Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“What do you think about this neighborhood?” Jamie says, reaching over and tucking hair behind my ear, causing tickles to shimmer over me. “Can you imagine raising a family here?”
I look around at the clean streets. At the end, a few kids are playing hockey on skates. A little girl and her mom sit in a nearby garden, with another girl running around chasing bubbles.
“Yeah, easily,” I tell him.
He leans close, breathing huskily in that just-Jamie way. It reminds me of countless memories of the past few weeks, a thousand secret intimate moments.
“One day, I’m going to buy us a house here. That’s why I wanted to do it here.”
“Do… what?”
Shivers dance over me. He leans back, smirking, looking stylish with his new haircut, clean on the sides and longer on top. He’s letting his beard grow a little, a layer of silver, giving him a sophisticated look in certain lights and a savage look in others.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
He climbs from the car, walking around my side. The car’s new, bought with the money from his first advance. He’s been negotiating, telling me he learned to take care of himself in prison. Taking my hand, he leads me into the park. He leads me to the corner. There’s a large concrete play area.
“The kids are allowed to draw here,” Jamie says, nodding to a few doodles in chalk. “The rain washes it away. Where I grew up, they would vandalize this place instantly, but not here. People respect it.”
He takes both my hands and stares down at me with that unflinching passion in his eyes.
“I love you, Lucy,” he says, “and I can’t wait to work my ass off to get us a place here. A place to raise a family.”
I throw my arms around him. “I’d go anywhere with you. You know that. As long as we’re together.”
He squeezes me. “Zack wants to show you something.”
“Zack?”
We turn and see him walking up the lane with Juliet, the social worker. Zack’s got his skateboard under his arm.
“Hey,” he says, smiling in his usual friendly, awkward way.
“Hey, Zack. Nice to see you.”
Juliet strides forward, placing her hand on my arm. “It’s not official, but we’re close, Lucy. We’re real close.”
I beam at Zack, his head swimming with all the emotions.
“I’ve been practicing a new trick, sis. Do you want to see it?”
Zack looks at Jamie. Jamie gives him a thumbs-up, and Zack grins. He walks onto the concrete play area, then leans down and attaches a piece of chalk to his skateboard.
“Just gotta… be careful about it.”
He starts skating in tight circles. At first, I don’t know what he’s doing, but the chalk begins to spell something as he takes tight turns. The letters are jagged, but the meaning slowly becomes apparent.
Will you marry me?
I turn, heart fluttering, when I see Jamie on one knee with a ring box in his hand. He has it open, presenting a large, elegant diamond.
“I wanted to wait until I got my first advance,” he says passionately. “You deserve a ring. You deserve the world. I love you so, so much, Lucy.”
“I love you too. Well, aren’t you going to put the ring on me?”
He smirks.
Beside me, Juliet and Zack chuckle.
“You haven’t actually said yes ye—”
“Yes, yes, yes!” I yell, and he grins, leaping to his feet.
He slips the ring onto my finger. The metal kisses my skin beautifully and coldly, and I know this is the happily ever after I never thought possible. He may be my dad’s killer, but most importantly, he’s my soulmate and the only man I ever want to be with.
“I’m so happy,” I whisper, hugging him tightly, breathing in his scent.
“It’s you and me forever.”
EPILOGUE
SOME WEEKS LATER
Lucy
“I’ve been transparent about why we agreed to this interview,” Jamie says, looking the interviewer in the eye.
His name is Marcus Price, and he’s known for asking hard-hitting questions.
“To make money,” he says.
Jamie wraps his arm around me and takes my hand. I look up at him, silently telling him I’ll handle this, then turn to the interviewer.
“Well?” Markus says.
“You said it like it’s a bad thing. Something terrible happened to Jamie. His life was stolen. He lost so many years. Can you blame him for wanting to use this experience for something good?”
“Money is good now, is it?”
Jamie laughs easily. I know people have fallen in love with his casual charm, but I also know he only has eyes for me. Even the rest of the studio seems to side with him, smiling. I don’t feel as nervous as I thought I would. Lately, with Jamie at my side, with all we’ve overcome, I feel like we can do anything.
“We’re going to use that money to start a family together,” I say, sitting up, my heart pounding. I didn’t plan this. “It’s not like we want to waste it. We want to bring love into the world. We want to give our children the life we never had.”