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“Oh, well, if it makes you feel any better, he’s been the perfect gentleman.”
“No, it doesn’t, because I want to be the one with you.”
“Then stop letting him win.” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Logan Stanford. I didn’t even realize how much until this very moment, but I love you, oh so much, and I never want to lose you. Not ever. I don’t want him to take any more time from us than he already has, and I want us to make this work.” She stepped up close to him, putting her hands on his chest, and he let her. “So I’m going to ask you to marry me.”
“What?” he asked. “Wait, no, you don’t have to ask that.”
He watched in amazement as she went down on one knee. “Marry me, Logan. I love you, and I don’t blame you for anything that happened. What we went through together, I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me too, for not being stronger. For not fighting.”
“You can’t propose, I want to propose.” He went down on one knee, but she laughed.
“No, you don’t get the chance to propose. I did first.”
He felt her hand shaking within his grip.
“I love you, Ava. I’ve always loved you, and that is never going to change.”
“I hope not. I want us to live a long and happy life together. The past is staying where it needs to be.”
“I can’t change who I am.”
“I know, and I’m not going to change you. I don’t want it to hurt our child or our relationship. I love every single part of you, Logan, the good and the bad. I didn’t even know I loved you until this very moment,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
“I loved you as a kid, and I love you still.” He pushed the hair off her face. “And I will keep on loving you every single day of my life. I’ll marry you, Ava.”
He pulled her in close for a kiss, and she moaned.
This was what he’d been waiting for. It hadn’t been his need for revenge. All this time, it had been his need for her, and now he finally had her.
Ava was all his.
His childhood wish was coming true. Only now he knew how precious she was, and he wasn’t ever letting go.
Epilogue
Ten years later
Logan checked to make sure the table was perfectly set. There were candles, flowers—roses, as they were her favorite—and lasagna baking in the oven. Hunter had stopped by to make the food for him. Logan had never been a good cook, and he wasn’t about to start learning.
Ava was upstairs putting the kids to bed. They had four kids, and he still couldn’t believe what a handful they were. Their first child had been his oldest son, Liam, and then they’d had twin girls, Darcy and Carla, before his baby boy, Steven, was born six months ago. He didn’t think he would ever have two, let alone four. Ava’s first labor had been a nightmare. He had watched her in pain, hating himself every single second.
She’d pushed out baby Liam, and he’d weighed over nine pounds.
He would never forget that night. Ava had woken up, crying out as contractions disrupted her sleep. They’d already gotten married. She hadn’t wanted a big affair, and he’d taken her to Vegas to make her his. It had been the right decision as they spent their time looking for the perfect house, decorating in time for their new arrival. When the nurse put his son in his arms, it had been the perfect moment.
He was finally a father, and he’d vowed to protect his woman and son.
Less than four years later, their twins arrived. He thought he knew pain, but he wasn’t a woman in labor.
Pushing the thoughts of his wife in pain out of his mind, he focused instead on being ready for Ava.
“They are asleep. I don’t know for how long.”
She rounded the corner, and he watched her pause.
He held a rose, and he’d already taken off the thorns.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“This is our anniversary dinner.”
“We didn’t get married in October.”
“No, but we did spend an entire night together on Halloween.”
“You’re calling our first night together when we were eighteen.”
“It was one of the first moments I fell in love with you,” he said.
“Your friends thought I was mistaken for that other girl. I can’t remember her name.”
“Anna. She didn’t come as a sexy nurse, Ava. I made that up. She came as a vampire. I told my friends at the time that she was the sexy nurse. It was you I wanted with me the whole time.”
“Oh. I’m not even dressed for it. I’ve got baby vomit on my shirt. My clothes haven’t seen a washer. I’m a mess.”
