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  off.

  I pull the ring from my pocket and hold it out in front of her. “Open your eyes, Evie girl.”

  She opens her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light as she glances down at me. Her eyes widen when she sees the ring, and she gasps, covering her mouth with her hands.

  I take a deep breath and start the mini speech I’ve practiced a hundred times today. “Evie Bailey, I’ve waited what feels like a lifetime to ask you this, but will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  “Jack,” she whispers as tears begin to stream down her face.

  “I’ve never wanted to be with another woman. I’ve loved you ever since the first time I saw you, and I wouldn’t want to spend my life with anyone else. I’ve belonged to you forever, Evie girl, and now I want you to belong to me. Be my wife.”

  She holds out her shaky hand to me, and the tears flow faster. “Yes,” she says as I slip the ring on her finger. It’s a perfect fit and looks stunning on her hand. Everything about her is perfect. She’s gorgeous, standing before me in a white slip of a dress and sexy sandals. Her long blond hair is braided and lying over her shoulder.

  I stand and pull her into my arms. I kiss her shoulder and resist her mouth because once I start kissing her, I won’t stop until I have her naked. “I love you, Evie.”

  “I love you, Jack. I’ve always belonged to you.”

  “Now we’ll officially be each other’s, and no one will be able to take that away from us again. Nothing or no one will ever come between us again.”

  She gazes up at me, and my heart seizes with the knowledge that after all these years, Evie and I will officially become husband and wife. I lean forward, brushing my lips against hers, and inhale her scent, the one I dreamed about for years.

  She pulls away and looks around at everything that’s waiting for her. “I can’t believe you did all this. You planned all this on your own, for me?”

  I nod and glance around the lakefront, proud of everything I accomplished in such a short amount of time. It’s picture-perfect. “I’d move heaven and earth if it made you happy.”

  We’re halfway to the tent when she turns to me. “You don’t have to marry me because of the baby, Jack.”

  “Don’t be silly. I bought the ring in Philadelphia while you were at the spa. I planned on proposing before I ever knew about our baby, Evie. You left once. I wasn’t going to let it happen again. You were meant to be mine.” We walk a few more steps, and I stop her. “Remember what you promised me on this very spot?”

  “I promised we’d be together always. Forever and ever.”

  “We got sidetracked, Evie, but it won’t happen again. A promise is a promise, and I’m promising you right here, right now, that I’ll always love you and will never leave your side again.”

  She flings herself into my arms, wrapping her legs around my body and kissing me so deeply that she nearly knocks the wind out of me. I carry her, unable to see and moving through the grass from memory until we’re under the tent.

  She slides down my body until her feet touch the dirt. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Jack, but I’ll spend my life making myself worthy. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. I’m a lucky woman.”

  I brush her hair away from her face and gaze into her eyes. “You have that wrong, love. I will spend my lifetime treating you like the princess you are and making myself worthy of being loved by you.”

  A tear slides down her cheek, and I wipe it away with the back of my hand.

  “Is this why you kept me locked up all week?”

  I shrug with a small laugh. “Maybe.”

  She punches me in the shoulder, knowing damn well that I had to keep her hidden to pull off something of this size in Ridge Hollow. “I should be mad, but I can’t be right now. I’m too excited to be angry with you.”

  I pull back her chair from the table that’s covered in white linen and the best china and crystal I could find. “Good. I hope you’re hungry because I have a feast fit for a queen.”

  She sits and fumbles with the silverware as I push in her chair. “I’m starving. I’m eating for two, you know.” She shoots me a sexy wink. Hell, everything she does is sexy in my eyes.

  “I have your favorite.”

  She looks nervously at the plate that’s covered with a silver dome and licks her lips. “Let me see,” she says.

  I pull off the lid, exposing her favorite burger and fries from Moo and Oink.

  “Oh my God.” She leans over the plate and takes a big whiff. “This is perfect.” Evie doesn’t even wait for me to sit down before she takes the first bite of her burger. “Mm,” she moans as the juice and ketchup run down her chin, but she’s not shy as she takes her second bite.

  I can’t help but laugh. Evie’s always loved her food, and she’s never been bashful about enjoying it.

  “This is so good.” Her words are garbled because her mouth is full.

  I don’t bother to eat.

  I can’t.

  I’m too busy watching my girl enjoying herself as the ring I gave her sparkles on her finger. Only my girl could make eating a burger erotic with the moans of pleasure she keeps making. I’m almost jealous of the damn burger, but I will have her under me, calling out my name, soon enough.

  The last six years without her disappear from my memory. We survived our past and only have our future left. Nothing else matters except for our baby that’s growing bigger each day inside her.

  I can’t wait to hold our child.

  I’m the luckiest man alive.

  I have Evie, and she is mine.

  Always.

  Epilogue

  Jack

  ONE YEAR LATER

  Evie tangles her fingers in my hair and tries to pull my face away from her body to stare into my eyes. “Jack, we have to get out of bed sometime today.”

  I close my lips around her clit and hum my disapproval at her statement. “Oh, Jack.” Her back arches off the bed, but I pull her back down by wrapping my arms around her thighs and not giving her any room to get away. My tongue dips down, soaking up her arousal and making me a little drunk on lust.

  She thought I was lying when I said I’d worship her body every day, but I meant every word of it. There hasn’t been a single day in the last year that I haven’t had her in some way. I find myself touching her at every possible moment. Sometimes I just need a reminder that I’m not dreaming. I don’t know what I did to deserve this woman.

  “We’re going to be late,” she says with a tiny moan before twisting against my face, so close to orgasm that I can’t stop. I love watching her get off.

  I glance up at her, peeking over her swollen belly to see her flushed face. “Shh, baby. Give me a few more minutes to make love to you.” My mouth returns to her body, sucking and licking her pussy to bring her closer to the edge.

  “You’re going to get in trouble.” She barely gets the words out as her hands grip the sheets and ball into tight fists.

  “I like trouble,” I tease, running my tongue along the seam of her pussy lips in one slow lick. “Fuck, baby, you taste so good on my tongue,” I growl.

  When she’s unable to lie still, I climb up her body and slide my cock deep inside her. She lurches upward, curling her body into me when I’m fully seated. I’m home. It’s the only way I can describe when she and I are joined, making love to each other and reveling in the feel of one another.

  I tuck my hand under her ass, tipping her hips upward, allowing me to go deeper and stroke the spot that makes her wild. Her fingernails dig into my shoulder, and her soft moans in my ear make my spine tingle with excitement. I love it when she makes those sounds in response to what I am doing to her.

  “You’re mine,” I remind her, paying careful attention not to crush the baby bump that’s between us. Evie’s belly swollen with our child is hella sexy.

  Three months ago, we found out she was expecting again. She turned white as a ghost at the news, but I couldn’t be
any happier. I plan to keep her barefoot and pregnant for as long as she’ll allow me. I can’t keep my hands off her or my cock outta her.

  Her velvety heat squeezes my cock so damn tight. “I’m yours,” she moans in my ear as I thrust into her again. I will never tire of hearing those words leave her mouth.

  We haven’t made it official. Marriage plans are in the works, but we want it to be when we’re ready. Life has been so busy, we haven’t had much time to plan the wedding of her dreams. But I will make it happen. I want it to be an event she’ll never forget.

  I take her slowly with long strokes, pushing my cock in and out of her with purpose and care. Her body was made to be joined with mine. I want to stay here all day, loving her, but I know there’s so much to be done, and it’s a special day for the entire town.

  I give in to my growing orgasm, letting it crash over me, and drag her with me into oblivion. Our bodies shake together, shuddering through the waves of pleasure, both of us unable to breathe. I’ve never felt more alive than in this moment with her underneath me.

  We’re slick with sweat, and our bodies are stuck together as I hover over her with my arms shaking and my legs weak. “I love you.” I gaze down at her, the mother of my children and the love of my life.

  “I love you too,” she says through her ragged breaths.

  I roll to the side and pull her with me. I try to catch my breath as I stare out the windows over the lake. The same lake where we began and finally built our home. It feels right being here with her. It wouldn’t have been the same without her. Everything in my life has fallen into place.

  I can’t imagine being anywhere else in this world than where I am now.

  “The lake looks beautiful today.” She snuggles into my side and sweeps her hands across my chest. “I’m so happy.”

  I smile down at her and brush my lips across her forehead. “I could be happy anywhere with you.”

  She gazes up at me with sleepy eyes. “I’m going to be dragging ass all day now, Jack. You don’t play fair.”

  “I just can’t keep my hands to myself.”

  “I have to get in the shower, and the baby needs to be fed,” she groans, pushing herself up and looking down at me. “We have to be at the main building in an hour.”

  “I’ll feed Adeline, love. Are you ready for today?” I ask her, placing my hand over hers as it rests on my chest. Being a father is amazing. Getting to experience the joy with my wife and daughter at my side… Well, nothing can compare to the beauty they bring to my life. There will always be a special place in our hearts for Willow, but we try not to let her death overshadow our future. I know she wouldn’t want that for us.

  “I am. You’re doing an amazing thing.”

  “We’re doing it, Evie. Everything I have is yours too.” She is my equal on all fronts.

  She kisses me deeply before climbing out of bed. I watch as she walks toward the bathroom. Her cute little ass is a little plumper with the baby weight, and her breasts are a bit fuller too. The way her body has changed just drives me crazier and makes me want her more. My wife-to-be is so damn sexy. Simply thinking about her turns me on.

  When I start to follow her, she places her hand up and shakes her head. “I’m showering alone. We don’t have time for more, and I know exactly how you are.”

  I laugh softly. “I can’t help that I want you. You’re simply irresistible.” I don’t think I will ever stop wanting her. She drives me wild with passion. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t want to make love to her.

  “Get me a cup of coffee while I shower so we’re on time.” I haven’t told her I have been giving her decaffeinated. Too much caffeine isn’t good for the pregnancy, and I am cautious when it comes to Evie and our babies.

  I walk over to her, cupping her ass in my hand and kiss her cheek near the doorway to the bathroom. “I’ll be back, beautiful.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she says before walking away from me and disappearing inside the bathroom.

  I stroll through our house and take it all in. We designed everything ourselves, and it turned out perfectly. It took months, but everything is finally done. It’s built on the very spot I asked Evie to be my girl ten years ago. The expansive windows across the entire back of the house give us a panoramic view of the lake, and the floor-to-ceiling fireplace overlaid with river rock kept us warm during the cold winter nights.

  But spring has arrived. The flowers are starting to blossom, and the forest around us is coming alive again. Today is the opening of the indoor recreational center that’s been a year in the making.

  I pour two cups of coffee and head back upstairs as I think about how much life has changed over the last year.

  Six months ago, we opened a second Dirty Deed Designs facility in Ridge Hollow, just a short ATV ride from our home.

  We’ve hired new employees and helped breathe life back into this tiny country town. Business boomed when the news picked up the story about a new local business with Made in America products. Orders started to pour in from at least a hundred-mile radius and haven’t stopped since.

  Even Myra has jumped on board and is now trying her hand at social media marketing, hoping to attend Penn State in my footsteps next year. She said she wants to be like her big brother. I’m proud, but she’s still a pain in my ass. She has made amends with Evie, and that means the world to me.

  * * *

  Almost the entire population of Ridge Hollow has turned out for the unveiling of the recreation center that sits on the edge of the property. Well, everyone but Jess and Renee. The last I heard from Mrs. Griffin, Jess is on leave from the force, and Renee has run off with a trucker. Jess had the audacity to be surprised she would cheat on him. We tried to warn the sorry bastard, but he wouldn’t hear it.

  When planning the event with Jason, we went all out. Not only did we hire a DJ, but we had the local restaurants cater the event to help feed the town on the company’s dime. I wanted this to be the biggest event in Ridge Hollow history and something that people will be talking about for years to come.

  “I can’t believe all the people,” Jason says as he stands next to me on the podium overlooking the sea of townsfolk before us.

  I glance at him and smile. He’s grinning from ear to ear and looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a long time.

  “Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

  He pats my shoulder. “This town needed it, Jack.”

  He’s not lying. The sleepy town has come alive with buzz since the day I announced the rec center and moving the company’s main offices to Ridge Hollow.

  Jason, Cameron, and I discussed how we would handle the recreation center, featuring a skate park, ice rink, and more. We decided it would be best if we offered the facility usage for free. It will be part of the charitable foundation that we run under Dirty Deeds Designs. The adults in this area barely have work, let alone the kids. We can’t expect them to pay, especially if our goal is to give them something else to do during the day and on the weekends besides drugs.

  I have high hopes that we’re giving them an exciting and safe alternative to the drugs and alcohol that have started to plague the young people of my hometown.

  “Smile,” the local photographer for the Hollow Press says, and Jason and I both turn for the photo op before he snaps a few photos.

  “Are you ready?” Evie asks, coming up behind me and wrapping one arm around my middle, cradling Adeline in the other. “Hey, Jason.”

  “Evie. You’re glowing.” She beams as he tips his head to her, and they both stare at me, waiting for my response.

  “Wait!” Evan comes running up the staircase at the back of the stage with his doctor boyfriend at his side. “You can’t do this without me.”

  “We’d never start without you, Evan. You’re one of the reasons we’re here today.”

  “Free T-shirts for life,” he says and pumps his fist in the air.

  “Who are you kidding?” Evie laughs and rolls her eyes.
“Your