Page 87 of Stealing Home

The corner of my mouth quirks up into a cocky grin. “Fuck no, that implies I’m going to ask you. My version of a proposal will be telling you to marry me, and not until your divorce is final.”

Her mouth falls open. “My attorney asked the judge for a default divorce. He granted it since I’m not asking for any of the assets. There’s a thirty day waiting period, so that means I’ll be officially divorced in three weeks.”

“Tell me now if you aren’t all in, because I’ll marry you the moment the ink is dry if you let me. Unless you want a big wedding. I’d rather fly out to Hawaii as soon as school is out and get married on the beach.”

“Do you really think Wren and the rest of the gang will let us get away with that?” she asks with a laugh.

“Fuck, we’re going to get married in their backyard, aren’t we? Actually, I kind of like that idea. I’m going to talk to Griffin when we get back,” I tell her.

Her mouth falls open. “You cannot ask them to host our wedding.”

I love how the only thing she’s arguing with me about is where we’ll have it, not the crazy-fast timeline I’ve set. I’m sure about her though, more than I’ve ever been sure of anything in my life.

“Relax. I’m going to ask them if they’d like to come to Hawaii for a destination wedding.”

She giggles. “Then Griff is going to demand to have the wedding at their house.”

I tap the end of her nose. “Exactly.”

There is one thing I want to settle between us, and I’m not sure what she’s going to say. I exhale, and try and push away the anxiety. “I want you to take my name. Will you do that?”

“Huh,” she says to herself. “I just realized that all of the reasons I had for keeping my last name when I married Nando don’t seem to make sense with you. I don’t need to hold back, or keep my identity, because I won’t get lost being with you. I don’t think I’ve been so authentically me in years as I am with you.”

“There’s one other thing. If we have a son, I want to name him Pierce. Scott was my mom’s last name. That way, you’ll never lose your name,” I tell her.

“And if we have a girl?”

“Well, first I’m going to put bars on all our windows and buy a gun so I can clean it when any boys come sniffing around. And then, I was thinking we could name her Wren, because I don’t think you’d have let me give you the money to get out of that situation,” I tell her.

“No, I wouldn’t have,” she whispers.

My phone rings from the other room, and I groan. “Sounds like we’re being summoned. We better get dressed.”

30

Harlow

“A family party?This morning didn’t exactly go very well,” I say.

“My sister is riding down with my Uncle Jeremy. You’ll love him. I don’t want you leaving here with the impression my dad made this morning.”

I sigh. “Should we go pick up something to bring?”

Scott smiles and kisses the side of my head. “I love you. Let’s go to the grocery store and grab one of those pre-made veggie platters.”

For the second time today, we pull through the gate of his family home. This time there are several more cars scattered around. I exhale in relief, realizing we aren’t the first ones there. I’m hoping it’ll be enough of a buffer between us and his dad.

Scott comes around the car and opens my door. Noise from the backyard lets us know where everyone is gathered. He takes my hand and starts to lead me to where we can hear the party, but I try and pull my hand free.

He’s not about to let me get away with separating myself from him, and backs me up against the car. He’s so much larger than me, I can’t help but feel a thrill at the feel of him looming over me. One of his hands grabs my waist and the other threads through my hair. He pulls until my head tips back for me to look at him.

“We do not hide, not here, not anywhere. We’re not doing anything wrong, and I won’t act like we are,” he insists.

I nod my head, as much as I can with his hand fisted in my hair. He smiles mischievously, and bends down to kiss me. All of the reservations I have about showing affection in front of his family disappear. Nothing is worth missing the feel of his lips on mine.

“Ooh, who do we have here, baby Ryan?” a voice calls out from several feet away.

Scott chuckles and breaks the kiss. “Hey, Uncle Jer. This is my girlfriend, Harlow.”

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