A Lot Like Perfect
Page 19
“Shush. That is not what happened.” It was exactly what had happened because he’d been too caught up in her to keep his head on straight. “Okay, maybe a little. The thing is, we’re done with the barn renovations and I want to start shouting to the world how great of a place this town is.”
Cassidy and Tallhorse had vanished inside the schoolhouse, working feverishly to get the place ready for students in the fall, the number of which they hoped would grow as new people heard about the revitalization going on. That’s where Isaiah—and Aria—needed to come in. The six-month deadline was already a third over. They had to make more progress or the town would be in trouble.
And he wasn’t giving up his happily ever after.
“Because you’re sticking around this time,” she said softly, her smile reflected in her eyes. “We’re both sticking around. Who better to sell people on the concept of making this a permanent destination than us?”
Yes. Exactly. Though she hadn’t been so thrilled the last time he’d brought this up. She’d seen it as yet another wedge between them that meant he couldn’t go with her, so he hadn’t brought it up until he was sure they’d worked through everything keeping them from forever.
“You read my mind.” His throat got a little tight as he thought about how easily he could have let her slip away. “What else am I thinking?”
“That the party should happen right here on this roof.”
“Not even cl—” Then what she’d said sank in. “Yes. That’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?”
He could picture it perfectly, with throngs of people and music. After dark, of course, so the stars would provide a backdrop of epic, celestial proportions. The whole town could come, plus all of the guests he and Aria would drum up. Together.
“Because we’re a team,” she told him succinctly and nestled next to him on the loveseat with another kiss that was way too short.
But it created a pause that swelled with things his heart couldn’t contain. Surely the poor organ would burst if he didn’t spill out some of the love in there.
“I have something for you,” he told her.
“You do?” She sat up, taking her warmth and delicious scent with her. He’d looped several strands of outdoor lighting through the loveseat’s legs and along the perimeter of the patio and some of them reflected in her shiny eyes.
“Yeah. But you weren’t supposed to move,” he chastised her lightly and pulled her back into place against his chest. “I bought this thing with room for two on purpose.”
Immediately, her weight settled against his torso easily and the best part was how much easier it was to breathe when she was with him like this. He draped one arm along her shoulders and fished out his surprise from the recesses of the cushion on his end of the loveseat.
“Fine. What is it?” she mumbled into his chest and he laughed as he handed her the long flat box. “I can’t open that when I’m busy listening to your heart. You open it.”
Because he liked the metaphor of flipping open the lid himself with her ear pressed up to the place where all of his vital organs functioned, he did it, revealing the plane tickets inside. “First class to Hawaii. I hope you can fit that into your busy schedule.”
“Oh, Isaiah,” she breathed and her hand came up to rest on his chest as she stared at the contents of the box. “I...that’s—well, it’s I don’t know what. My brain just fizzled.”
“It’s perfect,” he told her. “Or rather what’s going to make it perfect is if you’d do me the honor of marrying me on the beach while we’re there.”
That was enough to tangle up the air in his lungs. His first proposal. And definitely the last. He’d found everything he wasn’t looking for and then some. The future Mrs. West. How about that?
Her palm dug into his chest as she levered off to meet his gaze, with wonder and about a thousand other things flooding her face. “That is a lot of perfect. I would love to marry you on the beach or anywhere else you pick. Tomorrow. Next week. Tell me where to be.”
The impatience in her voice matched the urgency he’d been feeling to get to the next level. Nice to know they were on the same page. “After the party, we’ll go. It’ll be tough to wait. In the meantime, I got you this too as a reminder that soon, we won’t have to say goodnight on the roof any longer.”
He took her hand and held up the ring that he’d moved heaven and earth to find, then slid it onto her third finger. She admired it for the longest while, tears running down her cheeks. “Even more perfect. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
“It’s not luck. Providence,” he reminded her. “The universe had this in mind all along and it’s only because we had the wisdom to listen to Serenity that we were able to come together.”
They’d shared their predictions with each on this very roof, laughing over the irony. Of course, that had begged the question of who else Aria’s aunt had tagged with a love prediction. Marchande, maybe. That would explain his bad attitude lately, especially if Serenity had told him he was fated to be with only one woman.
“Really?” She shot him a look that was half-smirk, half-disbelief. “That’s what you’re going with? It’s only by the grace of God that we figured out how to stop being stupid long enough to fall in love.”
“Well. There’s that too,” he said with a laugh and then told her the final bit of his three-pronged approach to getting his life in order. “I’m looking into buying some property from Farmer Moon so I can build us a house. I hope that’s okay. If you don’t want to stay here, now would be the time to say so.”
“I want to stay,” she said firmly, her smile wide. “This is where I belong. Where we both belong.”
Isaiah couldn’t argue with that. The magic of Superstition Springs had created the perfect place for them to stick to each other.
How long will it take for Tristan and Cassidy to realize they’re meant for each other?
Find out in A Lot Like Fate.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for coming along with me to Superstition Springs! I appreciate you so much for jumping head first into this new series. It's been a labor of love as this town in progress has been living in a corner of my heart for a long time. I can't wait to bring you more stories from this magical little place. If you liked this story, please consider leaving a review. I love to hear from readers. Connect with me on Facebook or contact me via my website.
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—Kat Cantrell
TITLES BY KAT CANTRELL
A Lot Like Home
A Lot Like Perfect
A Lot Like Fate
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ABOUT KAT CANTRELL
USA Today bestselling author Kat Cantrell read her first Harlequin novel in third grade and has been scribbling in notebooks since she learned to spell. What else would she write but romance? When she’s not writing about characters on the journey to happily ever after, she can be found at a taekwondo tournament, watching Big Bang Theory or dancing with her kids to Duran Duran and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Kat, her husband and their two boys live in North Texas. She’s a Harlequin So You Think You Can Write winner and a former RWA® Golden Heart® finalist for best unpublished series contemporary manuscript. Click here for Kat’s newsletter signup.
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A LOT LIKE PERFECT
Copyright © 2018 KAT CANTRELL
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons
, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Proofreading by Kimberly Cannon
Cover by Kim Killion
Contents
About This Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Titles by Kat Cantrell
About Kat Cantrell