Chapter Forty-Six
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
HUNTER
When I see Lennon walk around the corner and come up the steps, my heart pounds so damn hard, I’m sure everyone can hear it. Our family and friends are here, just as she would want it. Her parents and sisters are such a big part of her life, as well as the Lockes. Of course I wanted my brother and his fiancée, Savannah, here too. Liam and Mason as well, who flash me grins and thumbs-ups, a complete turnaround from how they acted six months ago. When I told them Lennon and I were finally together, they supported us and apologized for making conclusions beforehand. I knew they were only protective of Brandon’s legacy, but they knew my feelings were real.
As I drop to one knee, Lennon’s mouth falls open even though she knows she’s the only woman I want to be with—the only woman I’ve ever wanted to be with. She tucks her lips into her mouth and squeezes my hands. My nerves get the best of me, so I suck in a ragged breath and find my words.
“Lennon,” I croak out and clear my throat. “At one point in our past, you thought I was the Beast, and maybe I was. But you were always my Belle, the one who taught me how to love and be loved. Without you, I might’ve stayed a beast forever, and I will be eternally grateful for you. Our story didn’t start like a fairy tale—” I let out a laugh as a tear falls down her cheek.
“Don’t cry,” I whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.
She pulls her hand from mine and wipes it away but gives me a sweet smile to continue.
“It was far from it. But no matter what, we had each other. When I was the loneliest I’ve ever been, you were a bright yellow ray of sunshine when the days were dark and gloomy. From the moment I met you, I knew I couldn’t live without you. You’re my other half, Lennon. You’re the Monica to my Chandler, the Belle to my Beast, and the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
I pull the ring from my pocket, the same ring she wore when we were pretending to be married. It’s been with us through it all. When I open the box, she sees it, and her face lights up. The memories flash across her face, and I think back to Utah and what we’ve been through.
“Lennon Corrigan, will you be my princess? I promise to give you the happily ever after you and Allie deserve and to love you with everything I have. Will you marry me and make me the happiest fucking man alive?”
“Yes,” she whispers through tears. “Yes a million times over!” Lennon says louder.
I smile so damn wide, my body shakes as I take the ring from the box and slip it on her finger. Standing, I pull her into a kiss. Everyone roars and claps, and I hear Maddie’s scream over it all. “Now give her another baby!”
Everyone laughs, and Lennon pulls away and looks for her sister, but the lights are too bright.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “I love you,” she tells me over and over.
I cup her cheeks gently. “I love you so damn much. I couldn’t wait another day to make you mine forever.”
“Good. I feel the same way.” Lennon is all smiles, and we walk down the steps and meet everyone as a quartet of violinists begins to play. Sophie wanted to help, of course, once I told her and suggested music. We’re bombarded with congratulations and hugs, and I feel so damn lucky that so many people are here to support us.
Getting to this point wasn’t easy, but I know nothing worth having is.
The Lockes come over, pushing Allie in her stroller. She looks adorable in the little blue dress that matches Lennon’s.
“So you were in on this the entire time?” she asks them both.
Mrs. Locke shrugs and nods.
“Oh my gosh. Look at your dress,” Lennon says as she grabs Allie, then realizes they’re twinning.
Her sisters walk up, and Sophie suggests we need more photos. I know they probably took a ton already. Maddie takes Lennon’s phone and begins snapping photos of Lennon and the baby.
“Okay, Daddy, get in too,” Maddie demands, physically pushing me into the photo.
“It sounds so dirty when you call him that.” Lennon gives her a pointed look and shakes her head before bursting into laughter.
Maddie wiggles her eyebrows, and I shake my head. That girl is a handful.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” I ask when I notice Sophie is alone because I invited them both.
“Oh, he couldn’t make it. Got caught up at work,” she tells me with a smile.
Lennon glares at Sophie, and they hold a silent conversation, but I don’t question it. I’ve tried several times to send an invite to our guys’ nights so we could get to know him, but he always has something come up. Weston’s weird as fuck. Liam and Mason both hate him with a passion, though I haven’t quite figured out why yet, considering he’s never around.
“Right,” Mason says from behind us.
Sophie rolls her eyes, but he ignores her. Something he’s good at. Their weird behavior toward each other after all this time makes me think something has happened between them—and both are hiding it. There has to be a reason, otherwise, it’s just plain ridiculous at this point. Ever since Brandon died and my focus has primarily been on Lennon and the baby, the four of them have hung out, but I never ask for details. Perhaps I should have. Maybe one of them would’ve cracked by now.
Maddie lights up when she sees Liam even though he still pretends she doesn’t exist—though I know better. The way they all act has me cracking up. Lennon notices and laughs too, but she’s paying more attention to Allie than her sisters.
As they go back and forth with each other, the Corrigans come over and pull us to the side to tell us how much they love and support us. Lennon’s mom takes the chance to steal Allie and hold her.
“So happy you’re gonna be a part of the family…for real this time,” Mr. Corrigan tells me.
“Dad,” Lennon jumps in, but all he does is laugh.
They ask when we’re going to get married, and Lennon has to remind them that we just got engaged. After about ten minutes of chatting, Hayden pulls me away to chat, then I’m met face-to-face with my parents. My expression drops when I see them because I didn’t expect them to come. They’ve never wanted to be a part of my life before, so why start now?
Hayden stands guard, ready to interfere at any moment.
“Hi, son,” my dad says, and my mother gives me a small, hopeful smile.
“Hello,” I say, crossing my arms.
Lennon walks over and stands beside me, and she’s the only thing that calms me down. Her sweet voice brings me back to reality as she introduces herself to my parents. We have no secrets between us, so she knows all about our history and my childhood.
Savannah approaches, and I finally introduce her to Lennon as well. As they’re caught up in conversation, giggling like they’ve known each other forever, my mother looks at me.
“She’s lovely, Hunter. Seems like you found your match.” There’s sincerity in her voice.
“I’m proud of you, son,” my father finally says, leaving me speechless.
Even Hayden does a double take when the words leave his mouth.
“What?” I say, too shocked to form more words.
“I know I haven’t been the best father over the years…” He trails off, and I halfway wonder if he fell and hit his head. By Hayden’s expression, I know he’s thinking the same thing. “But I’d like to change that. I’m sorry.”
“You can’t show up like this and expect all to be forgiven with an apology. You’ll need to prove you mean it.”
I’m not sure what the heck happened for this change of heart, but I’m still guarded when it comes to him. My mother’s expression doesn’t change and neither does Hayden’s.
“That’s fair,” he says. “Maybe we can have a family dinner, like old times.”
My mother nods, and I hate to disappoint her when she wants our family back together more than ever.
“Okay,” I agree.
Lennon comes back over and tells them it was nice meeting them before thankfully leading me away from them.
“That was…surprising,” she says, searching my eyes.
“Hayden asked if I invited our parents. He said he would, if I wanted, and I told him I didn’t care. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to show up, considering I’ve always been a disappointment to my dad.”
“They’re trying, Hunter. Maybe you should give them a second chance.” Her lips gently touch mine, and I melt into her, allowing her calmness to wash over me. Somehow, she magically has that effect on me when I’m upset. When I’m with Lennon, nothing else even matters.
“I know. But some people don’t deserve them.”
“And if you truly believed that, then we wouldn’t be engaged right now. It’s a start at least.”
I pull her into my arms, missing her closeness and how sweet she smells. “Why are you so logical?”
She grins. “Because one of us has to be.”
“You look so beautiful,” I whisper, my mouth grazing the shell of her ear. Lennon leans into me and hums. The curve of her body rests against mine, and all I want to do right now is get the hell out of here so we can be alone, just us.
The sun is barely setting over the horizon, and Lennon searches around for Alison. Mrs. Locke is holding her while Mr. Locke chats with the Corrigans. We walk over, and Lennon gives love and kisses to Allie, and we say our goodbyes to everyone. She wants to get out of here just as quickly as I do since Mrs. Locke is keeping the baby, and we’ll have all night together.
“Leaving so soon?” Maddie asks.
“Yeah, we want to go celebrate .” Lennon waggles her brows, which makes Maddie gag in response. Before we go, Lennon pulls her into a hug. “Take care of Sophie, okay?”
Maddie nods, and as we walk away, I look at her.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing. Just sister stuff.” She shakes her head.
I wrap my arm around her, not wanting to push it, so I change the subject. “So were you surprised?”
Though she tries to pretend she wasn’t, I know better. “Of course I was shocked. I think I still am. I didn’t expect any of this. It’s not a dream, right? Like I’m not going to wake up with your rock-hard cock in my back wishing this were real life?”
I wrap my arm around her as we walk past the Hickory Dickory Clock, and my laughter bounces through the park. “Waking up with my cock in your back sounds like a plan, but no, it’s not a dream. It’s real life. And we’re going to spend the rest of our days together. I can’t fucking wait.”
“Thank you,” she whispers, and for a second, she chokes up.
“No, baby. Thank you. You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet.”
I hold her tight, never wanting to let her go as we continue through the park. I think about where we started and where we’re at right now. I think about everything we’ve been through and how we made it together. Grateful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about Lennon being in my life.
I take her hand as we walk over the bridge past the pirate ship and eventually pass King Arthur’s castle. I look around and smile, thinking how perfect this place is. “We’ll have to take Allie here when she’s a little older. I think she’d love it.”
Lennon lights up. “Absolutely. Now it’ll always hold a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait to tell her about how I met my Prince Charming when she’s older.”
“Just leave out the part where I was a major asshole, okay?” I chuckle, and Lennon laughs with me, agreeing. We walk to the truck, and while we make our way back to the apartment, she asks me tons of questions about planning all of this, which surprises her even more.
My heart is so goddamn full I can barely contain the way I feel. Lennon will have my last name, and we’ll finally get our happily ever after.
Once we’re inside, we both let out a sigh at the same time.
“People-ing is exhausting.” She sighs. “But I’m so happy they were all there. My parents. The Lockes. Hayden and Savannah. Your parents. Liam and Mason. My sisters. So blessed to have them all in our lives.”
“We are. And I’m so blessed to have you,” I admit, and she takes two steps forward and removes the space between us. As our mouths touch, we become more ravenous for one another as the seconds tick by.
“I’m the lucky one,” she says between pants and moans.
No matter how many times I have her, it’s not enough, and it never will be. I’ve imagined being engaged to her since the moment we pretended to be married. Then I never thought it would happen.
She teases me with her mouth as she nibbles on my bottom lip. I need her but can’t rush this, not tonight. We have forever, and I want to take my time and live in the moment with her, appreciating every curve of her body.
Gently, I brush my fingers across the soft skin of her neck, reaching behind her and unzipping the dress that fits her like a glove. It falls to the ground, and my eyes light up when I notice the lacy lingerie she wore for me. It’s a nice surprise, and I’m ready to rip every thread from her body, but instead, I appreciate and study her as she stands confidently waiting for me.
“I love it when you look at me like that,” she whispers, her breasts rising and falling.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the only thing in the world worth looking at.”
“Because you are.”
Hooking my fingers in her panties, I move them to the side, and discover she’s already wet and ready for me.
“I can’t wait any longer…” She releases a small moan when I sink a finger inside. “I need you now.”
When she looks at me with so much want in her eyes as she is right now, it makes my knees weak. I lead her to the bedroom where she undresses me, taking her time undoing each button, then lightly brushes her fingertips across my stomach. Her touch drives me absolutely in-fucking-sane.
Once I’m naked, I tease her as I remove her bra and panties, touching the softness of her breasts and skin. After she lies down, I kiss up her stomach, sucking and flicking my tongue against the taut peak of her nipple, then not allowing the other to go untouched.
Lennon runs her fingers through my hair, tugging and writhing underneath me, waiting for me to enter as I tease her opening.
“Please,” she begs, and I can’t hold out any longer. Parting her legs and pressing her heels against my ass, she forces me inside her, and the emotions that swarm through me are so intense, I nearly see stars. We take it slow, making love, enjoying each other, completely encapsulated in the moment, in the breathlessness, in the kisses.
We’re one, moving together in rhythm, and I never want this to end as she moans out my name and scratches her nails down my back. Pain mixed with pleasure, the exact definition of our relationship, the foundation of what our love was built on. But somehow, we made it together, not the same people we were when we met, different and now stronger. We’re two beautifully broken people who use the other as glue to hold it all together. There is no me without her and vice versa. What we have will last a lifetime.
I remind her how much I love her and thank her for agreeing to be my wife as we lose ourselves in the moment to never be found. The orgasms shake through us, and as we come down from our high, all we can do is smile.
After we clean up, I hold her in my arms and promise never to let her go. I kiss her forehead, then gently brush my fingers against her arm as she lies across my chest, listening to my heartbeat. It’s only ever felt like this with Lennon, as if my body and soul were created for this woman. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she unlocked something deep inside me, and I knew she was the one. I always knew as much as I tried to fight it.
All is quiet, and eventually, she speaks. “That night at the bar, when we first met, what were you really thinking?”
“That I didn’t believe in love at first sight until I met you.”
“That’s sickly sweet.” She smiles in a sleepy haze. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” I hold her tighter. “You have no idea how happy you make me and that you’re mine.”
She lifts her head and kisses me. “All yours.”