He cupped her jaw and her pulse sped and her lips turned up at the anticipation of hearing the three words that she’d been dying to hear from him.
The words were on the tip of her own tongue when he said, “Marry me.”
Wait. What?
She blinked in shock. Did he just…
“What?” she breathed.
“I love you. I don’t know when it happened. I think part of me has loved you since the first time I saw you. But I fell even more in love with you over these past weeks. This isn’t about today or thinking about losing you, this is about having you. This is about wanting your face to be the last thing I see every day and your smile to be what I wake up to every morning. This is about wanting to cook you dinners that make you sit back and stretch like you just ran a 5K. This is about being the one that gets to hear you sing, off-key in the shower and knowing what kind of mood you’re in depending on which eighties song you’re singing. This is about wanting to be the one that gets to make you coffee every morning and the one that gets to hear the first sentence you speak after you’ve had your first cup. This is about being the man that gets to love you, protect you, hold you, and be at your side. This is about being the one legally obligated to make sure that you never have to face anything alone again. This is about you. I love you so much, please say yes. Please be my wife.”
Tears that had pooled in her eyes were now falling down her cheeks as what started as a grin turned into a smile that spread from ear to ear. “I was happy when I just thought you were going to tell me you loved me.”
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” he repeated over and over as he peppered kisses over her face. “Marry me. Let me spend the rest of our lives telling and showing you how much I love you.”
“Yes.” Maxi nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you so much. I want to spend the rest of our lives telling and showing you how much.”
Billy covered her mouth with his, sealing their promise in a kiss that turned into them spending the rest of the weekend showing each other just how much they loved each other.
Epilogue
Billy looked down at the gold band that he wore on his left hand. He still couldn’t believe just how damn lucky he was. It was only one week ago today that Maxi had been abducted and he’d asked her to marry him.
It had taken a little convincing on his part not to wait, but he promised her if she wanted a big wedding they could have one later. He just didn’t want to spend another second without her as his wife. She’d agreed to a courthouse wedding, which they’d had this morning in Chicago. The only attendants were Zach and Jessie, who returned the favor he and Maxi paid them when they were witnesses in their spur of the moment Vegas wedding. Charlie walked Maxi into the chambers and Jana was there as well. That was it. Small and intimate. It was perfect.
Glancing up, he watched his wife on the dance floor with a few of the Sloan women. Chelle, Jessie, Jamie and Krista were all tearing it up. When Jessie had found out their plans she asked if she could throw them a small (which turned out to be a relative term) reception in Harper’s Crossing. Maxi hadn’t wanted her to go to any trouble, but if there was anyone more stubborn then his wife it was her boss. Word must have spread quickly because they were under a tent down by the river, surrounded by about a hundred and fifty or so people who were friends that felt a hell of a lot more like family. There were twinkle lights hanging everywhere, a DJ, a dance floor, food and drinks. It was perfect.
“Well, son…” The Colonel slapped him on his shoulder. “When you get your ducks in a row, you don’t waste any time, do ya?”
“No, sir.” Billy smiled. Or continued smiling was more like it. He’d been doing it all day. He was surprised he could still feel his cheeks.
“Good job.” The Colonel beamed. “I’m proud of you, son.”
“Thank you, Colonel. For everything.”
“Oh and Charlie just told me that you’re going to be training that boy that saved Maxi.”
“Yep. Carter Simpson. He’s gonna start training next week. He has a mean right hook.”
When Billy had seen the security footage of what happened in the lobby before he got there, he’d felt even more grateful for how everything turned out. If Bonnie and Clyde hadn’t slipped out of their owner’s grasp and Carter hadn’t knocked Angelo out cold things could have turned out very, very differently. But he didn’t want to think about that, not on his wedding day.
“Yoohoo, do you want to dance?” Billy turned and saw Jessie and Zach’s landladies Margie and Mabel, who referred to themselves as the M&M sisters, beelining it across the dance floor in their direction. They both had a fondness for the Colonel.
When Billy turned back to say that he was pretty sure The Colonel was their target, he was surprised that he was no longer beside him. The Colonel was like a ninety-year-old ninja. That man was his hero.
The music slowed and Maxi left the group that she’d been dancing with, and was heading straight towards him. She wore a simple white dress that hugged her body in all the right places and he couldn’t wait to tear off of her. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders and her cheeks were flushed. His smile defied physics and grew even wider with every step she took. When she was an arm’s length away she held out her hand. “I want to dance with my husband.”
“I can make that happen,” he said as he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.
As they began slowly swaying back and forth her head shot off his chest. “Oh, did I tell you I know who trouble is?”
“Excuse me?” He had no idea what she was talking about.
“Trouble,” she said excitedly. “I know who he is.”
Billy narrowed his gaze. “How much have you had to drink?”
She swatted his arm playfully. “I’m not drunk. Don’t you remember Stephanie talking about her neighbor? Trouble.”
“Oh, right, yeah the guy that was working on his bike and she couldn’t sleep.”
Maxi nodded and her eyes widened. “It’s Ace.”
“Ace?”
“Yep. Ace.” She tilted her head to the side motioning for him to look to her left.
When he did he saw Ace talking with Seth, Dax and Nate at the edge of the dance floor.
“She choked on her champagne when she saw him walk in. I asked what was wrong and she said that’s him. That’s trouble. She’s been avoiding him all night.”
Billy remembered how uninterested Ace had seemed with Cora and figured it probably wouldn’t be that difficult to fly under his radar.
Apparently marriage had turned Maxi into a mind-reader because she shook her head. “He’s different with Stephanie. He’s been eyeing her all night. When she goes to the bar, he ends up there. Now she’s on the dance floor,” she motioned behind her to where she was dancing with the Colonel, “and there he is. It’s like a game of cat and mouse. He can’t go more than a minute without looking at her.”
As if on cue, Ace glanced over at Stephanie, holding his stare just a second longer than a cursory glance.
“Damn, I think you’re right.”
“I am right.” She said confidently. “And you should get used to saying that.”
He tightened his hold around her waist and lifted her up, spinning her around several times causing her to giggle and hold him tighter before setting her feet back on the ground.
“I always knew you’d sweep me off my feet,” she beamed up at him.
“Yeah, I’m a regular Prince Charming,” he teased.
“You are.” Her eyes brimmed with sincerity and love. “You’re my Prince Charming.”
After everything that had happened, everything that they’d been through, Billy knew that he couldn’t control everything. But being the man that deserved that look in her eyes was something he could control. And he planned on spending the rest of his life making sure he was.
THE END
Coming Soon
October 2016
All He Needs – Ac
e & Stephanie
Crossroads, Book 10
November 2016
All He Feels – Dax & Ginny
Crossroads, Book 11
December 2016
All He Desires – Nate & Eliza
Crossroads, Book 12
Other Titles by Melanie Shawn
THE CROSSROADS SERIES
My First – Book 1
My Last – Book 2
My Only – Book 3
My Everything – Book 4
Tempting Love – Book 5
Crazy Love – Book 6
Actually Love – Book 7
Fairytale Love – Book 8
My Love – Novella 8.5
THE HOPE FALLS SERIES
Sweet Reunion – #1
Sweet Harmonies – #2
Sweet Victory – #3
Home Sweet Home – #4
One Sweet Day – Novella #4.5
Snow Angel – #5
Snow Days – #6
Snowed In – #7
Let It Snow – #8
Perfect Kiss – #9
Secret Kiss – #10
Magic Kiss – #11
Lucky Kiss – #12
Christmas Wish – Holiday Novella #12.5
WISHING WELL, TEXAS SERIES
Teasing Destiny – Book 1
Convincing Cara – Book 2
Discovering Harmony – Book 3
About the Author
Melanie Shawn is the writing team of sister duo Melanie and Shawna. Originally from Northern California, they both migrated south and now call So Cal their home.
Growing up, Melanie constantly had her head in a book and was always working on short stories, manuscripts, plays and poetry. After graduating magna cum laude from Pepperdine University, she went on to teach grades 2nd through 8th for five years. She now spends her days writing and taking care of her furry baby, a Lhasa Apso named Hercules. In her free time, her favorite activity is to curl up on the couch with that stubborn, funny mutt and binge-watch cable TV shows on DVD (preferably of at least eight seasons in length – a girl’s gotta have her standards!).
Shawna always loved romance in any form – movie, song or literary. If it was a love story with a happy ending, Shawna was all about it! She proudly acknowledges that she is a romanceaholic. Her days are jam-packed with writing, being a wife, mom aka referee of two teens, and indulging in her second passion (dance!) as a Zumba instructor. In the little free time she has, she joins Melanie in marathon-watching DVDs of their favorite TV programs.
They have joined forces to create a world where True Love and Happily Ever After always has a Sexy Twist!
You can keep up with all the latest Melanie Shawn news, including new releases and contests, at:
melanieshawn.com
and
facebook.com/melanieshawnbooks
All He Wants Page 23