Page 104 of Taking What's Ours

I close the two steps between us and take her face in my hands. Tears spill over her lower lashes, and I wipe them away with my thumbs. “Aren’t you happy?”

“I’m happy. If you love me.”

“Babe.” I grin—a big goofy grin I can’t hide for anything. “I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love a person. I can’t imagine spending another day without you. This morning, with you out of my life, I thought I had nothing to live for. Guess what I’m trying to say is I need you, Elaina. You’re it for me. So, if you’re not coming back to Durango with me, I might as well eat a bullet right here.”

She slams into me, her arms wrapping tight, and her lips pressing to mine.

I hear my brothers cheer and clap behind me.

“Yes,” Trez shouts.

Every woman in the office applauds.

“Shut up, all of you, or you’re fired,” my father snaps.

“Don’t bother, asshole. I quit,” one of the women says.

“Me, too,” another adds.

“Yeah, fuck this place,” another says.

Elaina giggles. “I think we started a mutiny.”

“Good.” I hold out my hand. “Let’s go home.”

Elaina slips her palm in mine. “Home. That sounds wonderful.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Elaina—

It’s the week before Christmas. I don’t know how we did it, but with the help of the ol’ ladies, we’ve managed to pull together a wedding in record time.

The venue was the easy part. Rock offered us the use of the clubhouse and set the boys to work, making the place spotless. They cleared all the furniture, so we can get married in front of the massive fireplace.

Evelyn and Lola found a fabulous wedding planner who worked wonders with the log cabin feel of the place, rigging it with twinkling lights, and brought in enough rental plants to make it look like a snowy pine forest. She set up a long table with stunning settings. We had a DJ, and of course, the place already had a bar.

“Does everything meet with your approval?” the planner asks me the morning of our big day. I look around, stunned.

“It’s absolutely beautiful. Yes, it’s perfect.”

“Wonderful.” She turns me gently by the shoulders and aims me at the girls. “Then I don’t want to see any of you back here until 4pm. Out, all of you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I giggle, follow the girls outside to Lola’s truck, and we head to Trez and Isabella’s house to get ready.

I sit before a makeup mirror while a hairdresser does my hair. My gown hangs from the curtain rod in the window, its train flaring out. The photographer we hired kneels and snaps a shot of it.

Maggie, my best friend, sits on a stool next to me.

My eyes trail over her pretty bridesmaid gown, and I reach out to squeeze her hand. “Thank you so much for being a part of this day.”

“Of course.” She gives me a radiant smile. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m only sorry your parents refused to be a part of it.”

I shake my head. “That’s their choice. If they can’t be happy I found love, then they don’t need to be here.”

She tilts her head, and her face softens. “I’m so happy for you. And to think I was there the moment it all started. I watched you and Dylan meet.”

I giggle. “You did.”

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