Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
She blinks, her smile faltering as confusion flickers across her face, and I can see the exact moment realization dawns. Her eyes widen, and she sits up straighter, her hand stilling against my leg. The banter around us fades, my brothers falling silent as they catch on, every eye turning toward us. The air thickens, charged with a sudden anticipation that makes my heart kick up a notch.
I take a breath, then shift, sliding my hand into my pocket and pulling out the small, velvet box. Lila’s hand flies to her mouth, her eyes going round, and I feel the tremor in my own hands as I drop down to one knee on the wooden porch, the motion rough but sure. The world narrows to just her—her wide, tear-filled eyes, the way her lips part in a breathless gasp, and the way everything I’ve ever wanted is wrapped up in the woman sitting right in front of me.
“Lila,” I say, and my voice is rougher than I mean it to be, cracking with all the things I can’t seem to put into words. I clear my throat, trying to steady myself, but the emotion won’t be contained. “You changed everything. You made me remember what it feels like to want more than just the next mountain, the next thrill. You made me want... this. Us. Every damn day.”
Her tears spill over, and she laughs—a shaky, beautiful sound that hits me right in the chest. She shakes her head like she can’t believe what’s happening, her hand reaching out to clutch mine, her fingers trembling against my skin.
I manage a grin, letting my thumb brush over the diamond in the open box, letting the light catch on it and throw shards of brilliance across the porch. “So, I guess what I’m saying is... stay with me, Lila. For good. Marry me, and I promise, I’ll spend every day making you glad you took a chance on a stubborn, mountain-loving bastard like me.”
For a moment, she just stares at me, her expression open and raw in a way that makes my breath catch, makes me feel like I’m the one whose balance is teetering. And then, all at once, she’s moving—dropping to her knees in front of me, her hands clutching my shoulders, her mouth crashing against mine in a kiss that’s messy and desperate and filled with laughter.
“Yes, Holt. Yes, I’ll marry you,” she says, the words breaking on another laugh as she pulls back just enough to press her forehead to mine. “God, you make me so damn happy.”
The porch erupts around us—cheers, clapping, my brothers shouting half-teasing, half-approving jabs, and my mother wiping at her eyes with a proud smile. Lila pulls back, wiping her own tears away with the back of her hand, and I take her hand in mine, slipping the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly—just like she fits in my arms, in my life, in every plan I never thought I’d have.
Lila glances down at the diamond, then back up at me, her expression softening with something deeper, more serious. “You know, my parents are going to insist on a big, traditional Catholic wedding. White dress, church bells, the whole nine yards,” she says, a wry note creeping into her voice, but I catch the thread of worry beneath it.
I cup her face, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw, feeling the rapid pulse beneath her skin. “Is that what you want?”
She hesitates, her eyes searching mine, then shakes her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Not really. I want something that’s just...us. Something that’s real.”
My grin sharpens, a flash of possessive pride warming my chest as I pull her closer, leaning in until my lips brush her ear, the words a promise against her skin. “Then we’ll do it our way, right here. Just you, me, and the place where we fell in love.”
She smiles up at me, her expression as warm and golden as the sunset behind her, and I know—deep down in a place I’ve kept locked away for so long—that I’ve found everything I didn’t know I was searching for. And as I kiss her again, with the sun sinking behind the mountains and the future unfolding before us, I make a silent vow to myself.
To hold on, to fight for her, to build the kind of life I never thought I deserved.
And this time, I know she’ll be right there with me, every step of the way.
Epilogue
Lila–one week later
The crisp mountain air fills my lungs as I stand at the edge of the secluded ledge, the warm glow of the setting sun casting long, golden shadows over Devil’s Peak. The world stretches out below us—endless shades of green and blue, the valley dipping and rising like it’s breathing along with me. The sky shifts from deep pink to violet, the stars just beginning to twinkle overhead, and yet all I can focus on is Holt.