Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
I don’t know what the hell I expected.
Definitely not this.
But there’s a lot less venom in my blood, and it makes me feel light enough to take flight.
“Good. Then kindly get the hell out of my house,” she says.
I blink at her.
But she doesn’t bother with a second glance as she heads into the kitchen, and I show myself out.
Far better hospitality than I deserve.
My right eye socket hurts like hell and I’m sure there’s a nasty bruise coming.
Still, as I climb back in the vehicle and shut the door, I’ve never felt this peaceful in my life.
“Holy crap, your face! What happened?” Hattie grabs my shoulders, all worried eyes as she looks at me.
“Exactly what needed to. Let’s go home and get married, Pages.”
29
ALL HOLY VOWS (HATTIE)
Months Later
We push the wedding back to fall to give us a little more breathing space.
Precious time.
Now that we’re in this for real, the timeline isn’t nearly as important as it was when this was a giant charade.
Getting it over with as soon as possible isn’t what matters.
Now, it’s having the wedding and the honeymoon of our dreams, and then the rest of our lives.
To my relief, once we change our minds about the venue, it’s easy enough to shuffle everything around—especially when Ethan throws his weight (and money) into the equation.
When we broke up, we never got around to canceling the plans. But I left Ethan in charge of that since he paid.
With everything else going on, he just… didn’t.
“I was too busy sulking, trying to chase you away with a damn bottle,” he told me with one of his rare smiles.
At least the press is satisfied with our version of the truth. We spent some time apart before deciding we truly did want holy matrimony.
With the pressure off, life drifts along in that lazy, relaxing way it does when you’re happy.
We say goodbye to summer together, filling our time with long walks, holding hands on the beach, taking Leonidas’ yacht out a few more times, and flying to New York City so he can attack business by day while I make it my personal mission to see every bookstore in the city.
Every day feels precious in a way I never knew it could.
Ethan has even learned to forgive his grandfather’s sins.
No easy lesson, but it’s only right when life isn’t black and white, and being a Blackthorn means living every shade of grey.
And whatever mistakes Leo made when it came to his children, he was right about one thing—Ethan and I are perfect for each other.
“It’s not so horrible, wanting your grandson to fall in love,” I tell him as we lie on a picnic rug, staring at the clouds rippling over the ocean in curling waves.
The August sun paints my skin with warmth.
Ethan rolls so he’s facing me.
“I’ll give the old man that. He couldn’t have picked a better wife for me.” He reaches out, touching my hair. “And he’s right—I might’ve never looked at you twice if it wasn’t for the will forcing us together.”
“Rude!”
“You hated me, remember?” He smiles. “For good reason. I was the asshole bully who ruined your happy times with Margot.”
“I didn’t hate you. I mean, not exactly. I just thought you were an entitled swinging dick who thought he could have anything he wanted.”
His smile comes slow and soft and achingly tender, even if I know he’s about to make fun of himself. “What part was untrue?”
“None of it,” I say. “There’s just more to you than I thought. Layers.”
“Onions have layers, Hattie. The more you peel, the harder they make you cry.”
“Well, so does tiramisu! And there’s a lot of sweet stuff between the bitter espresso. Even rich, entitled jerkwads can be kind. Sometimes,” I add.
His eyes spark with challenge.
“So I should cancel your big book event with two world-class authors? It’s only the talk of town. You don’t want to know the strings I had to pull to get M.E. Court and Gwen Lynn to Portland for a duo signing.”
“Ethan!” I lean over to smack his arm. “You can’t get to me that easily. I know you wouldn’t dare. And thank you again, I’m still in awe it’s happening.”
Seriously. That mother-daughter pair from Minnesota can write, even if they’re in different genres.
“Shame,” he grumbles. “But are you sure? You might be older and sexier now, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less gullible.”
“Please. I’m way less gullible.” When he opens his arms, I snuggle in close, smiling when I feel his lips against my hair. “Have you forgiven him yet?”
“Gramps?”
“Yeah. I know it’s a little more complicated with your parents, but he isn’t around to defend himself. And without him, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“I…” He sighs, his hands trailing down my side to the sliver of skin between my shirt and shorts. Despite myself, I shiver. “It’s fucking complicated. At the end of the day, he lied to me. He held back secrets I should’ve known, long before I left town raging and lost. But I get why he did it, why the fallout with Mom and Dad left him no good options. And you’re right, Gramps playing hardass cupid wasn’t a crime.”