Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“I know, Brogan. I know that this isn’t a game. I know that it’s my life and yours. I know it sounds completely insane, but damn, baby, I don’t want to end this. I want us to stay married. I want you to be mine.” I pause, and since she doesn’t reply, I keep going, spewing all the jumbled thoughts in my mind and in my heart, hoping to convince her this is what I want.
She is what I want.
I don’t know what I can say to convince her. I just need time. Time to prove to her that we can be incredible. Time for her to fall in love with me. I’ve wanted her for so long. I need to give her time to catch up. I don’t want to get a divorce. She’s mine, and I want her to stay mine.
“Give me six months,” I blurt.
Her brow furrows in confusion. “What?”
“Six months. Give me six months to prove to you that we are the real deal. We are endgame.”
“You don’t know that, Maddox. You don’t even know me, not really. You might like the idea of a wife, but trust me, you don’t want that person to be me.”
“I do,” I say firmly. It’s not lost on me that those two words are what got us in this situation in the first place. “I know you, Brogan. I know that your nieces and your sister are your entire world. I know that you and your sister have been through hell and back and are still here fighting to tell your story. I know that I’m drawn to you like no one ever before, and I know that I want to give this a shot. Me and you.”
“I’m broken, Maddox.” She shakes her head, sorrow masking her features. “You don’t want to take on all that is me right now. Trust me.”
“Let me prove to you that I do. I want you. You’re not broken, Brogan. You might be a little bruised, but you're stronger than your past.”
“They told you.” She nods, as if she wasn’t sure if I knew her history.
“Emerson sat Lachlan and me down and told us what happened.” Dropping my hands from her face, I stand and hug her tightly to my chest. It’s not until I bend and rest my head on top of hers that I feel her arms wrap around me, returning my embrace. I hold her until she lets go, and even then, I hang on just a little longer before placing my index finger beneath her chin and tilting her eyes to mine.
“I’m a mess, Maddox,” she says, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Therapy is helping, but I don’t want to bring you down with all that.”
“And what about Briar and Forrest? Is she bringing him down? Of course not. Those two are kindred spirits. How do you know that we’re not?” I ask her.
“We’re going to miss our flight,” she says, changing the subject.
“Promise me we’ll talk more about this when we get home?” She nods, but that’s not good enough. “I need your words, Brogan.”
“I promise we’ll talk about this more when we get back to Tennessee.”
I don’t miss that she refused to say home, but that’s okay. I’ve got the entire flight back to form a plan. Six months is all I need to prove to her that we’re meant to be. Fate brought us together in that wedding chapel last night, and who are we to fight against fate?
“Are you packed?” she asks.
I glance over my shoulder to where my luggage sits. “Yeah, I just need to zip it all up. Do you need help?”
I’m greeted with a soft smile. “No. I can manage. Thank you, though.”
“We make a great team, huh?” I say, winking at her.
She shakes her head, but she’s unable to hide the corner of her mouth that’s tilted up as she tries to fight her smile. “You’re something else, Maddox Lanigan.”
“Right back at you, Mrs. Lanigan.” She sucks in a shocked breath, and I bite my cheek to keep from laughing. Instead, I lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth. “Go get packed, wife. We’re going to miss our flight.”
She opens her mouth to speak but snaps it closed, gives a slight shake of her head, and moves around me to start packing up her things. I take a trip around the room, making sure neither one of us left anything. That includes our marriage certificate. I store that safely in my carry-on suitcase. I make a mental note to frame it or maybe put it in a scrapbook or something when I get home. I’ll have to ask Emerson what she suggests. She and Roman have been married the longest in our group.
Fifteen minutes later, I have both of our suitcases in hand as we roll into the lobby to meet everyone. We take the shuttle to the airport, and I make sure to sit next to her, keeping my hand on her thigh. On the flight home, she sits next to Maggie. I almost ask Maggie to switch with me but think better of it. She might need to talk to someone, although it’s really quiet two rows up where they’re sitting.