Page 107 of Exposed

“We’ve sort of talked about this the last couple of weeks, but I want to officially draw a line in the sand about where I stand.”

“Okay.” Her brows knit together in thoughtfulness. “What’s up?”

“You’re free to go back to New York, but I still want you in my life. Simon and I need you. We love you. Even if that means moving, we’ll do it.”

I’ve asked her the last couple of weeks to consider where she wants to live. If New York is where she wants to be, I’ll figure out a way to find a job there. Jasmine is my soulmate, and I want to be where she is.

Colorado would be my choice. I’ve spent my life surrounded by water, and going to visit Hope and her friends the last couple of years has made me fall in love with the mountains. I wouldn’t mind raising Simon there.One thing is for certain: Jasmine doesn’t want to stay in this house, and I’m okay with that.

She takes a deep breath, then replies, “I don’t want to go back to New York.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. While I’m willing to move anywhere if it means Jasmine is in my life, I have zero connections in New York.

I get down on one knee, and Jasmine inhales deeply.

“You married me and became Pepper Galloway to help me gain custody of Simon. I’d love for you to marry me again as Jasmine, because I need you.” I look at Simon, then back to her. “Simon and I both need you. I love you. Will you be my wife forever? I have full custody of Simon. There’s no one else I’d rather have in our family as my wife and as Simon’s mom.”

“Wait, what? Simon’s mom?” She mouths, then tears up. “That’s…that’s forever, Matt.”

“It is forever, princess. Every boy needs a mom, and you’ve been here since day one. I want you to be the one I kiss when I come home from work. I want you to be who I stay up late with when we can’t get Simon to sleep. You’re the one I want to be grumpy with because we’re sleep deprived. Well, I’ll try not to be a jerk, but I don’t want to do this with anyone else. I want it to be with you. I want to be the safe place you call home, princess. Will you choose me forever?”

Jasmine looks at me like I have antennae growing out of my head. Maybe I misread the room.

She takes a deep breath, then shares, “When I thought Heath was going to kill us, I wanted more time. Not in New York with my old life. I wanted more time with youand Simon, and your family. This is the life I choose. I’ve always wanted love, but it’s never been reciprocated in my relationships. I love you, and you love meback. I seriously can’t believe it’s finally happening. I want to be your wife. I don’t want to look for anything better than what I have here with you, because I’ve already found the best. And being Simon’s mom would be an absolute dream come true,” she grins, then launches herself into my arms.

We roll on the floor until I land on top of her and cradle her head in my hands.

“You’re what I’ve always wanted,” she whispers.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I’ve always wanted to have forever with someone. You’re my forever, Matt.”

“Mmm, I like that. I’ll be your forever, princess.À toi, pour toujours. Yours forever.”

45

CROSSING BRIDGES

THREE MONTHS LATER

JASMINE

Matt asking me to become Simon’s mom may have scared some girls away, but not me. Not when I’m in love with Matt, and I’ve wanted a family to call my own for as long as I can remember. This is my dream come true.

The trial is over, and we officially have full custody of Simon. Matt, his dad, Hollie and I all testified at the custody trial.

Afterwards, Matt and Hollie had a moment of closure, which was good for them. She’s a sweet, smart 19-year-old, and you can tell she wants the best forSimon. She admitted she was afraid of her parents and that’s why she didn’t testify to begin with.

In a few months, we’ll see her again when there’s a trial to put her parents behind bars. Then, Hollie won’t have to be scared anymore. She’s going to college to be a lawyer and is happy she gets to distance herself from her parents. Hollie told us several times how happy she is that Simon has Matt and I. We invited her to visit Simon when she wants to, so we’ll see what happens.

Matt’s over the moon excited that we’ve got full custody of Simon, and the only thing left is to testify against the Trumans when that comes up.

Enough evidence has been found to exonerate Kevin. Relief washed over me when I found out, because he’s a good guy.

The police found evidence that Ian hacked into Kevin’s user account a little over a year ago. To get a lesser sentence, the executive assistant that was helping Ian finally ratted Ian out. She confessed that they planned to frame Kevin.

Months ago when I found the errors in that spreadsheet, I threw a wrench in their plans. Ian was afraid of me snooping around and decided to take me down. Ian’s goal was to steal another million for him and his assistant, then falsely “discover” that Kevin did it so he’d take the fall.

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