Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
When they were gone, Phoebe sighed. “I guess I’ll see you inside, Sage? After you’ve had the chance to say goodbye.”
The thought of Arrow driving away from me had me stiffening at his side. I hadn’t really thought about where we’d go from here until now, and I hated the idea of us being apart after spending every minute together until he’d left to meet with Paul’s drug dealer.
“I’m not going anywhere without you, baby.” Arrow gave me a squeeze as Phoebe’s eyes widened.
“Oops, I missed more than I thought while I was hiding out at my parents’ house.”
I nodded. “Mm-hmm, you really did.”
“Now that the danger has passed, will you feel safe staying at the apartment on your own?” Arrow asked Phoebe. “Or would you like to pack up some stuff before heading back to your parents’?”
“I’ll totally be fine.” She gave me a quick hug and whispered, “Nicely done, girly. Can’t wait to hear all the deets later.”
I giggled as she headed inside. When it was just the two of us, I turned to Arrow and asked, “Now what?”
“Now I take you home, where you belong.”
“Your home?”
Sliding his arm around my back to yank me against his chest, he shook his head. “You’re mine, baby. It’s our home now.”
“Oh.” My lips formed a perfect circle as my eyes widened.
“I meant it when I said I wasn’t going anywhere without you.” He brushed his lips against my forehead. “I love you too damn much to ever let you go.”
“You love me,” I echoed, happy tears welling in my eyes.
“Damn straight,” he confirmed with a grin. “I think I fell for you the minute you stepped out of your car on the side of the road.”
I smiled up at him. “I guess that’s only fair since I fell for you just as quickly.”
“Give it to me straight, baby. I need to hear those three words from your perfect lips,” he demanded.
“I love you, too.”
EPILOGUE
SAGE
To say my parents were stunned by all that had happened while enjoying their cruise was an understatement. Something I had waited to tell them when they made their regularly scheduled call the following Sunday.
My dad was furious that I hadn’t called him for help, then flabbergasted when I told them about all Arrow had done for me. And he was completely out of his element when Arrow had taken the phone from me to introduce himself…and ask for my hand in marriage. Learning that I had fallen in love with a man who was only a few years younger than him had been almost as shocking to him as the danger I had faced.
My dad had thought he was being sneaky when he agreed with one stipulation—that the wedding couldn’t happen until he had the chance to meet the groom. But Arrow hadn’t fallen for that trick, and ten days later, we boarded a plane to Chile to meet them at their next port.
“I can’t believe you pulled our wedding together so quickly.” I turned to my groom with a big smile. “This is amazing.”
We were at a winery overlooking the Cachapoal Valley. We’d just exchanged our vows on the terrace, where we’d had breathtaking three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views of the vineyard and surrounding mountains. Our parents were our only witnesses since it was a spur-of-the-moment destination wedding.
“Wow,” my mom gasped, her eyes going wide at the hot air balloon Arrow had arranged to take us on a ride before dinner with our parents.
“You did good, kiddo.” His mom elbowed his dad in the side. “He definitely gets his romantic side from me.”
“He did okay,” my dad begrudgingly conceded.
Pulling out of my new husband’s embrace, I walked into my dad’s arms and whispered, “Love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” He looked at Arrow over my shoulder. “You better take excellent care of my girl.”
“Always, sir.” Arrow wrapped his fingers around my wrist and tugged me against his side. “I’ve given my life to the Navy for almost twenty years, but my wife is my priority now.”
My dad nodded in approval. “As she should be.”
“Let them be, dear,” my mom urged. “They’re already married now, so you can’t do anything to stop it. Our girl is all grown up and has a worthy man to look after her.”
“Even if you didn’t have my ring on your finger yet, there’s nothing anyone could do to keep me away from you,” Arrow muttered as he led me to the basket beneath the balloon.
After he lifted me inside and set me on my feet, I beamed a smile at him. “Thanks for being such a good sport and taking my father’s ribbing. It was difficult for him to walk me down the aisle to you, knowing he won’t see us again until the end of the cruise in another seven and a half months.”