Reveal

by Bromberg, K.

  “What are . . .” But my voice fades when I see the paper lanterns, the lighter, and the Sharpie sitting there. I look back at him, my grin widening.

  He rises and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “You ready to give me your wish and your worry, Sanders?” he asks.

  Tears well in my eyes, because I can’t believe that he remembered. That he took the time to do this.

  I nod, and we get Lucy with us over to the wall with chocolate smeared on her cheek and excitement bubbling up inside.

  “You ready, Lucy Loo?” Ryker asks as he holds the lighter to fill up her first lantern. When it inflates, Lucy’s wish can be seen written across the thin paper. To become a unicorn.

  “Just like Tangled!” she squeals, her go-to princess movie as of late, when it takes flight into the darkened night. We watch it until it goes so high, a bright light in the black sky, until the flame extinguishes, throwing her wish into the atmosphere.

  “You sure you don’t have a worry?” Ryker asks Lucy, and she shakes her head emphatically.

  “Nope.”

  “Okay then. Your turn, Vaughn.”

  I take my time, carefully writing on the delicate material, and then he lights my lanterns one at a time. My worry—If this is all a dream, I don’t want to wake up—floats into the sky. Soon after my wish follows—More days like today.

  When the light extinguishes, I look over at Ryker, and his eyes are on me. I’ve never felt this content in my life. Never felt this secure. Never felt this loved.

  And I owe it all to him.

  I smile and mouth the words I love you.

  “I love you too,” he whispers.

  “Your turn, Lockhart.”

  “Mine?”

  “Yep,” I say.

  “I’m going with the Lucy camp of having no worry to put up there,” he explains as he begins to position the lantern.

  “I can’t see your wish,” I say as I step closer, the writing on the opposite side of the lantern as it begins to inflate.

  “Relax. It’s getting there. I’ll turn it around in a second.”

  I pull Lucy against my side as we watch the flame light up the night and its glow fill the inside of the balloon.

  “You ready?” he asks, and we both nod. “Here goes.”

  Ryker lets the paper lantern begin to lift from his hand and turns it just before it takes flight so the writing is visible.

  And then my heart stops when I see the words: Will you marry me, Vaughn and Lucy?

  I stand frozen as I read them, as I try to believe that he really means them, but when I can tear my eyes from the words and over to the wonderful man who wrote them, I can’t speak.

  Tears are glistening in his eyes. His smile is wide. His invitation is written all over his expression.

  I step toward him and press my lips against his for an answer. It’s brief and tender, but it says everything I could ever want to say to him in that simple touch.

  “Yes,” I murmur against his lips.

  He leans back. “Yes?”

  “Yes.”

  And the look on his face will forever be burned in my mind.

  Love swells within me.

  I never wanted this. A man. A love. The promise of a future and happiness.

  But then there was Ryker. The man who proved to me that you don’t always have to find love in the sunrise because it can often be found in the sunset. The man who said he didn’t believe in love, loving the woman who said she never could love.

  And the rest is history.

  We found our sunset.

  Ryker

  One Year Later

  People are milling about on the green lawn down below. Decorations and flowers and lights strung across the terrace illuminate the space.

  It’s perfect, if a man can ever really think shit like this can be perfect.

  But when her arms slide around my waist and the heat of her body presses against my back, I know I was wrong.

  This is perfection. Her. Now. The ring on her finger. My last name attached to her first name. The life we’re starting together from here on out.

  “What are you doing up here all alone?” she asks.

  “Just taking it all in.” Just taking a breather to realize how much she changed my fucking life from a miserable existence of meaningless flings to actually wanting to share my life with someone.

  “You know your friends down there are taking bets, right?”

  “Bets?” I shift so that I can wrap my arm over her shoulders and pull her against me. When I look down at her, my breath catches again.

  Who knew a woman could look so damn amazing in white?

  “Yep.” She smiles. “They’re all taking bets on how long we’re going to last.”

  My laugh rings out so loud it pulls the attention of our guests below to glance up at us. “Well, I guess I better go put my bid in too, then.”

  “Is that so?” She lifts a brow in mock protest, but her smile says she knows I’m joking.

  “Yep,” I say, repeating her word. “Everything we have to the winner that this till-death-do-us-part thing will be how long we’ll last.”

  “Aw,” she says and then leans up and brushes a kiss to my lips.

  And every part of me—right here, right now—knows I’ve never done anything more right in my life than her.

  No question.

  I look down at her something borrowed—the key on the chain that was first Samantha’s and is now Lucy’s—and I can’t help but smile and know it’s the perfect time to do this.

  It’s the right moment to let her know.

  “I have something for you,” I say and reach into the front pocket of my tuxedo jacket where I’ve had it all night, waiting to give it to her.

  “We promised we weren’t going to give each other wedding gifts,” she says in exasperation.

  I don’t respond. Rather, I hand her the folded piece of paper and watch as she opens it.

  Confusion etches the lines in her beautiful face, and her eyes flash up to meet mine. “I don’t understand.”

  “I bought something for you, Vaughn.”

  “I see that, but—oh. Oh!” Her voice breaks when I think she finally gets it.

  “It’s an empty lot now. When I bought it, there was an extravagant house on it that many said was gorgeous. They told me I was crazy to raze it to a level lot. That I’d lose a ton of money by doing that. But I didn’t care about the money. I cared about demolishing the last thing that could ever physically remind you of him or the memories it held.”

  “Ryker . . .” Tears well in her eyes, and they are the last thing I want to see there today.

  I point to the deed of her uncle James’s property in Greenwich. The one that states her name as its sole owner.

  “Take the lot. Sell it and use the money to start the charity you’ve wanted to establish for the Lucys of the world. Keep the lot and build something that’s all yours. I don’t care what you do with it, Vaughn—it’s yours. All I care about is that you know it’s no longer standing. Any chain you had holding you back from enjoying this incredible life we’re going to make together is gone.”

  She opens her mouth to speak and then closes it in that way that tells me she has so much to say but can’t put words to it right now. Instead, she frames both of my cheeks in her hands and presses a kiss to my lips. Our foreheads rest against each other’s.

  “Thank you, Ryker.”

  “Anything for you, Mrs. Lockhart.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Just a quick thank-you for the continued support to all my readers. It’s been six years now in this unexpected career of mine as an author, and you’ve been there with me every step of the way. Thank you for having faith in me, for trusting that I’ll take you on an adventure in each book, and for being so passionate about my stories and characters. Sometimes the slightest thing can change the direction of someone’s life . . . and you were that thing for me. Thank you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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nbsp; Photo © 2017 Lauren Perry

  New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance novels that are sweet, emotional, a lot sexy, and a little bit real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes that readers love to hate but can’t help loving.

  Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Bromberg has sold over 1.5 million copies of her books across eighteen different countries and has repeatedly landed on the bestseller lists for the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by the streaming platform Passionflix, with Driven available now.

  You can find out more about this mom of three on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date is to sign up for her newsletter (http://bit.ly/254MWtI) or text KBromberg to 77948 to receive text alerts when a new book is released.