Page 105 of Watch Me
Reagan climbed onto her side of the bed, and shut off her light. I glanced up as I flicked the overhead light switch off, revealing the glow of plastic stars. The first time we’d had sex was under their neon glow, and when I planned everything with Rhys, I knew the plastic stars would be romantic, given our past. I turned my light off, but didn’t get in bed. It felt like hours as I waited for Reagan to slip onto her back and look up. When she did, shegasped.
“Ethan …”
I walked to her side of the bed, the glow of the stars just bright enough for me to see where I was going. When I got to her side, I turned her light on and got down on one knee as I pulled the emerald-cut diamond solitaire on a platinum band out of my pocket. She gasped again as she sat up, covering her mouth with herhands.
“Reagan Hunter”—I swallowed down my emotions—“I can make this whole long speech like they do in movies, but I think you already know that I fucking love you. I’ve loved you my entire life, and I officially want to call you Mrs. Valor. So, Buttercup”—I turned off her light again and looked up at the stars to read the words shaped with stars out loud that Ashtyn and Rhys had stuck on our ceiling—“will you marry me?”
The neon glow was still bright enough for me to make out her features. She nodded and hurried out of bed to wrap her arms around my neck. The force of her embrace caused me to tumble back onto the carpeted floor. “Yes! A million times, yes!”
When I’d imagined the day Ethan and I got married, I never thought I would have to wait until I was in my forties. I also didn’t think that our engagement would last less than a week, or that we would get married at the Marriage and Civil Union Court.
But that’s whathappened.
And I didn’t care. Because if Ethan had asked me to marry him the night he walked into Judy’s for the first time, I would have said yes. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years. I had never stopped loving him. There was always that piece of my heart that was broken just waiting to be glued back to the other chambers so it could be wholeagain.
And finally, itwas.
The day after Christmas, Maddie flew in from Denver. From the airport, we went to buy me a dress. It wasn’t like the first wedding dress I’d worn. This one was just above the knee, white, sleeveless, with a lace overlay and scalloped hem. Honestly, it was perfect. I didn’t need the big poofy gown that you needed help going to the bathroom in. I didn’t need to have a wedding that lasted all day. I didn’t even need the first dance as husband and wife because what I did need, I already had. I had the man I’d always wanted to marry, and the family that I loved with all of myheart.
“Ready?” Maddison asked as we freshened up my makeup in the courthouse bathroom.
Everyone had arrived at the same time to witness our nuptials, and while Ethan made sure all of our paperwork was in order, I took Maddie into the bathroom because I needed a minute. I needed time to absorb the fact that, in just a few short minutes, I was finally marrying my guy.
The onewho gave me my firstkiss.
The onewho carried my books for me.
The onewho made love to me under neon stars for the first time.
The onewhose heart I broke because of a stupid drunk kiss.
The onewho didn’t bat an eye when fate gave us a chance to get back together after twenty-three years.
The onewho hired security to keep me safe.
The one who always lovedme.
We took the long, broken road to get here, but I wouldn’t change how it all turned out because if I hadn’t broken his heart, I wouldn’t have Maddison, and he wouldn’t have Cohen andTyson.
I looked at my daughter and took a deep breath. “Ready.” Ismiled.
“Yay!” She handed me the bouquet of dark purple Persian buttercups. Since it was winter, they were in season, though any flower would have sufficed because I was marrying Ethan Valor.
Before we walked out the door, my phone rang in my clutch. Pulling out my phone, I saw that it was a local number. I answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi, yes. Is Regan McCormick available?”
“This is her. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Yes, this is Heather Wentworth. I’m the lead investigator for the 15thDistrict for CPD. I received your application, and I was calling to schedule an interview.”
I sucked in a quiet breath. “Yes, of course. I’m available anytime.”
“Since today is New Year’s Eve, how about we schedule it for the third, ten o’clock?”
“That sounds perfect, thank you.”
“Great. I’ll email you the address just in case, and I look forward to meeting with you.”
