Page 36 of After this Summer
INDIE: Thank you
JESSE: Does this get me out of painting?
INDIE: Nope
JESSE: Didn’t think so
Smiling,I excuse myself, promising I’ll be back in just a minute before disappearing down the hall so I can start my life with Beau.
For real.
21
BEAU
“Hey, I gotta borrow the groom for a sec,” Jesse says with a look I can’t quite read.
Looking down at my watch, I frown. “We’re about to start.”
“Yeah, but this is important.”
Without another word, he turns and walks back down the hall, and with a quick glance at Lake, Merrick, Sawyer, and Jensen, I follow him.
Heading out the front door, we snake around the house, winding up on the side of the house near the kitchen.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just?—”
“Don’t move,” Jesse says seriously.
“Jess—”
“Don’t. Move.” He smirks and I’m about to argue when the sounds of the back door and footsteps greet my ears.
“Thanks, Jesse.”
“Remember this when it comes time to paint!” he yells and I chuckle, listening as Indie’s footsteps get closer.
And then stop.
“You there, Heartthrob?” Her voice is soft but there’s a hint of excitement too as she holds out her hand.
“Yeah, Stunner, I’m here,” I tell her, clasping my hand in hers, both of us staying on our respective sides of the house.
“I need to tell you something.”
“I got bad news for you if you’ve got cold feet,” I tease. “You’re already legally mine in the state of Montana.”
She laughs softly, her fingers squeezing mine. “I want to marry you for real, Beau Sterling. When I walk down the aisle, I want you to know there’s nothingtemporaryabout the way I’m feeling.” Without thought, my body leans forward, earning me a death grip and a little squeak. “No! You can’t see me!”
Chuckling, I sag back against the house, my eyes watering with her admission.
“I want to marry you for real, Beau Sterling.”
“I want to marry you for real too, Indie Kade.” Swallowing hard, I add, “It was never temporary for me.”
“I know,” she says dryly. “It just took me a little while to catch up, and hey, you didn’t even need the last ten weeks.”
“What changed?” I ask, looking out at the rolling hills I grew up on, the mountains in the distance and the sky the most perfect shade of blue.
