Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
I wandered into the bedroom to find a king-size bed with an upholstered dark leather headboard, made up in crisp white sheets piped with dark green that matched the walls. Parker must have done some remodeling, because I didn’t remember Griffen ever having a walk-in closet or a bathroom this big.
I realized as I walked through the rooms that there was space here not just for one, but for two. When I was done, I turned to Parker and Savannah.
“When did you both have time to do this?” I asked.
“Here and there,” Savannah said.
“I understood why you didn’t want to go back to your old rooms,” Parker said. “And if you’d rather stay in the guest wing—” She smiled at Paige before looking back to me. “That’s okay, too. But we wanted you to have this. We’re all so glad you’re home.” Parker rushed forward and threw her arms around me.
I hugged her tight. “I love you, Parks.”
“I love you, too.” She pulled away and wiped a streak of moisture from under her eye. “We’ll give you guys some privacy to look around.” Parker grabbed Savannah’s hand and tugged her out of the room.
I watched them go, closing the door behind themselves. Sometimes it was hard to believe how things had worked out and how blind I’d been.
“Are you going to move in here?” Paige asked.
“I don’t know. This is really thoughtful. I wasn’t expecting—” I looked around at the comfortable, masculine, classically styled room that was a perfect fit for my personality and my taste. “Parker is amazing,” I said. “And Savannah might as well have a furniture store up in the attics.”
“Everything in this room looks like it was well made for you,” she said. “I think you should move in. Let them welcome you home.”
“You want me to move over here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be across the hall.”
“True,” she said, walking up and sliding her arms around my waist.
“I’m assuming,” I said, pulling her close, “that it’s too soon to ask you to move in with me.”
Her mouth curved in a smile that tempted me to kiss her. I didn’t wait, running my thumbs along her chin to tilt her face to mine, her full lips a soft invitation.
“Maybe a little too soon,” she said when I broke the kiss, “but I could leave a few things over here, just so I’m not sneaking around the halls in my robe.” She leaned back out of my embrace and swept the room with her gaze.
“It’s big enough for two,” I said.
“It is,” she agreed.
“Eventually,” I said, and kissed her again.
“Eventually.”
And I could see it all—our future laid out in front of me: Paige, family, everything I never thought I’d have, never thought I deserved. It all started with the woman in my arms.
I’d been waiting my entire life for her. Now that we were together, life was just beginning.
The Will
GRIFFEN
THREE YEARS LATER
“Are you ready for this, Griffen?” Hope asked, sliding her arm around my waist and leaning into me, her head against my chest.
“I’m ready for anything,” I said, “as long as I have you right here.” My heart fell for the trillionth time at the sweetness of her smile, the spark of lust in her warm hazel eyes. Life was good. But even when it hadn’t been, the days that I spent with Hope at my side—loving me, loving her in return—could never be truly bad.
But I knew what she was really asking.
“No,” I admitted, a little surprised by my answer. To Hope, I could say the thing that had me off-balance. The vulnerability I didn’t want to admit, but could to her. “What if they all leave now that they don’t have to stay? It’s been five years, and sometimes even a house as big as Heartstone feels a little crowded—especially now that there are so many kids and pets running around.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said with a smile, “and neither would I. The truth is, some of them will leave, and some of them won’t. Savannah is still working on getting Miss Martha to move in. The lure of a new granddaughter is pretty strong. Sterling and Forrest will move into their house in a few weeks. He gave his tenants notice months ago. And Parker and Nash—that place he built up the mountain is like a work of art.”
“I know,” I said, seeing in my mind the plate-glass windows overlooking the mountains, the long lines of cedar and black metal. It was modern and bold and very much my brother-in-law, but Parker, with her more classic elegance, somehow fit right in—just like she did with Nash. “They’re only a few minutes up the mountain, though,” I reminded Hope and myself.
“With a toddler and an infant, they want more space and privacy. I get it.”