by Maisey Yates
“I know,” he said. “But the biggest thing I realized was this. I didn’t have a choice when I lost Tally. I can’t change my thinking, be braver, be different, and have her back. But I chose to lose you, Grace. I chose fear over you and that...that’s stupid. Because this is the other thing...”
“You’re filled with revelations.”
“I am. The other thing is that I have this chance. This chance to feel again. To love again. To have the most beautiful things in life again. And I was just going to choose fear instead. And that was a dumb-ass idea. I had a lot of reasons, a lot of other things I pushed in front of the fear so I could pretend it wasn’t just that I was scared. I failed Steph. I didn’t protect my family. But deep down I know that’s not true. I know Steph and I just didn’t want to make our marriage work, to be honest. Not without Tally. And it was pretty damn mutual. We changed too much to come back together in the end. It wasn’t all on me, but it was sure convenient when I was staring down another relationship to make it all about me. Because who wants to admit they’re just a quivering coward? I sure as hell don’t, but it’s the truth.”
“Zack...”
“I do love you, Grace. With all my heart. That heart,” he said, pointing to the shining glass representation, “and this one.” He took her hand and put it on his chest. “And I know I’m not the ideal man. I come complete with a whole set of matching baggage, I live mainly in the country. I don’t have what you’d call ‘manners.’ I’m not ‘very pleasant’ and I don’t ‘work well with others.’ But...I damn well love you with everything I have in me. I even found some more things in me I didn’t know I had left just so I could love you more. I don’t bring a whole lot to the table. Just me. And I hope that’s enough. I hope you still love me, too.”
She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head up and kissing him for all she was worth, with everyone around them watching. And she didn’t even care. She was bleeding emotion all over the damn place.
Ice bitch could take a seat. She was no longer needed.
“Yes, you idiot,” she said when they parted. “I love you. I really, really love you. The kind where...the place we live doesn’t matter and the fact that you’re borderline charmless is okay.”
He laughed. “Borderline charmless? What the hell, woman. I charmed you out of your panties fast enough.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. I’m a moody bastard when I have to wear a tie.”
“And I don’t even care!”
“Dear Lord, you do love me.”
“I really do. For me. Not because I’m trying to make up for someone else”
“So what do we do now?”
He tightened his hold on her. “Well, what are you planning on doing for work?”
“I was thinking I would go into business for myself.”
“So you’re going to work a lot and make no money?”
She laughed. “Basically.”
“I’m in,” he said. “And you realize that working remotely might be very possible. And that I have a ranch in Pine Ridge Falls. And you have an apartment here...so...”
“Are you suggesting we live in two places?”
“Why not?” he asked. “Though, if you want to live here...I could...”
“No, Zack. That’s part of you. An important part. I want to share in all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. That’s how relationships work. Real ones, anyway.”
“That’s what I want,” he said. “With you.”
“You have it.”
Zack looked down at Grace, his heart ready to burst. There had never been a woman like her. And she loved him. For a moment, all the bad stuff fell away, and he knew that no matter how hard things had been, he was the luckiest man on earth.
Because he had another chance. Because he had her.
Having her here was best of all. Sharing his past, his pain, and his future and hope, with her.
“I’m ready,” he said, looking around the room, at all the pieces of his past, pieces that would always be with him. Pieces that felt manageable now.
“For?”
“Life,” he said. “Let’s go live it together.”
Epilogue
Grace Song looked out the kitchen window and at the light that was still on in the barn across the yard. Zack was working late again. He’d been doing that a lot the past couple of weeks.
She didn’t mind, because when he went through those phases he inevitably emerged with an incredible piece of art. Which she appreciated both because she loved the artwork, and because her knew financial consulting company was just getting off the ground, and not terribly steady at the moment.
Her father found it incredibly funny that the artist was the one who supported them. When he wasn’t worrying about it.
The past year had been the best of her life. She was learning to love the country. Pine Ridge Falls was a unique town with even more unique people, and the quiet was addicting. And she liked to think Zack was learning to love New York during the time they spent there.
She walked out the front door and onto the porch, breathing in the sweet air, heavy with wood and hay, before making her way across the lawn and to the barn.
She knocked, because she always felt like she was intruding on his thoughts when she saw artwork he wasn’t ready to display.
“Come in.”
She did. He was standing in the center of the barn, barefoot and shirtless, next to the work bench. “I’m finished now,” he said. “So your timing is perfect.”
“Let’s see it.” There was no giant new statue taking up all the free space, which was unusual.
“Okay,” he said, turning to face her, something small and glittering in his hand.
“What did you do?”
“I learned a new trick. And it took a long damn time.”
She moved over to him, her breath catching when she saw what he was holding. “Zack...”
“It’s what you think it is.” He held his hand out flat, the gold, intricately carved band shimmering in the light. Foxes, she noticed. Foxes on a gold band. No one but Zack.
But that wasn’t the best part. It was the ruby at the center, cut in the shape of a heart. “That moment I made the heart figure...it was always leading to this moment.” He didn’t get down on one knee. He stood, offering his heart. Just like his art piece. And that made it even better. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, Zach,” she said, her throat tightening. “Yes, I will.”
“I love you,” he said. “You know that, right?”
“I do. Because you show me every day.”
“And I promise to keep showing you, every day after this one. Forever.”
* * * * *
About the Author
USA TODAY bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffeemaker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
Books by Maisey Yates
Pretender to the Throne (The Call of Duty)
Forged in the Desert Heat
A Hunger for the Forbidden
His Ring Is Not Enough
From Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin
Crazy, Stupid Sex
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ISBN-13: 9781460337721
Breaking All Her Rules
Copyright © 2014 by Maisey Yates
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