Seeking Happily Ever After (Ever After #8) - Elena Aitken Page 0,70
a beard on his chin. If she wasn’t so weak, she would have reached up and grabbed it.
As it was, it was all she could do to lift her hand and drop it back down on the bed again. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself.” He took her left hand in his and threaded his fingers through hers.
His touch felt so good. Instantly, she felt stronger.
“Char, I’m…I just don’t know…”
She managed a small smile. “I’m okay.”
“But you almost weren’t.” His head shot up, his eyes intense as they locked on hers. “And I don’t know…well, I do know.”
She blinked.
“Char, I’m so sorry I lied to you about Amelia. It’s just that…I thought I could stop it. I thought I could…well, I didn’t think I’d have to tell you because I didn’t think it would happen and… I should have told you the truth right from the start,” he finished. “I’m so sorry that I betrayed your trust like that and—”
“Shh.” She held a finger to her lips. “Don’t apologize anymore.”
“But I need you to know that I’m sorry.”
“I know.” She didn’t have much strength, but with the little she had, she squeezed his hand. “I know you did it for Amelia because you love her. You’d do anything for her.”
He nodded.
“I know because I’d do anything for her, too.”
He laughed. “You definitely demonstrated that. You almost died, Char. You lost so much blood.”
“It was worth it.” She meant it. She’d do it again if she had to. But she sure as hell hoped she didn’t have to.
“She’s safe now,” Nick said, the laughter gone. “You both are. Jessica and Billy are both in custody, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they stay that way.”
He squeezed her hand again and she looked down at their fingers twined together. For the first time, she noticed the ruby ring was gone. A tear slipped from her eye.
Nick quickly wiped it away. “Char?”
“I’m okay.” But she wasn’t okay. Her injuries would heal. But seeing her bare finger just made her realize that it was over. All of it. There was no more need to pretend to be something she wasn’t with Nick. That made her excruciatingly sad, because she wasn’t pretending and hadn’t been for longer than even she realized. She’d fallen in love with Nick Newton, just as hard as she’d fallen for his little girl.
“I need to tell you another secret,” he continued as he unwound his hand from hers.
“There’s more?” She couldn’t help but try for a small smile. “I don’t know if I can handle anything else.”
“Well, I hope you can handle this one.” He took a deep breath and pulled his shoulders back. “I’m in love with you, Charlotte Davis. Fully and completely. I think I’ve been in love with you from the first time I met you. I know it took me a little bit of time to—”
“What?”
“It took me a little bit of time to—”
“No.” She interrupted him. “Before that.” She blinked slowly. She needed to be sure she’d heard him properly and it wasn’t just the drugs playing tricks with her. “You’re what?”
He laughed. “I’m in love with you. Fully and completely. I may be slow to understand some things, but last night when I saw you and I thought…well, I couldn’t bear it, Charlotte. I couldn’t bear the idea of living this life without you. Not for one minute. I don’t know what I would have done if…well, the point is, I don’t want to ever know what it’s like to live without you. Because I am desperately in love with you, Charlotte, and I hope to hell you feel the same way.”
Fresh tears spilled unchecked down her cheeks. She nodded, but couldn’t find the words to speak.
“Does that mean that—”
“I feel the same, too,” she finally managed. “So much.”
She sniffed and swiped at her tears, but Nick just sat there with a smile on his face. “Oh thank goodness,” he said. “Because if you didn’t, it would make this next question really awkward.” He pulled out a ring box and flipped open the lid to reveal the ring.
The one she’d picked out before as the ring that would be her dream, her real ring. The oval emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds. The one she refused to accept unless it was for forever. She sucked in a breath as Nick started to talk.
“I’ve already spoken with your father and your brother.” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed. “Let’s just say that Jeremy and I have a few things to work out, but he wants the best for you.”
“And you’re the best?”
He smirked. “Hey, let me finish this, okay?”
“Okay.” She closed her mouth and tried not to smile—or interrupt—while he said what he needed to say.
“Charlotte Davis, you are the kindest, most giving person I’ve ever met. You’re braver than I ever could have imagined and the most loving, wonderful mother to Amelia. You’re talented and smart and sexy as hell.” He winked. “I am totally in love with every single part of you, and under no circumstances can I imagine ever wanting to spend my life without you by my side through it all. Will you please put me out of my misery and marry me for real?”
He held out the ring and she didn’t hesitate.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He slid the ring on her finger, but it was the kiss he finally gave her that felt like home and promised forever.
I hope you enjoyed Nick and Charlotte’s story of coming together. However, there’s still one more surprise in store for this little family.
This bonus scene is exclusive to my newsletter subscribers. If you aren’t hanging out with me yet, click HERE to find out what happens with Char and Nick and their extra special surprise!
It’s finally time for Stephanie and Travis to come to grips with their relationship—or lack thereof. A decision to ‘just be friends’ simplifies things, but when a freak storm strands them together, it’s not only their willpower that will be tested, but their hearts.
Cherishing Happily Ever After is next!
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Also by Elena Aitken
Ever After
Choosing Happily Ever After
Needing Happily Ever After
Wanting Happily Ever After
Fighting Happily Ever After
We Wish You A Happily Ever After
Keeping Happily Ever After
Finding Happily Ever After
Seeking Happily Ever After
Cherishing Happily Ever After
Ever After: Volume One (Books 1-4)
The Springs Series
Summer of Change
Falling Into Forever
Second Glances
Winter’s Burn
Midnight Springs
She’s Making A List
Summit of Desire
Summit of Seduction
Summit of Passion
Fighting For Forever
The Springs Collection: Volume 1
The Springs Collection: Volume 2
The Springs Collection: Volume 3
The Springs Complete Collection - Books 1-10
Destination Paradise
Shelter by the Sea
Escape to the Sun
Hidden in the Sand
The McCormicks
Love in the Moment
Only for a Moment
One more Moment
In this Moment
From this Moment
Our Perfect Moment
Stand Alone Stories
All We Never Knew
Drawing Free
Sugar Crash
Composing Myself
Betty & Veronica
The Escape Collection
Vegas
Nothing Stays in Vegas
Return to Vegas
Timber Creek
When We Left
When We Were Us
When We Began
When We Fell
Castle Mountain Lodge
Unexpected Gifts
Hidden Gifts
Unexpected Endings - Short Story
Mistaken Gifts
Secret Gifts
Goodbye Gifts
Tempting Gifts
Holiday Gifts
Promised Gifts
Accidental Gifts
The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 1-3
The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 4-6
The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 7-9
The Castle Mountain Lodge Complete Collection
Bears of Grizzly Ridge
His to Protect
His to Seduce
His to Claim
Hers to Take
His to Defend
His to Tame
His to Seek
Hers for the Season
Bears of Grizzly Ridge: Books 1-4
Bears of Grizzly Ridge: Books 5-8
Halfway Series
Halfway to Nowhere
Halfway in Between
Halfway to Christmas
About the Author
Elena Aitken is a USA Today Bestselling Author of more than forty romance and women’s fiction novels. Living a stone’s throw from the Rocky Mountains with her teenager twins, their two cats and a goofy rescue dog, Elena escapes into the mountains whenever life allows. She can often be found with her toes in the lake and a glass of wine in her hand, dreaming up her next book and working on her own happily ever after with her very own mountain man.
To learn more about Elena:
Copyright © 2021 by Elena Aitken
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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.