Chapter 48
Sutton
“You need to calm down. You’re walking around like you have a bee stuck up your pants.” Sawyer watches me as I pace the kitchen. While my beehives are doing well, I still make sure I’m never near the hives without layers of protection. Something he finds extremely comical.
“I feel more nervous now than I have before any movie.” I can’t keep still.
The house is full of all the people I love. Family, both old and new, and I look out the window, seeing everyone sitting outside on the patio, under the heaters, the cool night feeling crisp, but we welcome it.
My eyes roam over Rochelle, the sheriff, my mom, the kids, and then Annabelle before they rest on Colin Titan.
He’s been staying in Whispers for a little while.
Trying to reconnect with his kids, rebuilding the trust he severely damaged.
My team are watching every move he makes, but deep down, I know he’s a good man.
He was broken, living in a state of grief once his wife died and unable to get out of it.
Pulling away from his kids and drowning himself in his work, thinking a new wife could manage things.
Now he and his kids are going to therapy, both together and individually, and Preston and Charlotte haven’t left Whispers. Haven’t left my side. There’s still work to be done, but I see the bonds between them strengthening every day.
I had Jackson investigate everyone and everything.
He worked with the police and helped build the case against Maribel, who’s looking at serving a long time behind bars.
I’m forever grateful to him, and he and his small team now reside in Whispers here with me as well.
The media are still prolific. There’s always a group waiting outside my gates, so his team keeps them at bay.
When everything first happened, Colin brought in every big gun possible.
I thought I had connections, but Colin is almost like the president.
And my team is amazing, but his is like a whole department, dedicated to the safety and well-being of his family.
One he probably should’ve used much earlier to prevent all this from happening.
But then I wouldn’t have met Charlotte.
Thinking of her, my eyes settle on the woman who’s my complete other half. She must sense me watching her because she looks up at me, catching my eye mid-laugh at something my mom says, her beautiful blue eyes glistening.
One of the first things I did when we all got home was fly in a hairdresser.
She and Preston were locked in the bathroom for hours, and when they came out, I got to see the real her.
Her hair is a beautiful strawberry blond, and while she needed a few treatments to get it back to its natural state, I’m glad she now just gets to be her.
“Is it big enough?”
Sawyer snorts at my question. “You can see that fucking thing from Mars.”
We look at the ring in the box in my hand. An ethically sourced diamond set with recycled platinum. Making it strong, classic, and perfect for my Tinker.
“Boys, we need some more drinks out there.” Colin walks into the kitchen, and I close the box. Sawyer looks at me and nods before leaving the room.
“Colin.” Like he can sense my tone, he pauses and gives me his full attention.
“There’s still a lot we all need to work through, and a lot of trust still needs to be built, but I wouldn’t be the man my mom raised me to be if I didn’t ask your permission. So…”
His eyes widen.
“Can I have your permission to ask Charlotte to marry me?”
He blinks a few times, then swallows, and then tears start to form in his eyes. I think I took him by surprise.
“Of course. I would be blessed for her to marry a man like you, Sutton. And I thank you for giving me the opportunity to have this moment with you. For her.” He offers me a handshake, and I take it, sealing his approval. Formalizing the commitment that we both make to his daughter.
“Thank you.” I smile, feeling like everything is now in motion. “Okay, go back to enjoying yourself. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Will do. Your mom likes these fruity drinks… says they taste like cordial.” He grabs a few bottles from the fridge, and I frown. He and my mom sure do get along well, and as I watch him scurry back outside and take his seat next to her, my mom beams at him.
I put the ring box in my pocket and walk outside, my hands shaking. This is the most real and most important thing I’ve ever done. I know it will cause ripples around the world, as the media are going to whip into a frenzy, but I don’t care about any of that. I just want her with me forever.
“If I can get everyone’s attention…” I step up to Charlotte’s side, and the table quiets as everyone looks at me.
I catch Sawyer’s eyes; my older brother looks proud and gives me a small nod in encouragement.
Then I look at Charlotte, her face free of stress, watching me so adoringly, I almost crumble.
God, how did I get so lucky to meet her?
“Charlotte… I’ve watched you fight for your brother, for your future, for your peace. You’ve faced storms that would’ve broken most people, and you did it with grace, grit, and that fire in your eyes that I fell in love with the moment I saw you.” I pause, my throat feeling tight.
“You and I met like kismet. Who would’ve thought that here, in this small, quiet town, you from Manhattan and me from Hollywood, would have ever met.
But we did. You saw me as a man, not a movie star.
I saw you as the diner girl, not the heiress.
And we’ve come together in what I know is by far the most extraordinary love story.
Not scripted, not staged, just raw, real, and beautifully ours.
You challenged me, grounded me, made me laugh when I forgot how.
And every day since, I’ve woken up knowing that no spotlight, no red carpet, no award could ever compare to the way you look at me when I bring you your favorite peanut butter cups. ”
The table murmurs a small laugh as Charlotte’s eyes water, her love shining up at me. Grabbing her hand, I get down on one knee in front of her, and I feel everyone hold their breath.
“So, in front of everyone who matters, our family and friends, I want to ask you… Will you marry me?”
My heart pauses. Candles flicker around us, the sun setting in the distance. The crickets chirping is the only sound as I look into her eyes and wait.
Luckily, she doesn’t make me wait long. A smile takes over her face as tears fall down her cheeks.
“It would be my honor to be your wife. Yes, Sutton. Yes, I will marry you.” She barely gets out the words before I scoop her up, lifting her out of her chair and pulling her to me.
Everyone cheers, claps, and glasses clink as I kiss my girl, sealing our deal before I put her back on the ground and slide the ring on her finger.
And just like that, I’ve found my new family, my new home. My new forever.