Wrecked: South Side Boys-Book 3
Page 19
“Scarlett, I didn’t get everything I wanted for Christmas, because I had to ask you to give this to me. Since you and Grant moved in, you’ve not only made this house a home, but you both have shown me what true love is. I thought I knew it before now, but I didn’t know it at all.”
I’m fighting tears as Maverick takes a small box out of the bag.
“I never thought any happiness could exist here. But you and Grant—you are happiness every day. You are my happiness, and this little baby will only add to that.”
He opens the box to reveal the perfect ring. A simple oval diamond solitaire on a delicate band. I already love it.
“Scarlett Brennan, will you make me even happier than you already do? Will you marry me? Be my wife? Be the mother of my children? Make me the happiest man in the world?”
I nod furiously through the tears as he slips the ring on my finger. I grab his face, kissing him with everything I can.
Grant, not really knowing what’s going on, must feel left out, because he launches himself on us, making us laugh before we bring him in for a group hug and pepper kisses all over his face.
“Buddy, I have one more present for you,” Maverick says, unlatching himself from the group hug to grab one more bag from behind the couch. Grant’s eyes light up because, well, he’s four and he loves presents.
“I think I loved you before I loved your mom,” Maverick begins, and my tears are already flowing again. “As soon as you sat on my lap that first day you came here, you stole a piece of my heart, little man.”
He takes a breath, needing to compose himself. I know that Grant understands very little of this, but I also know it’s important for Maverick.
“Your mommy and I are going to get married, whenever she tells me she’s ready,” he says, smiling up at me. “Which means I’m going to be your stepdad. Is that okay?”
“Dada!” Grant says, eliciting smiles from both of us as Maverick hands him his last present: two tickets to see the monster trucks.
These boys and their trucks.
“That’s right, Grant. Maverick is your daddy,” I say, taking Maverick by surprise. “Maverick, you are his father in every way that counts. You have been a constant. You have shown him unconditional love when you didn’t need to. You will be the best father in the world. To both of our children.”
Maverick reaches up and takes my face between his hands, placing a kiss on my lips that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.
Because it’s the first kiss after we, in our own special way, became a family.
Untitled
EPILOGUE—GRANT
Five years later
“Never have I ever ‘accidentally’ lost a toy that belonged to one of our children?”
My mom, dad, and all of my aunts and uncles laugh before taking a drink of whatever they’re having. I don’t know what it is, but I know I’m not allowed to have it. Though Uncle Kalum says that one day when I’m ready, he’s going to drink it with me first.
I asked him when that would be, but he won’t tell me. I guess it’s a surprise.
I also don’t know what game they’re playing, but every once in a while when my aunts and uncles come over to our house, they decide to play it. They say I’m too young to play.
I love it when everyone comes over, because it means I get to see my cousins. There’s Drew, who is Aunt Annabelle and Uncle Jaxson’s son. Even though he’s only four, he’s still fun to play with. We both love cars and trucks, so that’s pretty cool. And then there are the twins, Lucy and Lincoln, who are three. I love them, but they can be really bad, so they have to go into time out a lot. Mommy and Daddy say it’s because Aunt Tori and Uncle Kalum are their parents and they were in time out a lot when they were kids.
And of course, there’s my brother Evan, who will be starting kindergarten next year, and my baby sister, Allie, who just turned one.
Which is why everyone is over at our house tonight, celebrating my sister’s birthday. I don’t know why they had a party. All she did was get cake all over her face and Mommy opened her presents. Which she can barely play with.
I don’t know where Drew or Evan went, so I decide to go into the kitchen where all the grown-ups are. They will usually let me hang out with them as long as I don’t try to take a sip of their drinks.
When I walk in, my dad smiles and waves me over, picking me up and sitting me on his lap. I know I’m probably too old to sit on my dad’s lap, but he really seems to like it, so I let him. He and my mom are really happy. They are always kissing and touching each other and saying “I love you.” I know that not all parents are happy—at least that’s what some of my friends at school say—so I’m really glad mine are.
My dad still owns his garage, and I love the days when he takes Evan and me to work with him. He says one day, if I want, I can work there and be the boss, just like him. And I want to be just like my dad when I grow up.
My mommy is a nurse at a doctor’s office. It’s always fun when we visit her, because they give us candy. She loves her job and helps sick people get better. She told my whole class about it on career day.
“Are you ready for your exhibit?” my dad asks Aunt Annabelle, who is rubbing her belly because there’s one more cousin on the way.
“As much as I’m going to be. I’m just hoping the baby doesn’t decide to come before it opens.”
“Everything will be fine,” Tori says. “You’ve done a ton of these, so there’s nothing to worry . . . Lucy! What have I told you about hitting your brother? That little shi—sorry, everyone, I’ll be right back.”
Looks like Lucy is headed to time out. Again.
“Remember when these nights used to be at the bar?” Uncle Jaxson asks. “Before we were all married with kids?”
“Ah, those were the days,” Uncle Kalum says, now trying to calm down a crying Lincoln. I don’t blame the kid. Lucy got him good.
“Yeah, what was the name of that place?” my mom asks as she begins to clean up the kitchen.
“Did it have a name?” my dad says, and everyone just shrugs their shoulders. “How did we go to a bar for years and not know the name of it?”
“All I know is that’s where we all met, and it’s why we’re here today. So whatever its name was, I’m glad it existed.”
Leave it to Aunt Annabelle to make everyone cry. She does that a lot.
Aunt Tori is back now, with a crying Lucy in her arms. Somehow, all the cousins have come into the kitchen, sitting with parents, aunts, or uncles. I learned in school that family is who’s related to you, but my parents say that’s not always true. That sometimes family can be friends you love, who you want in your life every day.
I love my family.
As the grown-ups keep talking about the place they all met—none of them able to remember the name—I decide that I’m going to find the name of it. I don’t know where this place is that they’re talking about, but I want to go someday. Maybe, when we are big, all the cousins can go and see this place. It sounds like it’s pretty special.
And if it’s the reason I have this family, as crazy as we are, then it’s the best place on earth.
READ THE REST OF THE SOUTH SIDE BOYS HERE
Damaged-Book 1
Broken-2
Redemption-Book 4 (Coming February)
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About the Author
Alexis Winter is a contemporary romance author who loves to share her steamy stories with the world. She specializes in billionaires, alpha males and the women they love.
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