Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
My laughter comes, trembling through me until I have to let it out. My heart isn’t a wild thing in a cage anymore. It’s more like a wild thing running free. I don’t have to be afraid, and I don’t have to be triggered. I trust this man. I care about him, and I know he cares about me. Did I freak out? A little. Okay, maybe a lot. And do I still have my insecurities? Yes. But is it Mont’s fault that they’re there? No. We haven’t been doing this for a terribly long time, but I’m safe with him. He’s not going to disappear on me, and he’s not going to hurt me. I believe that now. I believe him.
He and his crazy stuffed bear, the sheep’s butt and the rest, and all of him. He isn’t like anyone else in the world.
“I’m into it too,” I tell him.
“That’s how I knew you were a keeper.”
“It wasn’t the hornet stung nipple?”
“Maybe that, too.”
“Or my pudding genius?” I tease.
“A little of that as well.”
“Or how I’m—”
He cuts me off with a kiss. The most sensual, deep, breath-stealing, tongue-tingling, bone-melting, body-chilling kiss. “All of it,” he says after. “It’s all of it and all of you.”
EPILOGUE
Mont
“It was so neat being here to see all your hard work pay off.” This was fourteen months in the making. It was more than just hard work and dreams for all four of us. Evilla has been every bit as involved in this build as I have, even if she was offering support from the other side of the ocean while I was here in Scotland with my parents.
The first public tour of the newly finished castle took place an hour ago. Evilla and I went on it, and my parents are going to go on this afternoon’s tour. Most people from the surrounding village and countryside already know who we are, and they’ve been as excited about this project as we have. To them, it means so much to see such an ancient, historical site being brought back to its former glory.
The parts that the public will tour through are as historically accurate as it’s possible for them to be. My parents’ living area, however, has more of the modern house flare intertwined with the kickass, badass castle vibe.
Now that the tour is over, we have a minute to relax in the courtyard. Kidding. We don’t call it that in our free time. I suppose it kind of is a courtyard, but it’s nicer to think of it as a spot of lush green grass with stone benches that a local mason put together for us. We had a gardener come in and plant hedges and flowers, and as it is, there happens to be cobble paths that lead around the beds and a huge fountain at the center. It’s half historical and half not-so-historical, but it’s exactly what my mom wanted. Everyone followed her vision of the outside and inside of this place. For the historical part that’s reserved just for the public, I hired a historian and an architect and let their vision shine.
I shift on the stone bench. It’s a warm day for this late in September in Scotland, so I kick off my shoes, pull off my socks, and breathe a sigh.
“Yeah, I bet it feels good to air those dogs out.” Evilla never fails to make me laugh. She always has something surprising to say. “Sorry, I’ve been watching too many videos online. It’s a bad habit. I’d call it market research for this place, but we both know how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole.”
I take her hand. Her nails are painted all different colors. She and my mom do things like that together. They give each other manicures and pedicures, and it’s the sweetest thing in the world. My mom and dad adore Evilla, and I’d like to think her parents like me. Okay, so her mom does, but her dad is still watchful of me. He’ll probably always be that way. If we ever have children, I’ll likely be the same way too. He’s not watchful like a hawk or an eagle. Just more like a friendly old owl who sits up in the tree, ready to kick ass if he’s needed.
Evilla’s fingers twine through mine. The sun slants down at just the perfect angle to hit this bench. There’s a bit of a breeze, but even with the cool edge, I can feel my T-shirt sticking to my skin.
Eventually, as the tours progress, we want to hire actors to make it more interesting, complete with costumes and all. For a few times a year, I’d like to have the castle functioning as it would have centuries ago.
Evilla is great at reading my mind. “Good thing we haven’t had time to bring to life the full scope of your plans for this place because everyone would have wilted in full-length gowns today.”