Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Yesterday was stressful enough for me, I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for her.
I shower then head downstairs for coffee and to get to work, now I’ve got a housemate it’s even more important to get this house into some kind of fit state to live in.
Dragging open the door to my workshop, I take in the almost finished four-poster-bed I’ve been working on the past few weeks.
The bedrooms weren’t top of my priority list until Mom’s surprise announcement that the six of us had brides on their way. The prospect of having someone to share a bed with spurred me into action. I didn’t want to consummate my marriage to a stranger on a mattress but even less so Gabriella. She deserves more than what I can offer her right now. She deserves more than the way I’ve treated her since she suddenly reappeared in my life.
I lose myself in the finishing touches to the bed, not noticing the cold surrounding me or the bitter air that’s whipping into the large space thanks to the doors I didn’t shut, I’m too focused on getting our marital bed complete and ready for its first night.
With my AirPods in and music blaring in my ears, I don’t hear when she joins me. It’s not until my skin tingles with awareness that I look up at the doors and find her leaning against the wall, still wearing my jersey but with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, that I realize I’ve got company.
“Shit,” I mutter, putting down my sander and pulling my AirPods out. “Hey,” I say, a smile twitching at my lips. It feels incredible after the anger that fueled me yesterday.
“Please, don’t let me stop you,” she says, gesturing for me to continue.
Resting back against the counter, I watch as her eyes drop down my body and her teeth sink into her bottom lip.
My temperature spikes and my cock once again swells with the thought of being inside her, of finally making her mine.
“Enjoying yourself, were you?” I ask, my brow quirking up in amusement.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“That’s a real shame, little mouse, because you don’t have time to stand around enjoying yourself.”
“Oh?” she asks, her head tilting to the side and reminding me so much of a younger version of herself. “And why’s that.”
Pushing from the counter, I stalk toward her. “Because today, little mouse, is your wedding day.”
She gasps, her mouth dropping open in shock.
“T-today?”
“Yep. We’re all scheduled in at the courthouse in…” I pull my cell from my pocket. “Two hours. Now’s the time to decide if you really want this.” I hate to say the words but I can’t help giving her the chance to run if she needs to. It’s better she does it now than when we’re already bound together.
“You think I want to run?”
“I don’t know, Ella. There are a lot of things I don’t know right now,” I admit, although it pains me to do so.
She swallows nervously. “Honestly, not much has changed, Spence. I’ve hardly been living the high life for the past five years.”
The sad look that passes over her face makes my chest constrict, but as much as I want to demand she tell me everything about her life in New York, I know that now isn’t the time.
“I want to know everything. But right now, you have a decision to make. If you’re serious about this then you’ll find a dress and everything you’ll need in a cupboard in one of the spare bedrooms. If you don’t, then walk away now before I’m not able to let you go again.”
“Spencer,” she says softly, walking farther into my workshop and reaching out until her hand cups my cheek and the fronts of our bodies press together. “There is nowhere else I’d rather be and there’s no other man in the world I want to commit my life to. It’s always been you, Spence.”
Emotion clogs my throat to the point I think I’m not going to be able to contain it.
I nod, accepting her words and trying to tell her with my eyes that the feeling is entirely mutual.
Reaching up on her tiptoes, she gently presses her lips to mine. Every single part of my life clicks into place with that one simple move, and it takes every bit of restraint I possess not to take her in my arms and show her just how much she means to me.
“If you need me, I’ll be getting ready for our wedding.”
Tingles race through me despite the fact she steps away, taking her heat with her.
Tearing her eyes from mine, she turns to walk back to the house. But at hearing my voice, she stops and looks back over her shoulder at me.
“I’m going to make you mine like I always should have done.”