Second Chance Mess (Bad News Billionaires #1) - Lucia Jordan Page 0,55

how I’d felt after I’d left and what it was like without him. And every scenario I thought about led me back to him. Even when I was at my angriest of my most upset moments, it all came back to Tim.

I stopped and stood still in the middle of the home and forced myself to calm down. I pushed my mind to be quiet and to think about the future and what I wanted to be in it. I saw a lot of things when my goals and dreams flooded my head—a career that I loved, a home that I felt at peace in, friends that I cherished—but in every thought I had, I also saw Tim.

When I opened my eyes, I knew what I wanted. I really and truly knew without a doubt.

He had told me to stay here tonight, and I adored being in this space. But I couldn't stay in this house a moment longer without going to give him my answer. I ran out of the house, tucking the key in my pocket and still clasping the ring in the palm of my hand. When I got to Tim’s front, it was unlocked, so I went right inside.

I dashed straight to his bedroom, and when I got to the doorway, I stopped and looked at him. He was wide-awake and staring up at the skylight.

"Brooke," he said as he sat straight up in bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I answered as I rushed in toward him. "Yes, I'm okay. I came to give you an answer."

"But—"

"I know you told me to take the night to think about it, but I already thought about it, and I already know my decision."

"Are you sure?" he asked. He looked worried and nervous.

"Yes, I'm absolutely positive."

"Okay," he said as he turned to face me on the edge of the bed.

We sat holding one hand beneath the light of the night sky that poured in on us from above. Tim waited for my answer as I took a big and steady breath to give it to him.

"I have doubted so many things over the last couple of months," I said.

His mouth dropped slightly as if he were preparing for the worst.

"But the one thing that I have never doubted," I continued, "was how much I loved you. No matter what, even when it seemed like it would kill me, I loved you more than I could stand. Thank you for creating that beautiful space for me. I am in love with every single inch of it. But even more than that home itself, I am in love with the fact that you risked your company's biggest contract to make sure that you were here, putting your hand on building that for me. You ensured that each piece of that home is touched by a memory that you kept safe in your heart just so that you could show it to me in the masterpiece that you created. I want to do something as wonderful for you, but I can't build a container home. Instead, what I want to do is marry you and show you how much I love you for all of the rest of the days of our lives."

Tim's face beamed as though he had just been given the happiest news of his life. "That's a yes?"

"Yes," I laughed as tears rolled down my face at the same time. "That's a yes."

He lunged forward and kissed me, and I could taste the salt from tears on our lips. I opened my palm and held out the ring that he then slipped onto my finger. It fit perfectly, and when I held up my hand toward the sky, it fit perfectly among the stars too.

"I love you," he said.

"And I love you, too," I answered.

"Come on," I said as I pulled him out of bed with me. I grabbed Max's flannel that he had thrown onto the nearby chair. "Put this on."

"Where are we going?" he asked excitedly.

"To enjoy my beautiful utopia together."

As soon as we stepped outside, a light and gentle snowfall began—the first snowfall of the season.

Tim opened his mouth wide and bellowed a shout out into the wilderness. "Max!" He shouted so loudly that I felt it could have woken up every bird in the trees. "She said, yes!"

A moment went by, and Tim's shout was reciprocated with a loud yowling sound that was Max's hoopla of a reply. The two of them had woken up the