Page 40 of Promise & Artem

“Welcome to the baro, Promise,” Richard said. “We’re all family here.”

Promise and Ally hugged again. “Invite your folks up for a visit anytime, we’ll set them up in a nice cabin.”

“Thanks, I will.”

She and Artem left the Welcome Center hand in hand. “What now?” she asked.

“Let’s go to your cabin.”

“For?”

“You need to pack. But also? I’m feeling like sexing you up.” He pulled her against him with a soft growl and she giggled.

“I’m feeling like that too.”

After he and Promise tumbled into bed at her cabin, they packed her bags and cleaned up, then headed to his place to drop things off. He’d texted Isolde, who stopped at the cabin while they were there, and took Promise to town to get her nails done, giving him the opportunity to run out for an errand of his own.

After picking out the perfect ring for her and hoping to hell it fit, he got into his truck and dialed a number he’d snagged from her phone.

“Hello?” a male answered on the third ring.

“Hi, Mr. Elliot, my name is Artem Connelley, and your daughter Promise and I are truemates.”

There was a brief pause, and then he said, “It’s nice to talk to you, Artem. Promise told us about you, and said she’d be down this weekend to visit and would bring you along.”

“That’s the plan,” he said.

“Please call me Bo. What can I do for you?”

“Bo,” Artem said, his voice cracking as nerves sang through him. Grimacing, he cleared his throat and said, “I wanted to ask for your permission to marry Promise. I want her to be my wife and not only my truemate.”

“That’s wonderful! I felt the same way about my Reika. It’s great to be truemates, but it’s even better when they also haveyour last name and you both belong to each other officially. Yes, you absolutely have my permission, and my mate’s as well of course.”

Relief coursed through him. It wasn’t that he thought he would say no, it just wasn’t something he’d ever done before. He wanted her parents to like him and asking them for permission seemed like a good way to get off on the right foot.

“Thank you so much.”

“When are you planning to ask her?”

“Tonight. I’ve got plans for dinner at a fancy restaurant and then a stroll through the woods at the campground, where I’ll ask her.”

“Sounds amazing. Best of luck to you tonight, and we’ll see you this weekend.”

“Thanks again, Bo.”

“You bet.”

The call ended and Artem leaned his head back against the headrest with a happy sigh.

He had the ring. He had permission. And he had a plan.

He couldn’t wait for tonight so he could ask Promise to be his wife.

Promise and Isolde walked out of the nail salon arm-in-arm. She loved Artem’s sister, she was so sweet.

Promise curled her free hand toward herself to look at her nails. “I think these are perfect.

She didn’t normally wear polish, but she never turned down a chance to get a manicure. She’d chosen a pale pink, and the nail artist had added thin swirls of glittery gold polish on each nail.

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