Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Not many people are getting married on this sunny Monday afternoon in October.
Married.
We’re getting married, literally any minute now.
I lean over, hissing beneath my breath, “Are you sure you don’t want a prenup? I really don’t mind. We could postpone the ceremony for a few days and—”
“No need,” he cuts in with a grin. “I’m not worried about it. I trust you.” His expression sobers as he adds, “How about you? Is there something more you need to feel you can trust what we have planned? If so, I’m happy to wait and get that in writing. Though I know we both don’t like the idea of Mimi being uninsured, even for a day or two.”
I look up into his dark eyes, completely dumbfounded. This man is completely upending his life to help me and my sick little girl, and he’s asking if I trust him? And offering to put whatever I need in writing?
“You’re something else, Grammercy Graves,” I murmur, meaning it.
“In the good way, I hope,” he says, his gaze locked on mine, making my pulse beat faster.
“In a very good way,” I say. “If I didn’t know your backstory, it would be hard to believe you’re real. But any man who spends his first paycheck with the NHL to buy his mama a nice place to live is a real one in my book.”
“And any mama who sleeps on the couch so her kiddo can have her own room is a real one in mine,” he says.
Silence falls between us as we stare into the very hearts of each other. For a moment, all the artifice and social graces are gone, and we’re just two people who haven’t walked the easiest road. People who have faced harder times than most, and had to grow up way faster than our peers, but who have chosen to let our struggles make us kind instead of bitter.
Determined instead of defeated.
Hopeful instead of hard.
This man…might actually be my soulmate, I realize. For real.
The thought barely has time to land—and turn my stomach inside out—when the couple in front of us exits the judge’s chambers, grinning ear to ear.
“Ready?” Grammercy whispers, taking my hand.
I nod, curling my fingers around his warm, dry palm. “I am.”
And I do…
Our vows are quick, but beautiful. Judge Renault, a solid black man with gray in his beard and kind eyes, does the honors while his clerk, a grinning redhead in a lightly-wrinkled pantsuit, observes.
Grammercy and I both say our parts, and then, the judge murmurs, “By the power vested in me by the state of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He shoots us a big grin. “You may kiss the bride, son.”
Then, like something from a dream, Grammercy turns, drawing me against him, and the world disappears.
His palm comes to my face, cradling my jaw like I’m something precious he never wants to lose. His thumb brushes across my cheekbone, and I forget how to breathe. And then he dips his lips to mine and—
Oh.
Oh my…
This man is magic on the ice, but his kiss? This kiss? It’s axis-tilting, life-changing. Grammercy Grave’s lips are fresh air, cool water on a hot day, a poem written just for me.
He tastes like mint and salt and hope, and when he deepens the kiss, I melt into him like a flower tilting to the sun. My hands slide up his chest to tangle in his hair—thick, silky, and perfect, just like him—and he makes a happy sound low in his throat, making me think he’s feeling the moment, too.
The moment and the magic…
Time slows to honey-thick sweetness, until there’s nothing but his mouth on mine, his strong, solid body, and the racing of my heart. And bliss. So much bliss. I’m dizzy with it, overwhelmed by how good this is, how right, how I never want it to stop.
When we finally break apart, I’m breathless and shaken.
But in a good way.
Because now I know that it’s real. Kisses that turn the world upside down are real, and one of the men capable of giving them is now my husband.
WTAF.
“We did it,” I whisper.
His lips curve in a soft smile. “We sure did.”
His hand is still on my cheek, my lips are tingling, and the glowing, molten heat in my chest is probably visible from space. I don’t know how long we would have stood there, marveling, if the judge’s clerk hadn’t cleared her throat.
We both startle before turning to face the redhead standing beside us.
“Sorry to interrupt, but the judge is due in court in ten minutes, and we’ll need you to sign this before we go.” She hands us our marriage certificate with a giddy grin. “But congratulations! I’m sure you two are going to be very happy together. You’re both just lovely people, I can tell.”