Not My Hero: Black Mountain Academy
Page 21
“What about Mom?” I ask as I sit down on the blanket.
There’s a light breeze in the air, cooling the air.
“It’s just the two of us today.” Colton sits down next to me and opens the basket and pulls out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Will you pour for us?”
“Sure.” My eyes keep darting to all the foods he’s unpacking, and I grin when I see the strawberries and cream. “You’re in a romantic mood today. What did I do to deserve all this?” I hand one of the flutes with bubbly to him.
“Can’t a man just show his woman how much he loves her?” he asks, a secretive look in his eyes.
“Yeah, but I get a feeling there’s more to this picnic. Did you break something, and this is your way of doing damage control before I find out?”
Colton shakes his head, and then he pulls another folded piece of paper out of his pocket. I watch him take a deep breath, and then he holds it out for me to take.
Opening the page, my eyes slowly drift over the words.
Despite our differences, I fell in love with you. Or maybe it was because of them. It doesn’t really matter because with you I’ve found something rare. You’re more than just the love of my life. You’re more than my best friend. Every moment we’ve spent together is imprinted in my heart.
You’re my reason for waking up every day. You’re my reason to push harder because I want to give you the world. I want to reach for the stars and hand them to you. My whole world fits in your heart.
I’ll love you until the sun stops shining, until the moon drops from the night sky, and until the last star has vanished.
Until the world stops turning. Always yours.
Colton.
I stare at the words until they begin to blur, and I don’t get any time to try and process what I just read because Colton holds another note out to me.
My eyes dart to his face and seeing how serious he looks, my heart begins to pound in my chest as I take the paper from him.
I suck in a deep breath of air, then open it.
Will you marry me.
Yes. □
No. □
A sob instantly bursts free from my lips, and I struggle to say, “I don’t have a pen.”
A pen appears in my line of vision, and I’m a mess as I laugh and cry at the same time. I tick one of the boxes, and wetting my lips, I lift my eyes to Colton’s as I hand it back to him.
A smile plays around his mouth, and for a moment, he stares at me before his gaze drops to my answer.
“Thank God.” He darts to his feet, pulling me up, and then engulfs me in a hug. “I’m going to make you so happy.” Framing my face with his hands, he presses a hard kiss to my lips.
The second he gives me a chance to talk, I say, “You’ve already made me happy, Colton. So very happy.”
COLTON
I pull the engagement ring from my pocket and taking Brie’s left hand, I slip it onto her finger. I take a moment to drink in the sight of my ring on her finger, then I lift my eyes to hers. “No pressure, but I want to get married this year.”
Brie sputters out a breath of laughter. “You know it’s July, right?”
“Yeah?”
She shakes her head, and with a happy smile on her face, she frames my jaw and presses a kiss to my lips, then whispers, “Anything for you.”
We sit down again, and my gaze keeps going to her left hand as we pick up the flutes. Brie holds hers in the air. “To us.”
I clink mine against hers. “To our happily ever after.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon eating while planning our future. There’s still so much we want to do. We’ve just bought a new house closer to the center, and want to renovate it.
“How are the plans coming along for our bedroom and ensuite bathroom?” Brie asks.
“I saw them yesterday. James said he’ll submit them for approval by the end of the week.” We’re breaking down a whole section to build another master bedroom. That way, we’ll have our own space, and Mom will have hers.
“Good,” Brie murmurs. She glances around, then says, “It’s starting to get dark. Should we pack up and head home?”
“Just one more thing.” Reaching for her, I pull her closer.
Brie wraps her arms around my neck. “I like where this is going.”
Cupping her cheek with my one hand, I stare into her eyes. “I can’t wait to change your name to Lawson.”
A soft smile forms around her lips. “That makes two of us.”
I claim her mouth and express everything I feel as I kiss her. How much I love her. That I can’t live without her. She owns every part of my heart and soul.
Breaking the kiss, Brie whispers, “I love you just as much.”
I help her up, and we quickly pack up the picnic. Brie takes the blanket while I carry the basket. With our hands interlinked, we walk across the lawn, both our gazes drifting over the dream we created together.
I got my masters in social work, and I’m ready to start helping kids. Brie will focus on helping them express what they feel with art while Mom will take care of the administration side of things.
We’re going to make a difference.
The drive home is quick, and when we walk into the house, Mom jumps up from the couch. “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me.” And then her eyes fall on Brie’s left hand, and she lets out a shriek of happiness. “Let me see!”
“You knew?” Brie laughs as Mom grabs her hand.
“Yeah, but he wouldn’t show me the ring,” she complains. “It’s so beautiful.”
Mom finally lets go of Brie’s hand, and it gives me the chance to ask, “Did you have dinner?”
“Yeah, I had a chicken and bacon sandwich.”
“I’m going to shower. Want to sit out back after I’m done?” I ask as I begin to walk to the stairs.
“I’ll pour us coke while the two of you clean up,” Mom offers.
Brie follows me to our room, and once we’re inside, I say, “I’d ask you to shower with me, but then Mom’s going to be waiting a while.”
Chuckling, she shakes her head. “We can’t have that. You go first.”
When we’re both finished and dressed in comfortable clothes, we join Mom outside. I stare out over the backyard then say, “Now that the center is done, I need to get to work on the garden.”
“We can all do it this weekend,” Brie adds.
Mom nods. “I’ll plant the flowers.”
Her words make the corner of my mouth lift. It’s always been her hobby.
My eyes drift from Mom to Brie, and it’s during moments like this when we’re all relaxed and talking about our future I’m at my happiest.
Just the three of us and endless possibilities.
I reach for Brie’s left hand and interweave our fingers. There’s a look of contentment on her face as her eyes meet mine. The longer I stare at her, the more I see.
Her wearing a white dress as she walks toward me.
Laughing children.
Crows feet and gray hair.
I see my entire life span out in the blue of her eyes. An endless ocean of happiness.
The End.
If ever life gets too much, please reach out to someone or call a suicide crisis line near you.
List of suicide crisis lines worldwide:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
Black Mountain Academy
Want to read more from Black Mountain Academy?
Drama, angst, love, lust, and everything in-between. Light or dark, twisted or sweet, the BMA series has something for every reader!
Check out the Black Mountain Academy webpage to see all the books available >>> https://black-mountain-academy.com
The Heirs
Reading order:
Coldhearted Heir
Novel #1
Hunter Chargill (Mason and Kingsley’s son)
&
Jade Daniels (Rhett & Evie’s daughter)
Arrog
ant Heir
Novel #2
Jase Reyes – (Julian & Jamie’s son)
&
Mila West – (Logan & Mia’s Daughter)
Defiant Heir
Novel #3
Kao Reed (Marcus and Willow’s son)
&
Fallon Reyes (Falcon & Layla’s daughter)
Loyal Heir
Novel #4
Forest Reyes (Falcon & Layla’s son)
&
Aria Chargill (Mason & Kingsley’s daughter)
Callous Heir
Novel #5
Noah West (Jaxson & Leigh’s son)
&
Carla Reyes (Julian & Jamie’s daughter)
Sinful Heir
Novel #6
Tristan Hayes (Carter & Della’s son)
&
Hana Cutler (Lake & Lee’s daughter)
Tempted Heir
Novel #7
Christopher Hayes (Carter & Della’s son)
&
Dash West (Jaxson & Leigh’s daughter)
Forbidden Heir
Novel #8
Ryker West (Logan & Mia’s son)
&
Danny Hayes (Carter & Della’s daughter)
Trinity Academy
FALCON
Novel #1
Falcon Reyes & Layla Shepard
MASON
Novel #2
Mason Chargill & Kingsley Hunt
LAKE
Novel #3
Lake Cutler & Lee-ann Park
JULIAN
Novel #4
A Stand Alone Novel
Julian Reyes (Falcon’s Brother)
&
Jamie Truman (Della’s Sister – Heartless, TETLS)
THE EPILOGUE
A Trinity Academy Novella
Enemies To Lovers
Heartless
Novel #1
Carter Hayes & Della Truman
Reckless
Novel #2
Logan West & Mia Daniels
Careless
Novel #3
Jaxson West & Leigh Baxter
Ruthless
Novel #4
Marcus Reed & Willow Brooks
Shameless
Novel #5
Rhett Daniels & Evie Cole
False Perceptions
Novel #6
A Stand Alone Novel
Hayden Cole (Evie’s Dad)
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About the author
Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.
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Acknowledgments
Brie and Colton took me by surprise. Their story was meant to be a regular high school romance, but when I started writing, they took over. Their voices demanded to be heard. I hope you enjoy their journey as much as I did writing it. Brie and Colton will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Leeann. Girl, you are the golden touch to my words. Thank you for all the plotting, the endless hours of talking things through with me.
Sherrie. Thank you for keeping me sane, my friend. Without you, I’d probably never finish a book.
Allyson, Kelly, Sarah, and Elaine. Thank you for reading everything I write and making sure it all makes sense.
Sheena, without you, there would be tons of plot holes and grammar mistakes for days. Thank you for helping me with the editing.
Candi Kane PR - Thank you for being patient with me and my bad habit of missing deadlines. (I’m finally working on those.)
To my readers, thank you for loving these characters as much as I do.
A special thank you to every blogger and reader who took the time to take part in the cover reveal and release day.
Love ya all tons ;)