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“And I’d do it again and again.”
“Why?” Her voice was so fragile and nearly a whisper.
“Because you deserve it. You deserve to be protected, loved, and cared for. You deserve to know just how valuable you are.” It all felt so easy to say, now that I let myself. And watching the disbelief and joy wage war on her face made it all worth it. But I’d make her believe, day and night for the rest of her life, if that was what it took.
Bellamy took a deep breath and took a step back from me. She held the towel tight around her, her wet hair dripping down her back, her makeup washed off, and I had never found her more beautiful than I did right then.
“So what now? What do we do now?” she asked.
“We leave the Oleander the moment you get dressed. We can’t leave this place fast enough. And then we go home—to my home. What will soon be our home. And then in the morning, we sit down with your mother and figure out the finances. I plan to fix it and make everything right.”
“I can’t ask that of you,” she whispered, still blinking in disbelief. “I know it was the plan when my mother and I first intended on me being a Belle, but—”
“It’s an easy fix for me. And I want to do it. Not just because I can, or because I feel it’s part of the deal of the Initiation, but because I want to. I genuinely want to. Your mother is going to be part of my family, and I take care of what is mine. And though I’m not happy with the fact that she put you in this situation, and I have some feelings on how she’s treated you, she is still your mother and a woman who deserves the respect of Darlington. This is an easy fix.”
I took her hand and led her to the bathroom and reached for my suitcase. She followed suit and began to dress.
“So what’s a hard fix?” she asked, laughing like she could still hardly believe everything that was happening as she pulled a dress over her head. “You’ve mentioned easy fix a few times, which leads me to think there’s a hard one.”
“Yes, we have a few challenges ahead.” I began packing, not wanting to be in this room another second longer than need be.
“You mean me? Living together?”
I laughed loudly. “I think we’ve proven we know how to live together.” I gave her a wink before adding, “No, we have a very large challenge ahead of us, and I worry if we’ll survive it.”
She stopped and stared at me with concern all over her face. “What?”
I crossed the room and took her hands in mine. “We only have 109 days to plan a wedding, and I have a feeling that between you and your mother… well, I’m starting to worry you might be a Bridezilla.”
Bellamy’s entire face lit up as she laughed and shook her head. “I promise I won’t— Okay… no promises. I may be. But I’ll try to behave and keep my mother on a leash.” She laughed again and flung her arms around my neck. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life, Emmett Washington.”
“Because you chose to be a Belle,” I said, stating the obvious. “And I was smart enough to choose you.”
“I choose you back,” she said as she lifted on tiptoe to kiss me.
“And I will continue to choose you. Over and over again.”
Our lips met, and she was the sweetest nectar I’d ever tasted.
EPILOGUE
WALKER ST. CLAIRE
Having beers with the guys wasn’t something we’ve been able to do in a while. With all of our Trials, life, and… well… it was nice to be sitting for a cold one with my friends again.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married in one week,” I said to Emmett. “How does it feel?”
Emmett chuckled, took a sip of his beer, and then answered, “I feel relief. The wedding planning with my future mother-in-law is about as close to hell as I hope to get. I mean, I like the woman, but man-oh-man. This wedding has to be perfect in her eyes.”
“Well, it’s her only daughter,” Montgomery said, “and it is Darlington County.”
“I still can’t believe y’all have either wifed up or are getting damn close,” I said, surprised to see such a change in my friends’ statuses in such a short time. “It’s like the Oleander has become some wedding trap or something. What ever happened to the tradition of it being the house of debauchery and sin?”
“Oh, trust me,” Rafe said with a huff. “It’s all of that and more.”
“Yeah, you just wait until it’s your turn,” Beau added. “You’ll see.”
“I still feel we need to make a change though,” Montgomery said, his big smile fading to his normal serious expression. “Once we’re all members—” He looks at me. “—and start grooming to become Elders, we need to change the old ways. They’re fucked.”
