Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to put this off, baby,” he says, sliding the ring on my finger. “I want you to be my wife sooner rather than later. We can get married now and plan a big party when things settle down.”
“How soon?”
“Today, tomorrow.” He shrugs. “All it’ll take is a quick trip to the county clerk’s office to get our marriage license. There’s no waiting period, so we can get married as soon as we have it. And my dad knows a judge who’ll do it for us.”
“That is really soon,” I say, a niggle of worry in the back of my mind. “Why?”
He looks at Jenna then at the ring on my finger, and even though I can’t see his eyes, I can tell he’s tense. “I have to go back to Vegas.”
My heart sinks thinking about him being away from us again. “When?”
“Sven will send a plane when I tell him I’m ready to go.”
I haven’t met any of Justin’s friends other than Kenton and Autumn, but I know Sven is involved in everything that’s going down in Vegas. Well, him and another guy named Kai.
I look at the beautiful ring on my finger and my throat gets tight. Even when I’ve asked, he hasn’t talked to me about what’s been happening. All he’s said is things are being taken care of. Still, I have a feeling it’s worse than he’s been letting on. It could also be why he’s pushing so hard for me to marry him now.
“Are you worried about what might happen while you’re away? Is it why you want to marry me?”
“I want to marry you, because I’m in love with you and want to spend the rest of my life as your husband and Jenna’s father.” He cups my cheeks. “Do you trust me?”
I don’t even have to think about that answer. “With my life and Jenna’s.”
“Do you love me?” His fingers skim down my cheek.
“You know I do.”
He places his lips against mine. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes.”
He takes my hand and his thumb caresses the skin on my finger just under his ring. “Then just trust me.”
I close my eyes and remind myself that he’s always done everything within his power to take care of Jenna and me and that he would never do anything to hurt us. “Okay.” I open my eyes back up.
“Thank you.” He kisses me swiftly then stands and takes Jenna from my arms and places her in her bassinet. When he comes back to me, he pulls out his phone, dialing before putting it on speaker. “She said yes!”
“Of course she did,” I hear who I think is Jasper say, and my eyes widen. “Congratulations, son.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Yep, hold on. Your mom’s been waiting for you to call.”
“I’m so excited,” Cora says, and Justin grins at me, making me wonder when he spoke to his parents about his plan and exactly how much they know.
“Good, because I need your help.”
“Whatever you need.”
“I’m gonna take care of Jenna while you take Aubrey out to look for a dress.”
“I’m on my way,” she says then adds, “I should be there in the next thirty minutes.”
He laughs while I just stare at him. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, honey.” The line goes dead.
“How long have you been planning this exactly?” I ask as he lifts me up then settles me on his lap.
“I’ve had your ring for the last three weeks. I wanted to ask you when you were comfortable being away from Jenna for a night or two, but this afternoon, I….” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. Things changed, and I don’t want to leave again without you being my wife.”
“Will things ever be normal between us?” I ask, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Normal?”
I tip my head back to catch his eye. “You met me when I was pregnant. We haven’t even had a real date, because I gave birth not long after we met. Jenna and I moved in with you just days after she was born—something you knew would happen, because you moved us in without even asking me beforehand,” I remind him, and he smiles at the memory. “Now we’re getting married, but doing it within a few hours of you asking me.” My nose wrinkles. “We’re totally not normal.”
“I like how things are between us. We skipped all the bullshit and got right to the good stuff.”
“Still, we’re not normal.”
“I’m okay with that.” He kisses me then lifts me off his lap to stand. “Now go get ready, so you can pick out your wedding dress.”
“Do I even need a dress if we’re just going to the courthouse?”
“Yes,” he says firmly with a twinkle in his eye that makes me wonder if he’s up to something.
“I’m trusting you.”