Page 63 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“I had to tell him ‘No.’”

“Because of your father?” Emilia asked.

Gwen nodded.

“If it was me, I wouldn’t let my father stand in the way of being with someone I loved,” Samantha said. “You don’t live with him, you don’t answer to him, and he doesn’t get to dictate your life.”

“I know. If it was just him then I would.”

“But he’s basically holding your nephew hostage,” Maddie concluded. “He would make sure that you never got to see Brent again, at least until the boy is old enough to drive.”

“That’s exactly right,” Gwen said.

“He’s a neat kid and loves you to death. I can understand choosing him over Sawyer. Maybe once Brent is older, you can reconnect with Sawyer,” Emilia said.

“He’ll find someone else by then. Sawyer is an amazing man. He’s smart, sweet, and an amazing man. There will be someone who will realize that and snag him up.”

“If the man is truly in love with you, he won’t fall in love with anyone else so easily. I’m sure that Sawyer is well aware of the situation and knows that you didn’t turn him down because you don’t love him. He’s not the kind of man to hold a grudge,” Maddie said.

“He’s not, but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to wait around for six years until Brent can get a driver’s license, either.”

“I’m really sorry,” Samantha said.

“Enough about me. What about you guys?” Gwen asked.

“Lucas asked me to marry him. I’m going to finish school and get a job that is close to Estes Park. He already has a very successful business going, so there’s no way I could ask him to give that up and move to wherever I might get an entry-level engineering position,” Samantha said.

“That makes sense. I like Lucas. He’s a great guy, too,” Gwen said. “Maddie, what about Darren?”

“No marriage proposals. However, we will be seeing each other when we get off this mountain. He is an amazing man and I love him. He loves me. I think right now, though, he is more worried about Zaid, which I understand.”

Emilia laughed. “I asked Zaid to marry me. He was worried about being a crippled man. I told him to stop being an idiot. Right now, I’m waiting for him to let me know what hospital they are taking him to.”

“You were a great nurse,” Gwen said. “If I’m ever in a life-or-death situation, I’ll be calling you.”

“Well, we better get going. We’re going to drop Emilia off so that she can be ready to roll when she gets the text. We’ll have to get together soon,” Samantha said.

The women hugged each other and walked back to their car.

“Gwen, come on. Let’s go. I’m ready to get off this blasted mountain,” her father called.

She slowly walked back to the car. Sawyer and Lucas were coming out of the lodge. The two men hugged Tessie and Millie and shook hands with Oliver and Daniel.

Sawyer stopped and looked at her for a minute. They locked eyes and Gwen wanted so much to run into his arms. Then, she looked over at Brent and walked over to him.

Gwen got into the backseat of the SUV and sat next to Brent.

“Are you okay, Aunt Gwen?”

She sniffed and wiped the tears that had started pouring down her face again.

“Stop moping,” her father said. “Sawyer is no good for you, anyway. He would just use you up and throw you away. I don’t know what you were thinking. He’s a billionaire. You’re just a poor school teacher who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together.”

“Jerome, stop,” Audrey said. “I’m tired of hearing the garbage coming out of your mouth.”

Brent and Gwen looked at each other in shock.

Then, Gwen said, “I love him. He asked me to marry him.”

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