Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Dirty?” Petal asked, and she felt like she had to pinch herself, which she tried to do subtly.
“Surprise,” he said.
“What’s going on?”
“You once told me you never planned anything, and I know we’re never going to find the time to make this work, so this is me, standing before you, attempting to make it work. I want to marry you, Petal, and I got the club set up, and there’s a priest, and he’s ready to marry us. All you’ve got to do is say the words.”
“You’ve … got everything ready to marry me?”
Dirty nodded. “I know everything is going wrong, and I get it, but I love you, Petal. I love you more than anything in the world. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She smiled at him but then she felt the stick in her pocket and knew she had to ask him first.
“I got you the wedding dress. Rosalie said you admired it when you were picking out dresses for her. I’m not going to look. Rosalie picked it up with Colt.”
“Wait,” Petal said.
“What?”
She reached into her pocket. “Dirty, I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”
She was going to throw up, but Dirty, unlike last time, wrapped his arms around her, laughed, kissed her lips, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “I’m going to be a daddy!”
This was not the reaction she was expecting.
“We’re going to be parents, Petal. You and me. We’re going to make this work, and I promise you, I’m not going to mess up again. I’m going to make it work. We’ve got this, baby. You and me, we’ve got this.”
Petal couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t recall ever feeling this happy.
“Will you marry me?” Dirty asked.
“Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.”
He pulled her in close and kissed her hard. “Then I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll always be waiting for you.”
She watched him leave and then Rosalie stepped into the room. Her friend let out a little squeal.
“You’re pregnant?” Rosalie asked.
“You helped with all of this?”
“Duh, I know you, and I know you’d want to wait for the perfect time, but guess what, there is no perfect time. There is just now, and besides, Dirty told me how much he loved you, and how he wanted this to be as perfect as could be. We all know, Petal, that life is not … it’s not … we have to make the most of what life throws at us, and we all know life doesn’t always hand us what we think we want. We’ve got to make the most of it.”
Petal smiled as Rosalie helped her strip out of her uniform and slide on the wedding dress. It was a little on the tight side, but Petal felt so pretty.
Rosalie reached around the back and tugged out the clip that was in her hair and stepped back. “I don’t have any makeup.”
“It doesn’t matter. I feel pretty and I’m so happy. This is what I want. I want Dirty. He’s the love of my life.” She felt tears fill her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” Rosalie said. “Otherwise, I will cry. I wish my mom was here.”
“So do I.”
There was a sudden throat clearing and Petal looked up to see her father. “Dad.”
“Hey, Sweetheart,” he said.
“What are you doing here?”
“You don’t think you’d get away with marrying the love of your life and your whole family wouldn’t come to see that happening. Your mother is keeping control of the kids, George is here, and well, we’re all here for you.”
Petal held onto her father, and she truly couldn’t believe her family was here. Looking over her shoulder she mouthed the words to Rosalie, “Is it safe?”
Her best friend gave her a thumbs-up.
“Are you ready?” her dad asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m ready.” Petal swiped at her eyes, thankful the tears had yet to fall. She could do this. This was a piece of cake.
They stepped through the doors, and she focused on Dirty. He was the unexpected love of her life. She couldn’t help but flash through the memories she had with him. Being on that cruise ship with Gabrielle and Kim. His constant company, which at first was unwelcome, and then something she began to look forward to. The way he took her cell phone from her and told her she had to focus on him. Their first time together, how scared he looked, that soon turned into something else.
There was so much they had shared in such a short amount of time—good and bad—and yet, as she walked down to him, she knew this was what she wanted.
Dirty was her man, just as she belonged to him.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“Do not give that attitude to your mother, do you hear me?” Dirty asked, shouting upstairs.
He saw Petal wince as the bedroom door slammed. Marco was getting on his last nerve. His son was becoming a pain in the ass, and for a ten-year-old boy, that was saying something. If Marco didn’t open that door in the next second, he was going right up there and teaching him a lesson.