Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Inside was a black band with an inlay of dark wood. “Holy fuck,” I breathed. “It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s tungsten inlaid with old-growth heart pine.” He tipped my chin up until I met his eyes. “Taken from one of the planks we had to remove from the shop floor during the expansion. This wood has seen a hundred winters, a thousand boots, and a lifetime’s worth of memories of the man I fell in love with. I figured it was an important part of our next chapter.”
I was speechless. It didn’t surprise me that he’d recognized how important my family’s legacy was to me, but I was still bowled over by his thoughtful gesture.
“I don’t know what to say,” I croaked.
“I just need you to say yes when the officiant asks you a question one day very soon.”
I nodded like a bobblehead as he pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on my finger. I let out a choked “I love you” again and tackled him to the ground, kissing and hugging him like I’d gone a little bit loopy.
Adrian yanked me up from the floor and began to tug me past the window displays, through the back room, and up to our apartment.
Outside, snow had begun to fall yet again, covering Legacy in new snow that sparkled under the streetlights. As he pulled me to the bedroom, I realized I had never been happier to be exactly where I was.
“How is it possible to be this happy?” I murmured.
His smile was soft and warm and full of promise, but before he could say anything, he stopped and stared at the small, wrapped present on the end of our neatly made bed.
“What’s this?” he asked, turning toward me.
I shrugged, but he could tell from my expression I knew exactly what it was. “Guess you should open it.”
“Santa came early, hm?” Adrian picked it up and turned it around, investigating it before beginning to pull apart the wrapping paper.
“At least someone got to come,” I teased. “Because I still have plans for you.”
Inside was a new framed photo for our wall. A large print of the shot Maya had gotten on our very first date, the one where I had a dot of whipped cream on my nose and Adrian had reached over to wipe it off. The chemistry in that one shot had been enough to catapult us into sudden stardom.
Engraved in the wooden frame at the bottom were the words #FuckRuleThreeForever.
Adrian’s eyes filled as he grinned at me. “This is better than my ring. Better than the documentary workshop in Denver Maya and I got you for your birthday. I really need to up my game.”
I shook my head and laughed, gently removing the photo and setting it on the nearby dresser. “Baby, if we start keeping score now, we’re in trouble.”
“I’m going to buy you a house,” he insisted.
I reached for the bottom of his hoodie and pulled it up and off him. I couldn’t resist staring at my ring as I moved my hands up over his head.
“How about you get me a second one of these rings so I can give it to my boyfriend?” I suggested.
“You mean your fiancé,” he corrected, lowering his voice until it made the hairs prickle on my scalp.
“My fiancé,” I agreed, looking into the blue eyes I adored. “My partner. My love. My home. My favorite holidate.”
He snorted, though his eyes were still misty as he caught my hand and pressed a kiss just over my ring. “Only holidate.”
“Forever-holidate,” I whispered, overwhelmed by the certainty in his voice, the solid weight of the ring on my finger, the man in my arms who’d chosen to stay.
Outside, snow continued to fall on Legacy, but inside our little apartment above the business we were building together, everything was warm and right and exactly where it should be.
Adrian’s hands found the hem of my shirt, his touch gentle but insistent. “Do you want to come to bed with me, fiancé?”
“I do,” I said, and I let him pull me toward our future.
#OneYearLater #NewDreams #NutsNBolts #SullivanHayes #Home