“And I don’t want to wait,” she said. “Like, I could marry you tomorrow.”
Turned out he didn’t have to figure out his wording. Holding her hand, he guided her a few hundred feet then pulled open the hangar door and let Lexi step in. “I thought maybe you’d say yes.”
She giggled. “I’m a sure bet.”
As they rounded a corner, he took in the partially lit hangar, complete with a flight crew and fueled jet. “Go to Vegas with me? Right now?”
“Are you kidding me? Hell yes!” Laughter bubbled from her throat as her smile reached her icy blue eyes. “This is insane.”
They approached the G6. Parker hugged her close, waving to the captain as he brought her to the stairs. “We’re a go.”
“Excellent. Congratulations.” The captain nodded. “We’re ready now.”
Lexi’s eyes bugged. “You planned to take me to Vegas?”
Parker already had a reservation waiting for them at a little chapel there. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I’ve been planning to take you to the altar since the day you told me you loved me.”
“What?” Her blush painted her cheeks. “I was so embarrassed!”
“You stormed up and laid it on the line. There was no question you would be my wife.”
She squeaked as he carried her the last few steps into the cabin. “Wow, I love you.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
As the captain said his spiel, Parker ran them to the bed in the back, where he tore off her clothes and shed his. Their bodies clung together, their hearts hammering as they always seemed to do.
He held his world in his arms. Not only had he made her a home and given her a family, but she gave him all the same. That connection was something he’d never known he wanted or needed, and now there was nothing more clear than his need to know her as Mrs. Lexi Black.
EPILOGUE
Ten years later…
Lexi’s phone rang, and she jumped to silence it before it woke the baby. But it was the school, so she had to answer it. She almost could say verbatim what the call was about, but there was always a chance that there was a real emergency.
“Mrs. Black?” the yippy voice of the kid’s principal sounded.
She rolled her lips into her mouth. “Yes.”
“We have a problem. Again.”
This time, Lexi accidentally let loose a small laugh. No matter how often the school called, she couldn’t be mad at her kids. Yeah, they’d be reprimanded, and they’d never know that she thought most of their… antics were genius. But that was how they rolled, she guessed. “Okay.”
“Addy had show-and-tell today.”
“Yes, I know. She brought in that Molly Talks-A-Lot toy.”
“Yes, well, apparently Molly Talks-A-Lot has a potty mouth.”
“Oh no…”
“Oh, yes. When Molly Talks was brought in front of the entire kindergarten class, Molly didn’t say ‘Touch your toes’ or ‘Count to ten.’ Molly said, ‘You are a silly snail,’ ‘Toots smell like poots,’ and ‘Mrs. Snyder is in time out,’ which, to five-year-olds, is hysterical.”
Lexi squeezed her eyes shut too. Hardly a potty mouth and kind of hysterical to adults too. “I’m sorry. I’ll have a talk with the boys.”
“Yes, again, please.”
The call disconnected. Lexi scrolled through her phone until she found Parker’s name. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, so guess who called me today?”
He groaned. “Again? The boys?”
“Yup.”
“What’d they do?”
“Hacked Molly Talks-A-Lot.”
Parker burst out laughing. “God, they’re good.”
Maybe it was the age for mischief. Last week, Sugar had had to tell her girls not to booby trap the neighbors, Nicola and Beth had to have a talk about projectile devices having a time and place, none that were in the cafeteria, and both Mia and Caterina had practice unarming various toys.
“You didn’t help?” She smiled, rocking the baby and brushing the dark locks on the little guy’s head.
“Hack Addy’s doll? No.”
Lexi whispered, trying to keep the baby asleep, “You’re the one with genius genes. I’m going to blame you.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Blame me all you want. They’re the ones who found that article in the New York Times about your—”
“Shhhh.” The wiggling bundle sleepily blinked. “Okay, fine. We’re both to blame.”
“If making genius babies with you is trouble, then life is good.”
Lexi looked over the nursery that had slept four babies, then her eyes drifted out the window and over the lush green land. “Life’s better than good.”
They’d given each other a family and so much more than just love and acceptance. Everything was possible for her because of him, even if her husband made her feel as though she was the reason the world kept spinning.
Lexi closed her eyes after telling Parker that she loved him, and she rocked their baby back to sleep. Carefully, she placed him in the crib and walked down the hall, passing an anniversary present Parker had given her. It was a black-and-white sketch of their family with brilliant bursts of color all over the portrait. All he’d said when he gave it to her was, “Thank you for letting me color outside the lines.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense, military romance, new adult, and contemporary romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon's Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.
Connect with Cristin: Email | Facebook | Twitter | Team Titan
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The Titan Series:
Book 1: Winters Heat
Book 1.5: Sweet Girl
Book 2: Garrison's Creed
Book 3: Westin's Chase
Book 4: Gambled
Book 5: Chased
Book 6: Savage Secrets
Book 7: Hart Attack
Book 8: Black Dawn
The Delta Series:
Book 1: Delta: Retribution
Book 2: Delta: Revenge (coming soon)
The Only Series:
Book 1: Only for Him
Book 2: Only for Her
Book 3: Only for Us
Book 4: Only Forever
Each Titan and Delta book can be read as a standalone (except for Sweet Girl), but readers will likely best enjoy the series in order. The Only series must be read in order.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sometimes, when life’s the hardest, when the hurdles seem almost insurmountable, that is when true colors show. This book would not be possible without the hard work of so many people.
Thank you to my family. Your support has never wavered and your unconditional love is more than I could ever have dreamed of. Simply put, I love you. Courtney, you’re an expert I can call upon for research, but you’re my sister and best friend more than anything. Mom and Dad, thank you for giving me that inner fight that it took to make this book happen.
Tackle hugs for Team Titan. Your book pimping skills are phenomenal, but your love and support for everyone, not just me, but each other, sets the bar for how people should act. With love, grace, and an uplifting spirit. I truly can say you make me laugh and smile each day. I hope you love Parker and Lexi as much as I do. This book was a labor of love with so many of you in mind.
Sara Shone, welcome to the team. There are so many reasons why this book is possible, but you are a major factor. Thank you for your dedication, your intelligence, and your beauty, both inside and out.
Julia Sutherland, there are days that I thank God you have come in
to my life. There was a reason we met, and I didn’t know the extent and the purpose, but I can’t imagine life without you.
JB Salsbury and Claudia Connor, there are days that I knew all would come together for Lexi and Parker because you believed in this story as much as I felt it. Thank you for the line by line work you did on Black Dawn. Sharon Kay and Racquel Reck, you have been a valuable resource that I appreciate more than you’ll ever know.
Finally, thank you to Parker and Lexi. Yeah, I know. They’re not real, but for so many reasons they are to me. I love this story mostly because of how they triumphed in the end. Love should never hurt.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2015 Cristin Harber
All rights reserved. This book or any portions thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author and publisher except for the use of brief quotations used in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally.
ISBN-10: 1-942236-08-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-942236-08-5
www.CristinHarber.com
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