Page 133 of Breakout
My eyes open, staring into her beautiful hazel eyes.“Yes?” I repeat quietly.
“Yes. Beckett, of course I will marry you. As if there could be any other answer.”
Slipping the ring on her finger, I wrap my arms around her center and pull her down onto my bent knee as I kiss her.
Applause rings out around us, but I don’t care. Everyone else can get fucked.
I finally have my woman.
Mine.
The word has echoed in my head for months now, but it’s finally a reality. She is mine.
“I don’t know if I can stop thinking I’m not good enough for you, but I promise I won’t try to break up with you again. I remember my mom and dad fighting once, and Mom went to the bedroom. Dad sat down with me and told me not to worry. They would work it out because they loved each other, and when you are in love, you do whatever it takes to fix all the little things that happen along the way. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. I love you, Beckett Hayes. I want nothing more than to take your last name and fix all the little things that happen for the rest of our lives.”
I pull her in, kissing her hard. “I love you, Peyton Hayes. I love you so fucking much it makes my heart hurt sometimes.Every time I think I love you the most I can, I find a little spot to love you more. You own me. My heart. My soul. My everything.”
She leans up, taking my lips in hers as she kisses me over and over again. Everything falls away as I hold her in my arms, kissing the life out of her. When we finally pull apart, I grab her hand, rubbing my finger over her ring finger where my ring now shines.
“You’ve always done that. Why?” she asks.
“I always wanted my ring there. The proof that you are mine for the rest of the world to see. I knew you wouldn’t accept it back then, but I always hoped. I bought this the day after we got married. I kept it on me, hoping you would give me a sign that you were ready for it.”
“You thought that time was now?”
“Not at all. This was my last chance. The last breakaway of the game. My last offensive attack to win the game. I didn’t expect you to say yes. I thought I lost you for good, but I had to try.”
She grabs my collar, pulling me down to her face. “I couldn’t leave you. I thought I was doing what was best for you, but I wouldn’t have been able to leave you. You found a way to get under my skin until I needed you more than anything else in my life. I love you. I won’t ever leave you. Please don’t leave me.”
I kiss her deeply. “Never.”
She smiles up at me. “Can we get a milkshake now?”
I shake my head, laughing. “Anything you want, wife.”
With that, I walk her into the diner that has become such an important part of our story. In fifty years, we will be sitting in this same place reminiscing on how it all began with a fake marriage and an inheritance.
Life works in mysterious ways, but fuck, am I glad it gave me her.
Peyton Hayes.
My wife.
epilogue
“You bitch. I still can’t believe you hid this entire place from us. It’s gorgeous,” Cora says, looking around the room I’ve claimed as mine.
It’s not been an easy road, but the estate is all mine. Janis tried to come by once, but when the police led her away in handcuffs, I think she realized she truly had no pull here anymore.
It’s sad, but she had our grandfather her whole life and took it for granted. I once wanted to give her the fortune and estate because I felt like she deserved it more than me, but I know now that she would have squandered it away.
Grandfather left it to me because he knew I would uphold his legacy.
It’s been six months since Beckett proposed again. He said he didn’t want to wait to have a wedding, so I started planning, but it’s taken some time. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of moneyon it even with Beckett getting drafted to the Boston Foxes. Between that and my inheritance, I can afford a lavish wedding, but that’s not me. It’s not who Beckett and I want to be.
“I looked at so many places, but then I decided this was the best place to have it. It feels monumental somehow,” I admit, keeping still for Cora to finish my hair.
It was hard for me to make the decision. I’m still not quite at home here, but I’m trying to feel better about it. I want to feel like I deserve this place.
