The Eyes That Own Me (Timing is Everything Book 1)
Page 22
"Angel, do you think a small distraction might help? Without giving me a concussion?"
"That depends. Is it something my parents would disapprove of?"
He gives me that smile that melts my heart and turns me to mush. "No. Actually, your mom helped me pick some of it out. It's kind of like a mobile scrapbook."
I slide from his lap as he reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a beyond gorgeous charm bracelet. It's bright platinum already loaded with several charms. Matt leaves me be while I investigate this beautiful and overly thoughtful gift.
There's a music note encrusted with little diamonds, a set of intertwined hearts with a weaved texture around them, a little chef hat, a bejeweled but masculine 'M', a vibrant green glass charm with an engraved 'C', and a paw-shaped charm.
I am in such awe of the personal picking of these charms.
Looking into those beautiful chocolate gems that have captured my heart, I boast, "Matt, this is incredible. I absolutely love it! Thank you so much."
He runs his large hand down the side of my face. "You are most welcome, my love. And anytime I feel like it; I will add more charms to it to reflect you, our family, and our relationship."
"I would normally tell you that this gift isn't necessary, but now I know when to pick my battles these days. So my real thank you will be privately at home."
After a short yet mind-numbing kiss, we settle back in to enjoy the rest of the night.
As the night gets cooler, I pull my sweater tighter and stretch the blanket over the both of us. When I'm in his arms, I feel so safe and loved that I never want to be let go. This is the closeness and warmth that I know will last forever. I’m happy in the fact that he has broken down every wall I've created and let me know I can stand on my two feet with him by my side, guiding me and encouraging along with everyone else around me. Our eyes may have locked us to each other, but our hearts molded together in the process. I have always wanted a love like my parents, but now I love having one of my own.
This entire day and night has been nothing short of unbelievable. I'm surrounded by unconditional love and friendship. There is nowhere in the world I'd rather be.
I know the roads I take will never be perfect, but they will be the right ones for Matt and me. We only have one life on our plate. Nothing matters without the love from our family and friends. I've come to take the good days one at a time and fight through the bad ones with everything that I have.
My little sister is getting engaged. Well, might be getting engaged. She just has to say yes first. Matt not only asked my father's permission to propose, but he also asked for mine. He knows how much I love my sister and how important traditions are in our family.
I'll admit I was skeptical about Matt when he came up to me over a year ago to hunt down Charlie. I was shocked, to say the least to see someone asking about my sister. I made it very clear to my friends over the years that if they had any intentions toward my sister that they couldn’t go over my head. We all understand the matters of respect and tradition in Aiken so for Matt to come up to me, having already upset her once, showed me he was not from around here. To see my sister so flustered, though, showed me that she had feelings for him, and I couldn't stand in the way of letting her find someone who would bring back the light in her eyes.
My munchie was hiding in a shell of what her life could be. I wanted to see her fight for her dreams. I wanted to see her branch out and do the things we all loved to do as a family. She was so focused on keeping our little group together that she became withdrawn from making any new connections to the unknown. I get her reasons. I do. I'm still mad there were times that I wasn't there to protect her, but I'm glad she found a way to stand up for herself. I've tried to get rid of the guilt, but it has built up for so long that it's hard to let go. She's told me I don't need to feel guilty, but as her big brother, it comes with the territory.
I'm at the graduation barbecue we are having for Charlie. People keep asking her about her cafe, and she smiles saying she starts planning soon and is open to catering events right now.
There is a clinging noise against glasses as Matt starts asking for everyone’s attention. I can already see tears forming in my mother's eyes, and my father has gone pale. The rest of the party has an idea of what Matt is about to do.
"Thank you, everyone, for gathering here to celebrate my angel's grad school completion. I know we're all anxious to see her open up the cafe so we can all be fed incredible food." He turns to my sister, grabs a box out of his pocket, and drops to one knee. Her hands fly to her face and tears immediately start streaming down her face. Luckily, my older brother instincts tell me they are happy tears so I don't need to intervene.
"Charlotte Rose Hanston, your eyes owned me at a concert over a year ago and every time you look at me, I fall deeper in love with you. I want babies to add to our already crazy family of dogs. I want to help you succeed in your dreams of running your own business. I want our life to continue forever. I know planning a wedding and opening a business at the same time might make you go insane, but if you say yes to being mine forever, I will help in any I can. Would you do me the honor of allowing me to look into your eyes for the rest of my life?"
My sister can’t stop crying, but she nods her head frantically. She finally screams a yes and charges into his arms, almost knocking him to the ground. He kisses her hard, and we all let them have a quick private moment. I look over at Kylie who can't stop crying either but has her phone out from capturing the whole moment. As soon as she drops the phone, I grab her into my arms.
Having her in my arms never gets old. It’s rare for her to be there, but I savor every moment. My heart needs her. One day soon, she will be mine. Our connection may have grown from Bryce's death, but I intend to make ours stronger than ever in a world of our own.
She is my heart and soul.
Kylie Mitchell is my lifeline.
In the book or listened to obsessively while writing:
Somethin' Bad by Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert
I Can Take it From There by Chris Young
Ain't It Fun by Paramore
Smack Dab by Chasin' Crazy
Beautiful by Jim Brickman
Beat of the Music by Brett Eldredge
Night's on Fire by David Nail
Runnin' Out of Moonlight by Randy Houser
God Gave Me You by Blake Shelton
10. I'm Not That Girl from Wicked Soundtrack
Make You Mine by High Valley
She's With Me by High Valley
I Will Stand By You by High Valley
Rescue You by High Valley
Dreamstreet by Dreamstreet
Little Bit of You by Chase Bryant
Chasin' Down a Good Time by Randy Houser
Almost There from Princess and the Frog
Those Magic Changes from Grease Live
All I Need Is An Angel from Grease Live
All Dressed Up In Love by Jennifer Hudson
Phantom of the Opera from Phantom of the Opera
Let Me See Ya Girl by Cole Swindell
You Should Be Here by Cole Swindell
Ghost by Ella Henderson
Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon
Sugar by Maroon 5
You'll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins
You are Loved by Josh Groban
Angel Eyes by Love and Theft
Lonely Eyes by Chris Young
Nothin' but the Cooler Left by Chris Young
Hey Y'all by Cole Swindle
Sugar by Maroon 5
35. Nothin' but the Cooler Left by Chris Young
36. I'm Comin' Over by Chris Young
37 .Let it Be Me by High Valley
There are so many people who deserve a huge thank you for their involvement in my debut novel. I could have never done with this without the support and love from the closest people around me.
To my wondrous Jail Cell Ladies: We've had some crazy times in our past, and I wouldn't
be where I am today without your love and support. You are my beta readers, my hardest critics, and my best friends. You are the sisters I never had. Thank you guys for letting me bounce ideas and stories off of you and talk incessantly about my new stresses. When I first told you guys I was going to write, you thought it was amazing rather than silly. You guys each wanted your own book, and this is my gift to you. I look forward to the next fifty years of causing a ruckus.
Mama: You've always encouraged my creative sides. When I was cranky and not in a talking mood because I was writing, you just said okay, and waited for me to crawl from my writing hole. You took me to countless art classes, edited my articles and stories for school or the paper, and let me make my own mistakes. I love you more Shmir.
His Oldness: You helped me do research, find tutorials on editing and publishing, and sent me crazy puns to help distract my brain. I am my father's daughter. I've always followed by your voice saying, "It doesn't hurt to try." You let me rant about how stressed the process has made me and let me bribe you with chocolate. Thank you for being my #1 fan.
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell: You two have put up with countless pictures of the Disney stuff that I want and the wine jokes when I'm procrastinating on my writing. You've always had my back and I'm so glad to be your niece. Yes, you two will get your characters someday, and I enjoy the "you can put this in your book" texts.
My amazing cover and brand designer, Jenny Ragone. You took the time to capture my personality perfectly and created something that is absolutely incredible. I’m so glad you are in my life.
Silla Webb: I pretty much dropkicked into your life with need for your amazing skills and I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me through this process. I’m also excited to have a new and fellow chocoholic to corrupt even more than humanly possible.
Jennifer Ellision: Thank you for letting me ask you a million questions that led me to this point. Your experiences guided me through this process, and I couldn't be more grateful for all of your help.
North Florida Book Lovers: You all accepted me into your group as the scared and nervous newbie who didn't know anyone who enjoyed the life of reading as much as all of you. Thank you guys for all of your encouragement, laughter, and help.
RP Fischer is Florida born and bred. When she's not being a bum at home with her fish, Scooby, she's painting, traveling, watching her favorite sports teams lose, and getting rained on at the most random times. She has a full-time job that brings happiness to many lives, but to find out what it is, you'd have to follow her Instagram.
She's been writing since she was a tomboy kid of five, having taken a dozen creative writing classes in the years to follow. While riding through trains on the German countryside, she found herself checking out the Kindle store to pass the time until she reached her destinations. It led her back to her love of reading.
It wasn't until she found some of her old short stories from high school that she fell back in love with writing. After a year and a half of sporadic writing and fear of failure, her first series came to her.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rpfauthor
Instagram: @beccapearlfish
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Rebfisch90
Blog: theworldofbeccapearl.blogspot.com
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rebfisch90
Twitter: @Becca_Pearl104
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Copyright © RP FISCHER
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