The Kiss List
Page 19
Her father appeared on a video recording. “Haley, my girl.” He shook his head. “I went to bed one night, and when I got up the next morning, you were grown. Time is a thief, that’s for sure.”
Haley looked questioningly at Max.
Her father continued onscreen. “Your mother made a video for you and told me not to give it to you until the time was right. She told me that time was when your list guy found you. I didn’t know at the time what in the world she was talking about. But I do now. Anyway, here’s your mom.”
Haley began crying as a second video started and her mom appeared on the screen. She held up the journal in which she’d listed the names of the men when she and Haley were joking about soul mates.
“I don’t know who he is, but I know he’ll find you.” She smiled and lowered the journal. “Years ago, your father showed me a barren piece of land and told me he was going to grow Christmas trees there. He said we could build a life together. I thought he was crazy. We fought all the time.” She laughed. “I didn’t even like him that much, and then he kissed me.” She laughed again. “And I thought, hmm, possibilities.”
Haley let out a laugh mixed with a sob and took the tissue Max handed her. She wiped her eyes.
“That kiss changed everything. It gave me a life beyond all my hopes, and it gave me you. If you’re watching this, I know you’re at Bowman’s and that you’re about to start a wild, crazy, amazing adventure with whoever he is.” Her mom paused, blinked, and said, “Dream big dreams, my beautiful girl. I love you.”
The video ended, and Max got out of the car. He walked around to Haley’s side and helped her out.
He wiped the trail of her tears with his thumbs. “I asked your dad…I went to him…” He took a breath. “I told him I wanted to ask you to marry me. I said I wished your mom could be here, and that’s when he told me about the video.” He swallowed. “So yeah…I asked him…”
Haley couldn’t get any words out, her heart beat so hard.
“Hang on, don’t answer that yet.” Max took her hand and led her inside the building, not stopping until they reached the door of the office. “Your dad said he was standing on this exact spot when he asked your mom and that she laughed because she thought he was joking.”
“He asked her twice in this spot,” Haley said, smiling at the memory.
“I’ll ask a thousand times if that’s what it takes to get a yes,” Max said.
“Max, I can’t say yes.”
His face paled.
She lightly smacked his shirt. “Because you still technically haven’t asked.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.” He cleared his throat and took a ring from his pocket. “Haley Bowman, my little gargoyle, my soul mate, build a life with me. Will you marry me?”
“Nine hundred and ninety-nine more times to go,” she teased as she flung her arms around him. “Yes!” She kissed him. “I will build an amazing life with you.”
“And I with you,” he said as he slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her back.
“I couldn’t see it at the time, but I’m so thankful for all the stuff I went through that drove me to come back home. It brought me to you.”
“I think even though I didn’t realize you were on my radar, eventually I would have come to you had you not returned home.” He took the place card from his pocket and handed it to her. “Because when two people are meant to be, nothing can stand in their way. Not a viral video—”
“Or a stint in jail…”
“Or us being enemies.” He laughed. “C’mon, Haley, let’s go tell our families.”
“That we’re about to start the battle of a lifetime,” she teased.
“I’m more than ready to take you on.”
She traced his bottom lip with her finger. “Then it’s a good thing I have a feather wedding dress hanging in my closet just waiting for a ceremony.”
Max laughed again. “One thing’s for sure: I don’t think we’ll ever have a dull moment.”
“Probably not. I just know that I’m looking forward to every minute of it.”
Max kissed her. “Me, too, Haley.”
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Acknowledgments
It’s such a joy to have a book surrounded by such a talented and dedicated group of people like those who are part of the Entangled Publishing team. Once again, thank you for all the hard work.
Stacy Abrams, you are a rockstar of editors and I am truly fortunate to have you as my editor.
My amazing agent, Eva Scalzo, whose door is always open :) you have such wisdom and an amazing sense of humor. I’m so glad we’re a team.
Thank you, dear reader, for choosing one of my books!
About the Author
From the time she was a child, Sonya knew she was destined to be a writer. If she didn’t like the ending of a book or movie, she would write her own ending. When her children were young, she often wrote stories to entertain them. At the urging of one of her daughters, she submitted a short story and to her surprise and delight, it sold. Sonya loves writing all things romance, whether it’s writing contemporary adult or teen fiction and still hasn’t lost the wonder that she gets to do what she loves. She enjoys reading, movies, chocolate, and laughter and credits her daughters as being the sweetest blessings in her life. Visit her online at sonyaweiss.com.
Also by Sonya Weiss…
Stealing the Groom
Resisting Her Rival
Stealing the Bachelor
The Millionaire’s Forever
The Millionaire’s Temptation
The Millionaire’s Revenge Contract
Wedding Date Rescue
The Firefighter’s Perfect Plan
The Firefighter’s Cinderella
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