by Kara Hart
“I don’t own all the riches in the world. I’m just a carpenter. However, I’m a father too. I haven’t been a husband in a long fucking time, but I’ve tried to do my best for you as your boyfriend,” I say. I can hear the police enter the building, boots catapulting off of the tiled floor. They’re yelling, muffled, inaudible things. Right now, they mean nothing to me. “I don’t have a ring to give you yet, but I do have intent. Emily Carter, you’re the best thing to ever happen to me. Lisa loves you. I love you. And I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
“Sir, please step over here,” a police offer says, while grabbing my shoulders. We’re both pushed off to the side. “Can you tell me what happened here?”
I can’t answer anyone’s questions yet. I can’t even look at the officer speaking to me. I’m just staring at Emily, waiting for some kind of response. Her eyes have turned into large globes, full of tears. She nods slowly and her frown turns into a giant smile. “Yes,” she whispers. “I’ll marry you. I’ll be your bride.”
“Sir?” the police offer asks one more time.
I laugh loudly and push past the officer. I grab Emily and kiss her hard. Within seconds, I am tackled to the ground and handcuffed. “You have the right to remain silent…”
“We’re getting married!” I announce triumphantly. “We’re fucking getting married!”
Emily
“I guess this is it. I guess this is how you throw me away, you dumb bitch.” Those are the last words I will hear from Dennis. My pain and my fear has now been thankfully stolen by him, ripped from my heart, only to torment him now. He will find someone else to torment. Someday, someone will fall for his tricks. As for now, he’ll have to try and co-opt someone from his prison cell, as he rots for a decade.
“Assault with a deadly weapon,” Michael says to me. “He’s going to have a lot of alone time in there.”
I never wanted it to go this far, but Michael saw it through, to the end. I knew we would have to face this eventually, but who could have predicted the final outcome?
“What are you two doing standing outside for so long?” I hear the voice of an elderly woman coming from next to me. We both turn and laugh.
“Hey, Hannah,” he says. Hannah, the florist I met in the beginning of our relationship stands smiling. “I’ve got a huge job for you.”
“Who died?” She waves us inside, laughing to herself.
“We’re getting married,” I tell her. I hold up my hand and show her the ring.
“And we’re having a baby,” Michael smiles. Hannah lowers her head and looks at my belly, now two months along. It’s a slight bump, but noticeable enough.
“Oh, dear,” she says.
“I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into, do I?” I jokingly ask her.
“No, you do not, child,” she says. “Well, in any case, I’ve got you covered for the wedding. Anything you want, half off.”
“Don’t bother with the discount. Did you hear? We’re expanding. Susan left the company. I’ve got extra money to spend and I’m spending it on you, Hannah,” Michael says.
“Susan left the company?” she asks. “How in the heck did you get that to happen?”
I chime in. “I talked to her,” I said.
“Oh, lord,” she laughs. “I bet that went over well. Anyway, here’s some paperwork. Come back in a week and we’ll get everything squared away.”
“Thanks, Hannah,” Michael says. We leave the flower shop and head home, to Lisa.
I went into the situation as honest as I could be. I told Susan that if this was going to last, we were going to have to all work together. We’ll never be close or anything like that, but there is a level of respect that we owe each other. That much I do know.
We’ve invested a ton of money on the expansion of the company. It’s the three of us now. Hanson, Michael, and me. Vanderbilt Carpentry. Things are never perfect in life, but this feels perfect enough to a woman like me. I’ve got my man. I’ve got Lisa. I’ve got a job I can feel proud of, as well as a future that looks more promising than anything I’ve ever experienced before.
This is the start of something big. This is also the end of a dark chapter in my life. I’ll always look back and remember the struggles I went through. Truth be told, I don’t ever want to forget them. Those struggles were what pushed me out of my comfort zone, swayed me into the deepest, darkest parts of the sea of my life, and washed me ashore only to be rescued by Michael.
I still remember the first time I saw him. He was hot as hell in those jeans and work boots. The way he looked at me told me he was the perfect type of trouble. I was right. We couldn’t control ourselves. We still can’t. I know that when we’re Hannah’s age and blessed with grandchildren, we’ll look back on these times and smile with the knowing that we were just children starting a new journey.
“I love you so God damn much,” Michael says to me in the car.
He kisses me and my heart flutters. “I love you too, Michael Vanderbilt. I always will.”
Also by Kara Hart
Love isn’t an option this time.
There are two choices: say “I do,” or leave forever.
Author’s Note
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