by Eliza Boyd
Her chest puffed as she filled it with air. After a deep, long exhale, she said, “I couldn’t let her down, Evan. We did that to too many other people, and I didn’t want Hadley to be one of them.”
“I didn’t, either,” he said. Then he shoved a hand through his hair. “And she was really hurt today when she thought you weren’t coming.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to come,” she told him, staring at Hadley as she found her friends and chatted with them. Then she hit Evan with an intense gaze. “But I got her text and knew I had to.”
“But that text didn’t tell you what day this was happening. How did you know to come tonight?”
One side of her mouth tipped up into a small smirk. “I gave them my real phone number at our meeting, remember?”
“Ahh,” Evan said, remembering that too. He slowly nodded. “That’s right. It kind of came in handy now, didn’t it?”
“I suppose it did,” she agreed, the other side of her mouth curling upward too.
“Yeah.” Evan turned so he was facing Nicole full on. His heart pounded in his chest at the idea of laying it on the line, but he couldn’t wait another second now that she was back in his presence. “Because my daughter wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the thought of you not being here.”
Her smile fell and she bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t either, Evan. My father had to talk me into not ignoring my phone, so you’ll have to thank him, really.” Then she scrunched her face, removing her hands from her pockets. “Although he dropped a bomb on me right after that, so…” She shook her head slightly. “But I needed to hear it. It reminded me of what’s important. That, yeah, other people got caught in the crossfire—but we got hurt too. That things veered so far off track with us, but they started with our hearts in the right place, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, they did.” He stretched his hand out, catching the tips of her fingers with his. The moment they touched, his heart leapt. “Is that where yours still is?”
Nicole nodded without any hesitation, her eyes glittering in the fluorescent lights overhead. “Yes. And I should have told you a long time ago,” she said, stepping forward and taking more of his hands in hers. “We were so caught up in keeping the pretense up that the reality of it sank in at all the wrong times. Then my dad…” After taking a deep breath, she let it out in a rush. “It was all just a lot and our timing sucked,” she chuckled.
He did too, appreciating the lighthearted moment when things had been so serious lately. “It really did,” he agreed. “And our communication.”
“Yes!” Her eyes flared wide as she nodded her agreement. “And that’s exactly the lesson my dad taught me about today. So no more keeping things inside and waiting until the time is right.”
Taking a step toward her this time, he closed up the space between them little by little. “Now is always the right time.” He lifted both of her hands in the air and kissed the tops of them. As much as he’d missed doing that since she’d walked away three weeks ago, he wanted more. He wanted her closer, in his arms.
But they were in a classroom full of children and other parents who didn’t need to witness their first real kiss.
Then he got an idea. With his eyes on Nicole, he raised his voice. “Hey, Hadley?”
“Yeah?” She ran over to them. “What’s up, Dad?”
“I know we already ate dinner, but what do you think about getting some burgers after this?” he asked her, still watching Nicole, whose eyes lit up at the idea.
“Sounds good to me!” Hadley pointed to a wall on Evan’s left. “Can I show you my paintings now?”
“You sure can,” he told her before following her over there.
He and Nicole listened to Hadley’s explanation of her finger-painting: a tree that grew apples and oranges that made people feel better when they ate them. She suggested that Nicole’s dad eat some, and Nicole told her all about how much better he was doing after that hug from her. The look on Hadley’s face when Nicole informed her that he was walking with crutches thanks to that hug melted Evan’s heart. So did the expression on Nicole’s face when Hadley gave her another huge hug and thanked her for coming again. Then Hadley wanted to go eat, so all three of them left the building holding hands, Evan and Nicole swinging his little girl around.
As soon as they got to the car though…
As soon as they were away from their previous audience…
As soon as Hadley was buckled in the back seat and they were away from her prying eyes…
Evan swept Nicole up into his arms and kissed her lips, holding her so tight against him that he could barely breathe. But he didn’t need air when he had Nicole. He just needed to never let her go again.
Her warmth sank into his chest as she kissed him back. His lips tingled as they moved against hers, and as her hands wrapped around his neck, his slid up her back. The scent of her floral shampoo drifted up his nose—his favorite smell ever.
“I love you, Nicole,” he whispered against her lips, ignoring the crisp chill in the air. “You need to know that.”
She shook her head a little, brushing her icy nose against his and smiling wide. “In the interest of communication, I need you to know that I love you too.”
He kissed her again, her soft lips melding against his one last time before they broke apart and got into his Jeep. But he was already thinking about the next time he’d get to do that. And the next time. And the time after that.
Evan hoped there’d never come a time when he wouldn’t get to kiss her. He wanted to wake up next to her and go to sleep beside her at night. He wanted to make their fake engagement real and press his lips to hers after vows and “I do’s.” Though he didn’t want to rush things, he never wanted to lose her again. And after tonight, he’d make sure he never did.
For himself.
For his daughter.
And for Nicole.
Forever.
Epilogue
“You sure you don’t mind watching Hadley?” Nicole asked Rose when she arrived at Evan’s house. “We can take her with us. It’s no big deal.” She rolled up the sleeves of her sweater, too warm in it on that beautiful spring day. Summer was just around the corner, and she couldn’t wait.
“Nope!” Hadley squealed, bouncing on her toes. “I’m staying here with Grandma!”
“Of course I don’t mind.” Rose wrapped her hands around Hadley’s shoulders before whispering something in her ear.
Nicole couldn’t hear it, but maybe it was something about her bedtime getting extended if she calmed down a little. It must have been something like that, because a second later, Hadley mimed zipping her lips and throwing the key away.
“Besides,” Rose continued, checking the watch on her right wrist, “I actually have company coming over to help me keep an eye on this little lady.”
Hadley craned her neck back to look at her grandmother. “You do?”
“Your friend Lisa?” Evan asked, breezing into the foyer with a grin on his lips and stopping Nicole’s heart on a dime.
He must have just shaved. His hair looked just messy enough to be styled but not styled enough to be called out for it. The black button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows made his dark eyes pop, and the jeans he was wearing could have been designer, but she knew they weren’t. He wasn’t into all of that. Even with all the money he had, he wanted to invest it in his future. In his daughter’s future.
In their future too, she hoped.
She didn’t know what that looked like yet, but it barely mattered. All she cared about was that he wanted to take her on a date that night.
In the spirit of taking things slow in order to figure their individual lives out and balance them with this new aspect, they hadn’t gone on many dates. He’d taken her to the movies twice, and she’d treated him to dinner at The Cavern to make up for the one he’d paid for there. But this night felt special. He hadn’t told her what he had planned, and butterflies fluttered around in her stomach as
she thought of the possibilities.
Not of where they would go or what they would do when they got there. But of all the moments they’d collect, the memories they’d share, while they were together.
It was going to be a great night no matter where they went or what they did. She was just happy they were together.
“No, not my friend Lisa,” Rose said, jarring Nicole from her Evan-centered daydreams. “There never was a Lisa. It’s my friend Ronald.”
Both Nicole and Evan swung their heads in her direction. They hadn’t been expecting a man’s name to leave her tongue, but it had.
And then the doorbell rang and she rushed to answer the door, almost giddy like a schoolgirl.
When Ronald stepped inside, Rose made introductions. But Evan and Nicole were both so shocked that she too had been lying in the midst of their fake engagement. That she’d hidden a friend—a man and maybe a boyfriend—from them this whole time.
Speechless, Evan shook the man’s hand, but then it was like he couldn’t help himself. “So there was never any tea shop?”
A cheeky smile covered his mother’s face as she shook her head. “No. I was going out with him, getting breakfast or dinner instead.”
Evan kept blinking at his mom, and Nicole didn’t know what to say. But Hadley sure did.
“Geez! Am I the only one who tells the truth around here?”
That made everyone break into a fit of laughter. And with that, Nicole waved to Rose and Ronald and hugged Hadley goodbye. Evan told his mom to be good and Hadley to keep an eye on her instead of the other way around. After giggles and smiles, they were both out the door.
It had barely closed behind them before he whisked her off her feet for a deep, passionate, toe-curling, sigh-inducing kiss. Honestly, she’d never get used to those. Or sick of them. Every single one brought butterflies and tingles and melted her into a puddle at his feet. The feel of his lips on hers—for real this time—was like heaven on Earth, and she wished she could bottle it up to keep forever.
Maybe one day they’d talk about making their previous fake engagement a real one. Until that day, she’d settle for deep, passionate, toe-curling, sigh-inducing kisses like the one that ended nearly a full minute later in the spring sunshine on his front porch.
“Excited for our date?” he asked, threading his fingers through hers as they practically skipped to the Jeep.
She was about to answer, but at the last minute, he tugged her toward him—and toward the Aston Martin.
“Let’s take this one today.” He winked at her as he unlocked her side of the car.
She hadn’t been inside this car yet. He’d taken the Jeep everywhere throughout the winter, but when the snow had melted, she thought he’d switch. But he hadn’t—until now. And she wondered why, but she let it go, enjoying the new-car smell and the breezy windows-down drive toward the city.
“Gonna tell me where we’re going yet?” she asked as they reached the downtown Denver area.
He shook his head. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Which she did two minutes later when he parked in front of her favorite diner.
She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Don’t act like you know about everything I have up my sleeve.” He grinned, leaning over the center console and pecking her on the lips. “Just get out, woman. We have food to eat.” Then he opened his door but turned back to her, holding a finger up. “Actually, wait.” After he got out, he swung around to her side and helped her do the same.
Chuckling at her hilarious boyfriend, she exited the car and smoothed her leggings out. When he offered her his arm, she took it gladly and walked with him up to the diner. Inside, he requested their usual booth, and before the server could even set the menus down, he ordered for the both of them.
“Two vegan burgers please. With the works.” His teeth gleamed in the overhead fluorescent lights, mischievous joy written all over his face.
“You know,” she said in a teasing tone, getting comfy on her side of the booth, “I knew you were gonna like those. But this much?” She leaned back and scoffed. “Come on. Are you sure that’s how you feel?”
In that second, the mischievous expression melted away, replaced by one so serious that her heart rate kicked up a notch. Was he buttering her up with her favorite meal to drop a bomb on her? Had something happened with Hadley and he needed to end things? Was this their last date and he wanted to make it special? She gulped, freaking out across from him.
“I’ve never been more sure about how I feel in my entire life,” he said, scooting out of the booth and rising to his feet. Then he dug in his pocket, and when his hand came out, a familiar white-gold band with three diamonds pinched between his fingers, he stood in front of her.
Only to bend one knee and kneel in front of her on the sticky floor a second later.
Nicole gasped and her hands flew to her face. And her heart hadn’t ratcheted up just one notch—it was running a marathon in her chest.
He wasn’t breaking up with her at all.
He was asking her to marry him.
Again.
For real.
“The first time I asked you this question here, a part of me meant it and hoped you’d say yes for other reasons,” he said, reaching for her left hand. As he held it, he held her gaze, too. “But now? Here? Again in this very same spot a few months later? Every single part of me hopes you’ll say yes. For real this time.” He positioned the ring in front of the correct finger and caressed her hand with his thumb. “I love you so much, Nicole. Marry me.”
With tears in her eyes, Nicole wanted to shout her answer from the rooftops. She wanted to tell every single person in that diner how much Evan Charleston, the billionaire who didn’t need any of that money to make her happy, meant to her. How much she wanted to marry him. That she’d marry him every single day for the rest of her life.
Not for pretend. Not for money. Not for anyone else.
But for herself. For her happiness. For her truth.
Because she loved him that much too.
So, with another set of seven words and a huge grin on her face, she let her true feelings ring out around the diner and changed her whole life yet again. “Yes. I’ll marry you for real now.”
Then she put her right hand out in front of her, extending it for him to shake on it.
One last time.
Evan’s eyes lit up when he realized what that meant. His hand fit perfectly in hers as they shook once to seal the deal. Then he slid the ring on her finger and launched forward, wrapping her up in his arms for a watery, tear-filled, yet still toe-curling and sigh-inducing kiss.
This time, it didn’t matter that everyone in the small restaurant was clapping for them. They could look on all they wanted. They’d witnessed their real engagement.
Nicole was really getting married. And her father, who was going to physical therapy three times a week to work on walking with a prosthetic, would be able to dance with her at her wedding.
In that moment, she realized that dreams do come true. Sometimes you have to accept a fake engagement for them to happen. Sometimes it’s a good thing that you get fired from a job. But every single time, you have to be honest about what you want. That was the biggest lesson she’d learned from this whole thing. One she’d take with her into her engagement, her marriage, and her life.
Her beautiful, blessed life with the man she loved and the little girl she adored.
Now, she wasn’t just engaging the billionaire. She was marrying him. She’d never been happier. And she had him to thank.
Which she’d get to do now.
Every single beautiful, blessed day for the rest of her life.
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Sneak Peek of True Love, AZ
Staying Inn for Val
entine’s
An inn owner with too much on her plate.
A drifter who doesn’t want to settle down.
But the magic of True Love has them in its grip.
(Book 1 in a small town sweet romance series)
Chapter 1
With ten minutes to get to Blushing Bridal, Penelope Galbraith hugged her father. “I’ll be back in a half hour.”
“Take your time, Nelly,” he said as he embraced her. “This place will still be standing when you get back.”
Her laugh echoed throughout the lobby of Inn True Love as she slung her purse over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from the man who opened it.”
“And the future of it is in the best hands I could have asked for.” Her father gave her a supportive smile.
But the thought made her pause. The inn was about to be hers now that her mother and her father were retiring, and she had so many plans for it—but she couldn’t deny how nervous she was about it. There was a lot of work to be done. Work she couldn’t possibly do herself. She’d figure it out though. In time.
For now, she needed to meet Julia to see how her final fitting was going. She hadn’t seen her friend in the dress yet, so she was bursting with excitement to get there. After she gave her father an enthusiastic wave, she headed out the door with a travel mug of her favorite tea.
As Penelope traversed down Soul Road on her way to town, she tried not to stress. She was on her way to see her best friend in the dress she’d get married in. She didn’t have to think about how unprepared she felt to take the inn over in a couple of weeks. That was a problem for later. Instead, she’d enjoy the snow falling all around her, the crunch of it under her boots, and the way her winter coat kept her warm in the icy cold.
Even though Arizona had a reputation for being all sunshine and cacti, that was a relatively small part of the state. Just about everywhere north of Phoenix got some sort of winter weather. Tucked into a small corner near Flagstaff, True Love was no different. Though the town’s reputation was full of warm hearts and romance, they still had snow, blistery-cold winds, and ice. Lots of those things during some winters. Even a town full of people in love couldn’t stop Mother Nature’s winter wonderland.
