#1 Rival
Page 28
“Things change,” he said, the smile I’d been desperate to see all night spreading across his lips. His first genuine smile. “And I want you as my wife, if you’ll have me.”
I couldn’t speak, my eyes starting to water as every single word I wanted to say got lost on the way out of my mouth.
“I had this plan to take you to Heart and Vine, and then I was going to—”
“Yes.” I didn’t bother letting him finish. “Yes, I want to marry you and I don’t need a fancy proposal. Oh my God, Roman.” I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head against his chest. “A million times yes.”
He chuckled, his laugh vibrating under my cheek. “I would have gotten on my knees, Harper. You sure you want to give that up?”
I hugged him tighter. “I’m not giving anything up and that includes you.”
His hand disappeared into his pocket and he pulled out a small teal box, inside was a gorgeous platinum solitaire. A perfect round band with a perfect round stone—simple, elegant, and exactly what I would have chosen for myself.
He lifted my left hand from his chest and slipped the ring on my finger. “Marriage never made sense to me before because I couldn’t imagine loving anyone forever. But now I have you, and there isn’t a future without you in it. Now I understand why people do it, and nothing makes more sense than asking you to be my wife.”
Any hope I had of not crying was lost as a tear ran down my cheek. I couldn’t even speak, too emotional to say something equally as beautiful to him. So I nodded and then kissed him, and it seemed to be enough. The tension in his shoulders eased as he kissed me back, wrapping his arms around me as the noise inside the theatre got louder, Eric and Tia having recently made their arrival.
“You want to go back to our seats?” He kissed my hand, ignoring his older brother moving to the front of the theater as the crowd applauded.
I nodded, clearing my throat. “I’ll go anywhere with you.” My answer making him grin.
With the ring he’d given me less than a few minutes ago on my finger, he led us back to our seats, and my cheeks hurt from smiling.
I didn’t care if it wasn’t a traditional proposal, or it hadn’t been the way he’d planned, or that he hadn’t gotten down on one knee. None of that would have been us anyway.
Dave and Nick both smirked when they noticed my hand, trying to offer their congratulations discreetly while the director spoke about the movie. I was sure they had more to say about it, but we were probably going to have to wait for that. In truth, I didn’t care what they said, or what anyone else said for that matter.
A man who had once been my biggest rival was now my number one love.
Life was nothing but awesome.
THE END
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THIS BOOK NEEDS EXTRA SPECIAL thank yous, because without the love and support of some amazing people, I might not have made it through. For every single one of you beautiful angels who checked in on me, visited, sent flowers, messages, emails, smoke signals—I love and appreciate you more than words. You are my heart when mine was in pieces.
Gep, Jenna, Liam and Woodley—without you I am lost. I have the best family in the world. You are perfect.
To my mum—all those times I needed help and you never complained or turned me down. Thank you a million times. I need to call you more, and I will.
To my brothers, the amazing sister-in-laws they’ve given me and their families. You’re awesome and we’re all okay.
Thank you to my friends. LORD, how did I get so lucky? You are rock stars; I love you and I thank you for understanding me and accepting me as I am.
To my amazing “person” at Social Butterfly PR- Emily Smith-Kidman. I have no idea how I would have gotten through #1 Player’s release and moved onto this one. I will never be able to thank you enough for your kindness, understanding, love and support. I adore you.
My agents, Kimberly Brower and Jess Dallow from Brower Literary and Management—Thank you.
To my amazing betas, MK and Danielle. Your insight and keen eyes are the bomb. I love your feedback, and so glad you enjoy my books.
To Hang Le—So much love. You have gone beyond being a cover designer, you are a friend and someone I’d be lost without. BUT your covers continue to defy my expectations.
Thank you to Nichole Strauss—my editor at Insight Editing. You were so gracious and patient with me, moving our schedule when I fell into a heap. I know we both keep each other on our toes, and I drive you crazy sometimes, but it works. Thank you for helping me through this, even though editing was the last thing I wanted to do.
To Christine Borgford from Type A Formatting, it’s a constant pleasure to work with you. Not only do you make everything beautiful, but you are a wonderful soul as well. Sorry for the date changes, and thank you for your patience.
Special thanks to my proofreaders MK and Rosa—your sharp eyes help make my books super awesome.
To all the authors who are in my world. Big, small, near or far—every single one of you has meant everything to me. The kindness you have shown me goes beyond words. No words. Literally none. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.
To all the bloggers and reviewers! I know I don’t always see your posts, reviews, comments, shares but I feel your love. I feel it and I appreciate it. Thank you for your tireless and often thankless work. Rock on!!
Thanks to the T Gephart entourage, you are awesome!!! I love “hanging” out with you. Thanks for everything you do.
Last but not least, thank YOU. To the person who bought this book, read it, possibly reviewed it or told someone about it. Whether you fit into one of those categories or all of them, I thank you. As long as you want to read my crazy, I’ll keep writing.
T GEPHART IS A USA Today and International bestselling author from Melbourne, Australia.
With an approach to life that is somewhat unconventional, she prefers to fly by the seat of her pants rather than adhere to some rigid roadmap. Her lack of “plan” has resulted in a rather interesting and eclectic resume, which reads more like the fiction she writes than an actual employment history. She’d tell you all about it, but the statute of limitations hasn’t expired yet. But all those crazy twists and turns have led her to a career she loves—writing romantic comedy.
When she isn’t filling pages with sassy and sexy characters with attitude, she’s living her own reality show in the ‘burbs of Melbourne with her American husband, two teenage children, and her fur child—Woodley.
She loves adventure, to laugh, travel, and strives to live her life to the fullest.
Connect with T
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The Lexi Series
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Crash Ride
Back Stage
The Black Addiction Series
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Sticks
Stand
#1 Series
#1 Crush
#1 Player
#1 Rival
#1 Lie
#1 TBA
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The Fall
Train Wreck