AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head. “How wrong you are, my beloved Samantha. You’ve given me far more than you’ll ever know.”
I smiled through my tears. “Without you, I wouldn’t have come here. I would’ve lived the rest of my life believing I was alone in the world—” I shook my head when emotion made it too hard to speak. “You’ve given me everything,” I managed to whisper. “Everything.”
Beau brushed away my tears. “To be honest, this gift is something I picked up some time ago.” My eyes scrunched when he put the key fob for the SUV in my hand. “Since we’ve decided to live in New York State full time, you’ll need to register it here.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.
“This is the title.”
“That, it is.”
“It has my name on it.”
Beau nodded, leaned forward, and kissed me. “Given we’ll be joined in marriage tomorrow and are residing in a community property state, you cannot get angry with me about this. What’s mine is yours, and vice versa.”
I shook my head.
“No?” his forehead scrunched.
I waved my hand. “All of this—the house, the Lilacs, the winery, everything—I’ll gladly share with you. But the SUV? Sorry, Beau, it’s mine.”
He smiled. “I see. Which means, then, the Porsche is mine.”
I tapped my lip. “Hmm. In that case…”
He wriggled his eyebrows. “I let you drive mine if you let me drive yours?”
“First, we have to get yours here, and I have to clean out my apartment, which means—”
Beau stopped me with a kiss. “Already taken care of.”
“How?”
“The better question would be who.”
“Alex?”
He smiled. “None other.”
Most of ourfriends from California had already arrived for the wedding. Beau’s father would be here this afternoon, as would his brother, Press, and his wife. The wedding ceremony was being held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, and the reception would take place here, at the Lilacs—where plants bearing flowers by the same name lined the driveway and surrounded the house and the winery.
Sadly, Cru and Daphne each sent their regrets, separately. I’d asked Beau if he talked to either one, and he said he hadn’t and changed the subject.
“You’ll have to get a new one of those soon,” Beau said, motioning to the journal I’d started keeping the day after I sat in the bank vault and first read Cena’s letter.
“I’m very happy we made the decision to stay here,” said Beau, looking out the window at the view of the grounds.
“Me too.”
He rested both hands on my abdomen, then leaned forward and kissed it. “And hello to you too, my baby beloved,” he whispered.
No one besides Beau and I knew, but in just a few months, we’d add to the love and laughter Cena hoped would fill the house.
by,” she repeated. “Our baby.”
* * *
