Chapter 10
Bo
“We’re marching down there right now, and we’re finishing this damn contest.” I fling the covers off of her and she squeals at the breeze.
My eyes graze over her body. I must be some kind of moron not to take her right here right now.
“We’re not doing this here. We’re going to do this the proper way. ”
“Um…I’m not that old school, Bo.”
“I’m not talking marriage. Yet.” I wink at her, feeling like the massive boulder that had been unmovable on my chest for the last year has finally rolled away.
“Yet?”
I sink to my knees in front of her. “I’m not going to be a once and done with you, Maisy. This year has taught me so much, and the number one thing I’ve realized is that I need you in my life. Some way, somehow, you’re mine. Maybe you always have been.”
With her hands on my shoulders, she gives a faint nod. And I see her eyes rimmed in red. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
She nods.
“All those scary movie nights? I knew Blake wasn’t home.”
“You did?”
“I just wanted to spend time with you. Be around you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Ya, Maisy. Your brother’s awesome, one of the best guys I know. But you’re awesomer.” He chuckles sheepishly. “That was swoonworthy, right?”
“Totally.”
I push up on my knees and press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“That’s all I get?”
“If I take any more, I won’t be able to stop.” My eyes drop to the hem of my t-shirt she’s wearing because it’s pooling at the juncture of her thighs. “I’m taking you to my place tonight where we can do it right.”
“Okay, Bo.”
Just then there’s a knock on the door. Stephanie has Maisy’s clothes all dried for her.
We head back to the kitchen where Percival insists we don’t finish the contest, but Maisy is adamant that we do.
So we spend an hour doing the second to last task he has prepared for us, decorating cookies. Which, when you’re turned on as I am, is basically an hour of foreplay.
We end up decorating the cookies together, rather than separately. So there’s no clear winner, at least from our end.
And then we’re sitting in his parlor, where we first met him and he gives us the last task.
“I’m only continuing with this at your insistence, Maisy. You are truly a commendable young woman. So, with that being said, the last task is to tell me why the other person deserves the bat more.”
You could hear a droplet of tea fall in the room. Until Maisy clears her throat.
“Bo deserves the bat more than I do. He’s an amazing person who is always looking out for others.
He’s protective, caring, and loyal. He’s a good person.
” Taking a deep breath, she wipes a small non-tear from her eye.
“He thinks he needs to prove to his nephew that he’s not a deadbeat uncle, but Stephen already loves him so much.
He’s living the fast life, due to his career, but I know his heart.
I know that he’ll make time for the right things in life.
He just needs to slow down a bit to remember that.
So if this bat could bring them closer, then he should have it. ”
My throat tightens, and I swallow around the lump formed in it.
“Thanks Maisy.” I wipe my hands down my jeans.
“Maisy deserves the bat more than me. She’s been on the hunt for the perfect gift for her brother forever, and she finally found it after all these years.
Her brother doesn’t need it, but she needs to give it to him because she needs to know that what she has to offer is enough.
And ya, he would love that bat, but he’d love it more because of who she is.
She knows exactly what to spend her time on, that living in the slow lane is something to be admired.
She knows how to enjoy life every moment. She’s…perfect.”
“Well said both of you. It was a close call, but I don’t need more time to make my decision.
The speeches swayed me. The bat goes to Maisy.
” I stand up and wrap her in my arms. “You deserve it, baby,” I whisper into her hair.
“You deserve the world, and I’m gonna spend the rest of my life giving it to you. ”