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“Awesome! I can’t wait.”
He doesn’t say much as we drive through the city. Every so often, he glances at me, hidden meaning in his intense eyes.
“Soon, you’ll be able to hold your book in your hands.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I know you will,” he says firmly.
“I don’t want to get published just because we’re together. I don’t want to cheat the system.”
“Publishing’s a hard game. Sometimes, even the best books don’t reach the readers they deserve, but I respect you, Zoey, more than anybody. If that’s the path you want to take, I’ll respect that too.”
“I’ll think about it,” I murmur. “Thank you.”
We pull up in the parking lot of a large warehouse-style building. Jax places his hand possessively against the small of my back as we walk into the building. Thechunk-chunk-chunkof the printing press reaches us first, and then we walk into a cavernous room, books running along the assembly line. Pride whelms in me when I see them, Jaxson’s name on the front.
“Here,” Jaxson says, picking up one from the pile. “Why don’t you take a look?”
He’s unusually fidgety as he hands it to me. It must’ve been printed recently. It’s still warm but nowhere near as hot as the love expanding inside me, spreading its glow further each moment. As I open the book, Jax drifts behind me. I gape down at the dedication.
To my wife, the love of my life, Zoey.
“I don’t understand,” I whisper.
“It’s a gamble,” Jax replies. “If you say no, I’ll look like one hell of a jackass, but I wanted to see it in print to make it real.”
I turn, looking for him. I take a second to realize… Oh, wow. He’s on one knee, a ring box in his hand, staring up at me with emotion welling in his eyes.
“Zoey, I love you,” he says firmly. “I love you so, so much. I’ve wanted to say it a thousand times, but I was waiting for this moment—for you to read it in black and white.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, my voice breaking as a sob rises in my throat. “I’ve almost said it amilliontimes.”
He smiles. “Zoey Gray…”
Opening the ring box, he displays an enormous diamond, the band elegant, so much more than I ever could’ve dreamed of.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I yell over the sound of the printing machine. “I can’t believe you were ever worried.”
He slips the ring onto my finger and then jumps to his feet, sweeping me into his arms. With the smell of paper all around us and so much love in my heart that I’m sure I could burst, we kiss. We kiss passionately. We kiss like we’re telling the universe,We’re here.We’re together, and nothing is ever going to change that.
EPILOGUE
THREE WEEKS LATER
Jaxson
I hold my hands near the weight bar as Peter completes his last set. He grunts, then slots the bar into place, standing with a grin on his face.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” he says, “and I meant what I said before. Luke would be happy, too, knowing you will care for, support, and protect her. You’re not breaking the promise you made. You’rekeepingit.”
I smile, clapping him on the shoulder. “Hell, I’m just glad you came around.”
When my phone vibrates from the floor, I reach for it quickly. Peter chuckles and shakes his head.
“You’re like a teenager with that thing.”
