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“We have a lot of healing to do, but I believe in the end we will marry. I think we’re destined to. That’s what Piper says anyway.” Her words come along with more tears. I cup her cheek.
“I’ll ask you every single day until you give me a definitive yes,” I warn.
“Then maybe in a month or two I’ll believe this is more than just a fairy tale, that it’s real,” she says.
“That’s a start,” I say. I lift her and carry her to the bedroom. As much as I want to make love to her, I simply cradle her in my arms. I’ve put her through hell. I’ve put myself through hell. We have a lot of healing to do, but I’m a better man with her, and I can’t ask for more than that.
I’m going to get a happily ever after. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but I’m not going to waste this chance again, not when I have the woman I love in my arms. I’ll kiss her every single night at the setting of the sun and every single morning at the crack of dawn. And then maybe, just maybe I’ll make up for the sins of my past. Maybe together we can become whole. Maybe the three of us can be a family. Maybe my brothers and I aren’t destined for hell.
I think this just might be true because we’re finally allowing our hearts to be open, we’re finally allowing our pasts to be put away. We aren’t our parents. We’re ready to move forward onto the next adventures in life.
I pull Olivia a little bit closer and I vow to never lose her again.
Epilogue
Piper Covington
“Don’t speak to him, don’t make eye contact, and don’t leave the car.” I stand here listening to the security man, who’s wearing an earpiece, and I have to bite my tongue.
Who in the hell is this client I’ve given up my Friday night to drive around? I have no idea. Some ultra-wealthy asshole with more money than brains, I’m sure. My brother owes me big-time for this. If he doesn’t get new drivers — and soon — he’s going to be up a creek without a paddle, because I’m done dealing with men like the one I’m giving up my weekend for. I’ve already worked more than my forty hours at the university library, and I’m tired as sin.
“You need to acknowledge me, Ms. Covington. Now.”
“Got it, chief.” This comes through gritted teeth.
“If you have an attitude, this isn’t going to work,” he tells me.
“I’m not going to change my personality. But I do know how to follow rules. If your boss leaves me alone, I can certainly leave him alone.”
“What’s going on here?” A shudder travels down my spine at the deep baritone voice right behind me, sounding far from pleased.
“I’m sorry, sir. I wasn’t expecting you out so soon,” says the wretched man who’s been chewing on my hide for the last fifteen minutes.
Ignoring his employee, the man steps in front of me, and my first look at him leaves me speechless. That isn’t easy to do — I love to talk. After all, I spend my life with books, with millions and millions of words.
Towering over me, with dark hair and nearly black eyes, the man before me doesn’t look pleased. His chiseled jaw is locked tightly together, his firm lips in a frown. I don’t bother looking down at the rest of his body. I can guess what I’ll see. Just his head alone is a cliché from a romance novel cover.
That is until I remember I’m not supposed to make eye contact. I rip my gaze away and stare at his chest. It’s covered by a tailored shirt that hides nothing. Hard. The man is hard. Hard-bodied, that is. And probably hard in almost every other way.No, not that way...
“Who are you?”
“Piper Covington. I’m filling in as your driver this evening.”
“What happened to Jared?”
“He has the stomach flu.”
“Hmm.” I don’t know if this word, or, more accurately, this sound, is good or bad. So I say nothing.
“We’d best get going then, shouldn’t we, Ms. Covington? It’s going to be a long night...”
