the others already played. “And you can’t have a disconnected word.” Turning back to Will, she sucked in a breath. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow and his jiggling knee was going fast enough to launch them into hyper speed. Something was definitely wrong. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He nodded toward the board. “Read it.”
She glanced down at the sorry excuse for a Scrabble board. The whole thing—even if the last word counted—couldn’t add up to more than twenty points.
“Marry. Me. You,” she said, going in the order that they were played. “Your word doesn’t count.”
“It really does,” he said, sounding more like his usual cocky self.
“That goes against the rules and—” Her brain finally caught up with what was going on, and she lost the ability to talk as her heart double-timed it in her chest.
Will stood up, pulled a ring box out of his pocket, and then got down on one knee. “Hadley Donavan…” He opened the box, revealing an antique ring made up of square-cut diamonds surrounded by rubies that screamed out “old money” the same way his scuffed-up Justin boots said “ranch ready.” “Will you marry me?”
It took all of her effort to put together a three-letter word from the jumble of ecstatic emotions making her feel like she’d swallowed every bubble in a champagne bottle. “Yes.”
Everyone cheered loud enough that it set off an answering howl from Lightning out there somewhere in the dusk. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Adalyn no longer trying to disguise the fact that she was recording the whole proposal on her phone. Hadley’s attention, though, was focused on the man who’d driven her crazy before stealing her heart.
“Thank God you said yes.” He slipped the ring on her finger and gave her a sly wink. “Otherwise the rest of this game was going to be extremely awkward.”
“We’re finishing the game?” The question slipped out before she remembered all of this was being recorded and, knowing her siblings, it would be played at the wedding reception.
One side of Will’s mouth lifted in a grin that did stupid things to Hadley’s knees. “I’m sure your family will understand if we don’t.”
“We concede, PawPaw and Louise,” she hollered, not even bothering to look back at the picnic table because there was no looking away from the man she loved.
“Because we already won.” He picked her up in his arms. “At least I know I did.”
“Believe me,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We both did.”
He dipped his head down and kissed her, a quick brush of his lips that promised a forever of mores and carried her off to their cabin so that forever could start immediately.
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Acknowledgments
First of all, I have to thank the readers who’ve generously decided to spend their precious free time with me. Thank you! None of this would be possible without you. Also, I couldn’t have ever gotten this book from idea to completion without the help of the good people at Entangled. The fact that they haven’t poisoned my coffee by now always amazes me. Thank you, Liz, Jessica, Bree, Elizabeth, Curtis, Stacy, and everyone else who went above and beyond. Y’all are the absolute best. As always, a huge thank-you to my family (those in Nebraska and on the East Coast) for putting up with me when I’m on deadline and hangry. I promise next time, I’ll remember to eat lunch.
Xoxo, Avery
About the Author
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author Avery Flynn has three slightly wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband, and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. She lives with her family (including the dogs Gravy, Pepper, Tater Tot, and Eggnog, who are either sleeping or guarding the house from squirrels as well as the cat, Dwight, who is totally plotting world domination) outside of Washington, D.C. She loves to chat with readers. You can email her at [email protected] and join her reader group, The Flynnbots, on Facebook!
averyflynn.com
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Chapter One
Cora Cabot knew three important things about Australia:
1. The men were hotter Down Under (Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, the other Hemsworth…)
2. It was hot. Period.
3. Pretty much every animal could kill you.
Okay, so maybe not every animal could kill you. But a country that prided itself on having the deadliest snakes in the world was not a country to be trifled with. Add