Page 146 of Can't Get Over You
Jude McKenna was the sexiest man alive.
His hands flexed on the wheel.
“Why’re you so nervous?” she asked.
“I’m not.”
“Oh, I get it. I’m the side piece, right? And you’re taking me to meet your other family? Is this the moment I find out about your double life?”
“Yes, Finlay. It’s exhausting trying to please two women, so I’m hoping to merge the two. Are you open to being a sister wife? Wait. Don’t answer until you meet her. If you don’t hit it off, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Oh, that’s cute. Real funny. Don’t be misled by the wholesome schoolteacher vibe I’ve got going. There’s a whole other side of me you don’t want to unleash.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I do want to unleash it.” He smiled. “But no, you’re too insatiable for me to have another woman.” He slowed to make a turn down a driveway that had been recently plowed.
“Where are we?” She leaned forward to get a better view.
“I never told you what my dad gave us for Christmas.”
What does that mean?“I got the gift certificate.”
“Yeah, but there’s something else.” After parking, he got out and met her in front of the truck. He reached for her hand, and they walked into a clearing. “This is ours.”
Snow weighed heavily on lodgepole pine branches, and wind whispered through the forest. “I’m a little confused.”
“Over the years, he’s been buying up land as it hits the market. I think he’s got an idea to create some big compound for all of us.”
The jagged mountains created a dramatic backdrop against the winter wonderland. “It’s just so…majestic.” There was no other word to describe the beauty of nature in this magical place. “I feel like I’m going to see Bambi walk out of the woods. Maybe birds holding a string of twinkling lights.”
“Yeah, it’s great, but if you want to live closer to town, that’s fine. There’s a great fly-fishing river going through it, so we can always just have a cabin out here.”
“Jude?” It was freezing, but…was that sweat beading on his forehead? Why did this make him so nervous? “I love it.”
“But to live?”
“Yes, to live. Are you kidding me? I can’t think of a better place to raise our family. What about you? Are you thinking about something else?”
He let out a breath she hadn’t known he was holding. “Honestly, I could live in a yurt as long as I’ve got you.”
“Might make more sense. I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking.”
He laughed. “But we couldn’t fuck. Not with Cody in there with us.”
“Jude, I would love to build a house here with you. I wanted to live closer to town so I could have barbecues and block parties. Community. But between our families and friends, we already have that. I’m so blessed. I want you, I want Cody, and I want the three of us to invent our lives together.”
“I want that, too.”
“But it scares you?” Maybe it was the idea of all those kids he knew she wanted.
“Nothing scares me about a future with you.” He turned to her, eyes burning with passion. “I love you, Fee. I love everything about you. In a thousand lifetimes, I would only ever choose you.” And then, the love of her life, the man she’d loved since she was a teenager, got down on one knee in the snow. “Finlay O’Neill, will you marry me? Will you build a house and a life with me and fill it with babies and love?”
Joy burst from her heart like solar flares. “Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes.” She hurled herself against him, and the feelof his strong arms holding her, claiming her, protecting her, was the greatest gift in this world.
“Life with me won’t look anything like your vision board.”
“Those were pictures of someone else’s home and husband and children. I want to create a life and family withyou. I want it to be us, our vision. I want us to build something together.”
He kissed her deeply, coaxing her tongue into play. He pulled away. “Do I really get to be with you for the rest of my life?”
