by Harms, C. A.
She doesn’t have to finish. I already know how I look at her, like she is my everything, because she is.
“One step at a time, Ma.” Hugging her close I lean in to place a kiss to her cheek. “She did however agree to move in with me, so at least I’ll have more time to convince her that I’m the one for her.”
“Any smart girl wouldn’t need convincing of that, Knoxville.” Momma and her admiration for her boys. She understands we are all pigheaded and at times hard to live with, but she is always on our team. “I just want all my boys to be happy, and I’ve got one more to ensure he gets what he wants and deserves.”
“She’s who I want.” I don’t need to tell her because she already knows. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go kiss the pretty girl.” My mother blushed. “But just so we’re clear, you’ll always be my first love.” Again, her cheeks redden as she gives me one of her proud mother smiles.
“Keep it PG.” She laughs when I wag my eyebrows and pushes me off as if I had embarrassed her. Being a momma’s boy has never bothered me; she is an amazing woman.
Tinley still watches Beckett and Shanelle as they dance close, whispering only loud enough that they could hear themselves. Knowing my brother, he was laying out what he planned for the night and in great detail. The guy was a walking hard-on and until I met Tinley, I never understood it. Now I get it, how every thought in your mind can be centered around one specific person.
Slipping my arms around her waist, I step up to her from behind and she shows no pause as she molds to me.
“I want that.” I bury my nose in her hair and glide from side to side, still holding her to me. “I’d told myself that all I needed was myself to be happy then you happened. You make me want all the things they have.”
“I’ll give you anything you want.” And I mean it. “One day that’ll be you and me out there.” She doesn’t tense and I know she’s finally accepted completely that her past doesn’t have to mold her future.
I glance over to where I left my mother only minutes ago and find that my father has joined her. Both of them are looking around between Ashton, Beckett, and myself, smiling, happy with the visual that each of their sons has found happiness, I’m sure. They’ve never once hidden the fact that us finding our way was what they’d wanted for each of us.
“I’m gonna marry you, Tinley,” she takes in a deep breath, “then I’m gonna spend every day of my life showing you what it feels like to be mine.”
“I thought I was already yours?” she asks playfully, and I tilt my head down and nibble on her ear, making her laugh.
“You are and you have been ever since you dismissed me at Ash’s wedding.”
“Glutton for punishment.” Tinley made a tsk sound and I hug her closer.
“If this is what punishment feels like baby, then I sure am.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tinley
“We thought about visiting you.” I can sense the hesitance in my mother’s voice. I hated it. I had placed it there. “Tripp and Naomi have talked about their visit and about your life in New York. I guess I’m a little jealous. I miss you, Tinley, and I’d love to meet—”
“I’d love for you to meet Knoxville too.” To be honest I missed my mother too, and my father. I missed the closeness we once shared and until now I was too stubborn to admit that I needed them. “He’s pretty great, Mom.” Tears fill my eyes as I look up to see Knox standing in the open doorway of our bedroom. He is freshly showered, wearing nothing more than a towel and a smile, and I feel like I can’t breathe. “He’s more than great, he’s perfect.”
“What’s perfect is knowing that you’ve opened up your heart to someone.”
“He didn’t give up on me, even when I tried like hell to make him run.” Knoxville realizes I am talking about him and he walks over and sits on the bed before me, only he says nothing. “I was awful to him. I warned him off more times than I can count, but he never gave up.”
“Sounds like a keeper.”
“He is, mom.” Reaching out I link my fingers with his and slide closer to him. “I want you both to meet the man that loves me even with all my faults. He helped me find the girl I was, and I missed her.” A tear escapes and runs over my cheek before Knox uses his thumb to catch it.
“We can’t wait.”
We spend the next ten minutes trying to make plans and when Knoxville takes over and decides to arrange the entire thing, I fall in love with him just a little more. He talks to my parents on the speakerphone as if he’d known them for years. My mother does that laugh she does when she is smitten, and my father calls him “son” more times than I can tally. It is all so sweet and heartwarming.
When he ends the call, I crawl over him and straddle his lap. “You make me feel like the luckiest girl.” Knox allows me to kiss him, keeping his hands at my hips. “I love you so much, more than I can ever express to you through words.”
“Ditto.” I smile against his mouth.
This is my life now, and I’m not afraid to live it. I owe it all to this gorgeous man who chose me. He could have walked away and decided I wasn’t worth the hassle, but he chose me. I thank God every day because I still have no idea what I did to deserve him. I just know there is no way in hell I will ever let him go.
Epilogue
Knoxville
“Sorry to bother you, but there is a Mr. Nelson here to see you.” Nevaeh stands in the doorway of my office, wearing yet another one of her revealing outfits. I think she’s figured out by now that I’m not interested, but it hasn’t stopped her from attempting to catch the eye of another guy who is willing to spoil her. She is most definitely a gold digger; she had “buy me pretty things” written all over her.
“I told him you were unavailable but he’s being very persistent.”
“Send him in,” I tell her as I attempt to tidy my desk. I switch off the screen closing my current case just as Mr. Nelson is led into my office by my secretary. It has been months since I’d last seen him, since I ruined his life, or so he said. My opinion is he dodged a bullet with that freakish ex-wife of his. Granted, it would have been nice to have had to split his assets with her, I’m sure.
“Mr. Montgomery.” He doesn’t even attempt to offer his hand as he takes a seat in the chair opposite my own. He is a taller man in his earlier fifties. He is extremely successful and if I have to guess he was able to make back the amount his ex was awarded in the divorce in the first year. My opinion is she was holding him back, considering his business didn’t really start taking off until the last eight to ten months. “It appears that you’re a very busy man. Though I’m sure when you hear that it’s me attempting to reach you, you manage to find just about anything to avoid a meeting with me.”
“What can I do for you?”
“You can get me back the money you cost me through my divorce, but I’m guessing that’s not gonna happen. So instead, why don’t we just talk?” I didn’t remember the man being so fucking smug and arrogant before, but finding out your wife of twelve years was nothing more than a whore who was after your money would do that, I guess.
“What is it that you would like to talk about?” Quite frankly, the guy is starting to piss me off, but I do my best not to show it.
“You’re not the man I thought you were.” I remain seated, waiting for him to get to the fucking point. “I’ll admit I set out to ruin you, to tarnish you, and to make you suffer for ruining my life.” I fist my hand on my thigh, squeezing hard and feeling the biting pain to keep from going across my desk. “I watched you, waited for the opportunity to hit you where it hurts, but you never showed me a way in, until,” he pauses and stares directly at me, “a pretty little blonde showed up in your life.”
At the mention of Tinley, my anger went through the roof. “You better think fucking hard about your next move.”
“She seemed like the perfect way to pay you back for the hell you put me through. I noticed the times I did see the two of you out you
were so delicate and protective of her.”
I take in one deep breath after another. I am seconds away from laying this man out. “Paying me back for your wife being a lying whore is worth going to jail over?” If he touched Tinley, jail will not be the result. I will fucking kill him.
“I’ve done nothing wrong, just showed a pretty lady some attention a time or two.” I immediately thought of the rose on Tinley’s car. “In doing so I’ve made you feel unsettled, territorial maybe. You should consider those feelings the next time you’re hired to follow a man around that is suspected of wrong doing.”
I stand, unable to stop myself as I grip the side of my desk to stop me from going over it. The man didn’t even flinch.
“When I placed the first flower, I can assure you I truly intended to play with your head, make you stir crazy. Yet now I don’t find it as appealing.” Mr. Nelson leans in and rests his elbows on his knees. The gray hair scattered throughout the black glimmers in the lighting of my office. “It would seem you’ve done me a favor by ridding me of my ex-wife. Truth is in doing so you cost me millions, but if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met Julian. I guess I should be thanking you.”
Suddenly I am puzzled by the meaning behind this visit and his confession.
“I saw you in the café that day with your lady, the way she acted when she saw you waiting for her. How you reacted to her when she came to you, and I knew then you weren’t the man I thought you were. You’re not cold and emotionless; you’re a good man, Knoxville. You just got caught up in the same bullshit I did. Madeline played us both.”
He was referring to his ex-wife.
“I wanted to come here today and ease your mind. I know that you were probably on high alert about the mysterious flower and the man that flirted with your lady in the cafe. I wanted to remind you of how rare it is to find someone who will stand by you no matter what.” I felt like I had whiplash. “Take care of her, Knoxville, don’t let work and life consume you so much that you forget to appreciate and love what’s important. It’s not the money you make but the one you have by your side.” I am getting advice from a man who just confessed he’d followed the woman I love. I still don’t know if I should hit him or thank him.
“Enjoy your life, and love that lady.”
Mr. Nelson stands and without another word he walks out of my office and leaves me with feelings I still don’t know how to handle.
Tinley
I step up onto the platform as I accept the binder that holds my college degree, an accomplishment that at one time in my life I didn’t know if I’d ever reach. The dean cups my hand in his own and gives it a shake, congratulating me as I stepd past him and look out into the crowd. I spot my father first and my mother at his side, both smiling proudly. The entire line and half of the row behind them is filled to the brim with all those who were now my family. Knox, his brothers, Shanelle, and Kinsley, who feel like my sisters. Then there is Tripp, and Naomi, a friendship I am so happy to have back in my life. Lexington and Greg are also there, and Knoxville’s parents too. Everyone of them clapped, and of course Beckett is whistling and hooting which can be heard loudly throughout the auditorium. They are my crazy, chaotic, and absolutely amazing family. I love each and every one of them more than I can ever begin to explain. They are my people.
Then I notice Knoxville and the smile he wears, and it brings tears to my eyes. He loves me, truly honestly loves me. I love the way he looks at me, even when he says nothing, I just know he thinks of me as his best friend.
Lifting his hand to his mouth, he pressed a kiss to his fingers and held them up. I feel the power of the kiss all the way down to my toes. Knowing he is proud of me too means the world.
The ceremony continues and I watch as the graduating students all receive their diplomas. And when it is time, we toss our caps into the air and celebrate the beginning of our lives with loud cheers. But I truly believe my life began the moment I met Knoxville, because no one and nothing has ever made me feel more alive than he does.
Making my way through the crowd as Nora sticks close by me, I feel a huge rush of adrenaline when I see his head up above the others. That gorgeous smile of his comes into view and I have to stop myself from running toward him.
As if he feels me too, he shifts in the crowd and locks his eyes to my own, then starts to move. The distance closes between us and just as I reach out for him he pauses, and I wonder what is wrong.
I almost miss the fact that every single member of our families have moved in closely behind him. I am too focused on Knoxville as he kneels before me. Everything around us fades away; it is only him. “Hey beautiful,” he says to me in the same soothing tone he’s used a million times before.
“Hi.” My voice is shaky, and my heart is racing so hard I feel like it might beat out of my chest.
“I want you to know how proud I am of you.” I nod because I can’t speak. My throat burns and my hands shake. “This may not be the time…” Was he kidding me right now? “…but I saw you and it hit me. I can’t wait another minute and what better time than with all our family here to share it with us.”
I look past him to see both our mothers with glossy eyes as they watch the entire thing unfold.
“I’ve gone over so many ways to do this, I’ve practiced, and to be honest every single time it feels so rehearsed. So I told myself I wouldn’t plan it out, I wouldn’t find the perfect spot with the perfect scenery, but instead I’d follow my heart and when the time felt right, I’d do it.” Knoxville reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a small box, bringing it in front of him.
Looking back up at me, he flashes me that heart-stopping smile that makes me feel all dreamy inside.
“Do you know how many times I’ve imagined you walking down the aisle toward me wearing a white dress? Your hair up, showing off your neck that I love to kiss so much?” I feel myself blush, knowing that everyone can hear his words. “I wake up every morning loving you a little more than I did the night before. It’s crazy, because baby, I didn’t think that was possible, but it is.”
It is hard to see through the tears pooling in my eyes.
“My heart is so full that at times I think it might explode. I told you that one day I’d marry you, I’m just hoping that you’re on board with that too, because I don’t think I can wait any more. So what do you say, Tinley Jean, will you marry me?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” My lower lip trembles as I reach out to cup his face in my hands. “Now get up here and kiss me, old man.”
Those around us chuckle and Knoxville stands, hooking me around the waist and pulling me against him, lifting my feet off the ground. “I love you, Tin.” My hair falls around us as I place my lips to his. “You’re my everything.”
Lucky, that’s what I am, so unbelievably lucky.
Bonus
One Year Later
Ashton & Kinsley
“She looks like her mommy when she does that.” Ashton stands over my shoulder as we peer over the edge of the crib. Amelia is four weeks old today, and I still can’t believe I am a mother. I’d dreamed of the day and I’m still blown away every single time I look at her.
She puckers her lips in her sleep once more and I swear Ashton sighs. “She’s so beautiful.”
I have to agree, she is mesmerizing.
“I find it hard to believe she’s ours.”
It is days like this I miss my parents. It breaks my heart that they aren’t here to share it with me, that they’d never have the chance to see my daughter grow, or any children I may have after her.
“They’re here, Kins,” Ashton whispers near my ear as he wraps me in his arms. He knows me so well, almost like he can read my thoughts. “I bet right now they’re both looking down at her thinking the same thing I am. She’s perfect, just like you are.”
In Ashton’s eyes I am, but still to this day I have a hard time believing it. When I looked at myself, I still see the woman who let a man control me, hurt me,
and take my father from me. I still hold so much anger inside me for the years that monster robbed me of.
“I’ve accomplished so many things already.” His deep soothing words fill my mind, washing away the tainted memories that lie there. “I’ve been around the world, made more money than I’ll ever be able to spend but even through all that I’ve never felt what I feel now. It’s you and Amelia that make my life complete. You two are the best part of me and finding you was the greatest gift.”
I still don’t think I deserve this man.
“I love you, Kinsley.” Ashton kisses my temple and I lean into him.
“I love you, too.” Love isn’t a strong enough word. He saved me in so many ways, he gave me hope. Ashton showed me what life and love are supposed to be like.
“Let’s go to bed.” He guides me to the door and again we pause there, looking back toward the crib one last time. “Thank you for my life.” He surprises me, still looking at our daughter. “Thank you for loving me, for supporting me, and most of all for her.”
My heart soared with so much love for this man and I knew there was so much more to come.
Beckett and Shanelle
“You do understand that you are creating a monster, don’t you?” I look out over the living room from the space behind the counter and watch as Beckett continues to wrestle with our very rambunctious son. Burke was the spitting image of his father. He was crazy with energy, mischievous, finding his way into things he shouldn’t, and Beckett’s sense of humor was embedded in our boy something fierce. I was fully aware of the hassles I’d face once he got old enough to go to school. I’ve already prepared myself for weekly phone calls for the trouble he’d cause.