Page 70 of Claiming Charlotte

“Silly girl.” I huffed, cradling her face in my hands. “You're right. You deserve so much more.” Looking down I guided her lips toward mine and pressed them together.

“Plus, I had a little help.”? I took a deep breath before I knelt down, holding her left hand tight.

“Charlotte, you're it for me. I’ve changed for you, I’ve killed for you, and I would die for you without hesitation. In our time together and the times we spent apart you have given me another amazing gift. You have shown me how to live for you. And I only hope you can stand to be around me for the rest of our lives.”

The words tumbled out of my mouth so fast, the look on her face led me to believe what I said went over her head. She just stared at the ring, and I swallowed thickly before the word I desperately wanted fell from her mouth.

“Yes.” A tear fell from her eye as I slipped the ring onto her shaking finger, and my heart burst as I took her in my embrace.

“I have one more surprise for you, but I have another important question first,” I whispered almost inaudibly. “How many times do you think we can do this for the free dessert?”

31

During the car ride, Lottie was bursting with excitement. I thought she would want a huge wedding with all of our friends and her men surrounding us. Not a church but maybe on her grounds by the pond she loved, or maybe travel to a beach somewhere; but she asked to get married somewhere completely different.

“Roe, can we get married at the overlook? Maybe just us and those closest?”

“Charlotte, I would have married you in the alley of the restaurant,” I said, pulling into an oddly familiar looking driveway. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“Rowan, this isn’t what I think it is. You are full of surprises tonight. Is this the secret you've been keeping?” She said. A shocked gasp left her, and she threw the door open to head up the porch stairs before turning to me.

With a smile that spread from ear to ear she said, “You re-built it. Your home, it’s right here in front of us, Roe.”

I nodded. I knew she would love it, and while we couldn’t live all the way at the cabin, maybe this was the next best thing for her. It wasn't the same, but it was close enough, and she could go back and forth if needed. I watched as she took in the furniture and the multiple places and memories we had here; there was only one difference. There were five bedrooms now. Her eyebrows raised, and she slowly turned toward me.

“Why five?” She asked, grazing her hand over the linen of what would hopefully be our bedroom. Her voice was seductive and laced with curiosity.

I walked up behind her, placing my large frame against her body, and wrapped my arms around her.

“Well, I figured Nicole would sneak her way in, she deserves a room to come back and forth,” I whispered on the outer edge of her ear. “The rest can be for wherever life takes us.”

She exhaled sadly.

I turned her around to face me and cradled her face in my hands. “Hey, you don't have to make a decision now, Princess, but it is here whenever you do.”

“Now, follow me downstairs because I have something I need you to do for me.”

Charlotte

Taking me by the hand Rowan hastily took the stairs two at a time until we walked into the living area adorned with decor that was a lot like the last, minus the endless pictures that Roe would have of his childhood, much like the cabin. He never did tell me what happened, and I opted from asking about such a painful memory.

“It is missing something isn't it?” I asked.

He threw me a confused glance and I laughed.

“We have to plant a new tree in the front yard, it might take years to grow, but it would make everything perfect,” I said excitedly.

I could imagine a calm serene life where I could come back home and separate my private and business life. At the end of the day, we could just be Charlotte and Rowan. Two people just trying to navigate through?life like any other couple.

I craved that.

I wanted that.

My eyes took in the room landing on the coffee table where a tattoo gun and various colors of ink lie.

I raised my eyebrows. “What's all this, Rowan.?”

He sat down on the couch and pulled me into his lap.

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