Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
She looked absolutely beautiful. Too stunning for me to form proper words. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, and for the briefest moment, I knew Millie, May, and William were here with us.
Paige and Phillip stopped in front of me, and Paige turned to her father.
“I love you, Daddy.”
He wiped a tear from his eye. “I love you more, my sweet girl.”
I reached out, and Phillip placed Paige’s hand in mine.
“She is precious and means the world to me,” he said, his voice cracking. “I couldn’t give her to you unless I knew deep in my heart that she meant the same to you.”
A heavy soreness built inside as I squeezed her hand gently.
“I’m not giving her away, Lucas. You don’t give away something you love. But you can share her with me.”
Paige let a sob slip free. “Daddy,” she whispered.
“Thank you, sir. And I swear, I will treasure and love her with everything I have for the rest of my life and beyond.”
He nodded, wiped his tears, and then went to his seat.
Paige and I took a few steps closer to Preacher Smith. I turned to her and our eyes met.
“You are breathtaking. Beyond beautiful.”
She smiled, a slightly pink tint to her cheeks. The preacher started to talk, but all I could do was look at her. When we faced one another to say our vows, I wasn’t even positive I was talking, but the way she was smiling at me, I knew I must have been. We exchanged rings, and when it came time for me to kiss her, I summoned up every ounce of strength I had not to ravish her with kisses and take her back to the house.
The kiss was soft, sweet, and slow. When we pulled away, we both laughed because everyone was cheering like a bunch a crazy people. I leaned my forehead to hers and stared into her soft brown eyes.
“Hello, Mrs. Foster.”
A tear slipped from her eye and made a slow trail down her cheek. “Hello, Mr. Foster.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For?” she asked with a giggle.
“For taking this slow and making me the happiest man on Earth.”
Paige smiled, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me once more. This time, the kiss was indeed a bit naughtier.
Three years later
AS I WALKED up to The Little Flower Shop, Paige stood outside. She was talking to an older woman, a smile on her face and one of the baskets she kept outside the shop in hand. It was filled with flowers that looked like small bundles of wheat. At her feet, a basket filled with mums, and next to that, even more flowers. The façade of her shop looked exactly how Paige had described years ago. The grey, wood-framed large windows gave it a rustic look. One of the windows opened and gave way to a small window box filled with Gerber daisies, one of Paige’s favorite flowers. Over the last three years, Paige had also turned the greenhouse at our place into one of the most impressive sights I’d ever seen. Half of the greenhouse held some of her favorite flowers, the other half was a play area for our daughter, Zoey.
Inside the flower shop was just as amazing as the outside. It was exactly how Paige had always described it. She had even picked up a few items for the shop when we went to Italy for our honeymoon. It had been two weeks of pure bliss. Exploring small villages, eating some of the most amazing food I’d ever tasted, and trying wine after wine, until I vowed to never drink wine again.
Paige stopped taking her birth control pills right after the wedding. We thought for sure we’d end up pregnant sooner rather than later. We certainly tried hard enough, and right when we resolved to stop pushing it, Paige got pregnant. By the time Zoey was born, a year and two months after our wedding, the flower shop had opened and was thriving. The house remodel had been finished, my office had been set up, with a nursery right off of it, with a door for me to walk straight through in case Zoey needed me. I’d started my own consulting firm, which allowed me to take on a very few clients. I spent most of my time helping my dad run the ranch and working a few constructions projects. Yeah, safe to say that we were very busy.
Paige had decided that we needed a small nursery in the back of the flower shop, as well, for the days she really wanted to have Zoey with her.
Zoey pulled at my hand as she tried her best to get to her momma. She squealed in delight, and Paige looked our way. A brilliant smile erupted on her face when she saw me and our almost two-year-old daughter heading toward her. She turned to the woman, said something, then set the basket down and held her arms open for Zoey. She ran right into them.