Page 135 of Empty Net

I really don’t think Auden would have gotten this off the groundandplanned her wedding without Lilah’s help. Why she decided to take on two life-changing endeavorswhilebeing extremely pregnant is beyond me. But she did, and she has Lilah to thank for the success of it all.

When my girl finally steps up to me, I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

“Hey there, sugar,” I say, the tips of my shoes pressed against hers.

“Hi.”

“How do you feel?”

“Honestly? Still stressed, but also relieved. It’s weird and hard to explain.”

“You don’t have to. Not with me. Never with me.”

She tips her head to the side, squinting at me. “Why are you so good to me, Arthur Fox?”

“Because you deserve it, Lilah Maddison.”

With that, she hurls herself into my arms, and I catch her just like I will every time. Our lips connect like old friends, and I slip my hand up her neck as I hold her to me, not wanting to let her go. Not because I’m afraid I’m going to lose her—I don’t fear that anymore—but because I can’t get enough of her.

When we’ve kissed long past what’s appropriate, we finally pull apart.

“I’m proud of you,” I tell her.

That earns me a blush. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Yes, you could have. You can do anything, and you don’t need me for any of it.”

“Well, I didn’t want to, and Idon’twant to. I always want you by my side.”

I sigh, dropping my forehead against hers. “I like the sound of that, being by your side.”

“It does sound nice.” She huffs out a laugh. “God, can you believe we did it?”

“Yes.”

“It’s been a busy summer. The playoff run, the proposal, the wedding planning, the baby that’s due any day now,andlaunching the company.”

“And yet, you did it all.”

“In heels, too.”

I laugh, thinking about the nights those heels were digging into me as I helped her relax through it all. “I told you, you’re an incredible woman, Lilah Jane.”

“You believe in me too much, Fox.”

“And you don’t believe in you enough.” I kiss the tip of her nose.

She sighs. “Keep saying things like that and I’ll…”

“What, sugar, what will you do?”

“I don’t know. Marry you or something.”

I pull away, looking down to see if she’s serious, and fuck me, but she is.

“You’d let me put a ring on your finger?Myring this time?”

She nods slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I would.”

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