So, the choice is yours. I’m yours.”
She squeezed him to her. “You and me and Our Family.”
He looked down at her. “Are you sure this is what you want?” She nodded. “I want a future with you, Jake. I want us to build something together. My father and my mother built the Lamar Daily and it’ll always be my legacy, the legacy of our children. But I also want to give them something from us. A legacy started by you and me.”
His eyes darkened and he kissed her again. When he lifted his head, he said, “I guess we have a deal.”
She grinned. “Though I was never too high on the idea of a Mason-Sanders merger, I now think this alliance could be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Epilogue
“Twins?” Mathias propped his feet up on the table in front of the couch in Randolph’s library and stuck an unlit cigar in his mouth. “Can you believe they’re going to have twins?”
Randolph lit Mathias’s cigar, then got one for himself. He’d ordered four cases as soon as he’d heard Eleanor was pregnant. A second order for four more cases followed when he’d learned she was having twins. Not one to stand on tradition, he’d already started giving them away. “My great-grandmother’s sister had twins. It’s those strong Mason genes.”
Mathias harrumphed, then tapped his cigar on the ashtray in front of him. “We did it, didn’t we, Randy?”
Randolph pulled the cigar from his mouth and blew a circle of smoke. “I never doubted it, Mat. I never doubted it.”
“Neither did I, Randy. Neither did I.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The End
About the Author
Angela Benson writes from the heart about matters that she has experienced and about which she feels strongly. She is the award winning and bestselling author of fourteen novels, two novellas and two non-fiction books. Her most recently published works are the relationship guide, Men Don’t Like Ugly, Women Don’t Like Broke, and the contemporary novel, The Summer of Me (William Morrow, 2016). Join Angela at http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBensonBook OR her website at http://www.AngelaBenson.com.
Other Titles by Angela Benson
Sweet Passion Contemporary Romance Series
Friend and Lover
The Nicest Guy in America
The Way Home
Bands of Gold
For All Time
Between the Lines
Single Title Inspirational Family Drama
The Summer of Me
Delilah’s Daughters
Sins of the Father
Up Pops the Devil
Genesis House Inspirational Romance & Family Drama
Awakening Mercy, Book 1
Abiding Hope, Book 2
The Amen Sisters, Book 3
Enduring Love, Book 4 (coming soon)
Nonfiction
Men Don’t Like Ugly, Women Don’t Like Broke: What Women Need to Know about Love, Money and Relationships
Telling Your Tale: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction for Print and eBook
Between the Lines Page 26
