Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Grant
The town square is packed. I’m judging the pie-eating contest while Chloe sits at the children’s activity booth a few yards away, surrounded by kids.
She’s helping them make star-shaped crowns.
Every time she laughs, my chest tightens.
She looks so damn happy here and I plan to keep it that way for the rest of my life.
After the contest, I’m stepping off the stage when raised voices cut through the crowd near the kids’ area.
I push through people just in time to see an older woman jabbing a finger toward Chloe.
A taller, thinner woman who looks a lot like the older one stands beside her with a smug, victorious smile.
An older man with a stern expression hovers nearby, and some guy stands awkwardly behind them. Jesus, this must be her family.
“You’ve humiliated this family for the last time!” the older woman snaps, her voice carrying across the square.
Chloe is on her feet, paint still on her hands, face pale. “Mom, please,” she says quietly. “Not here.”
“Not here?” her mother hisses. “You run away like a spoiled child, shack up with a man old enough to be your father, and now you’re playing pretend mommy at a kiddie booth? Covered in glitter like some pathetic joke? We didn’t raise you to be this desperate, Chloe. Look at yourself!”
Her father shakes his head, voice cold. “We gave you every opportunity. A good education. A trust fund. And you throw it all away to spread your legs for some small-town cop? This is embarrassing. You’re embarrassing. Come home and fix this mess before you ruin your entire future.”
The younger woman, her sister I assume, piles on with a sweet, poisonous tone. “I told you she’d react like this. She’s always been jealous and dramatic. Now she’s trapping some old man because no one her own age wants her.”
I’ve heard enough. I step up beside Chloe, sliding a protective arm around her waist and pulling her firmly against my side. “Enough,” I say, my voice carrying that calm authority I use when breaking up bar fights. “You will not speak to her like that. Not in my town. Not ever again.”
Chloe’s mother turns on me, eyes narrowing. “And who the hell are you?”
“I’m the man who’s going to spend the rest of his life making sure she never feels like she’s not enough again.” I look down at Chloe, softening just for her. “She’s mine. And she’s staying right here where she belongs.”
Chloe’s fingers curl into my shirt. I feel her trembling slightly, but she stands taller with me beside her.
Her father tries to step forward. “This is a family matter—”
“You’re right,” I cut him off. “She’s my family now. And I protect what’s mine. You’ve spent her whole life tearing her down. Comparing her. Competing with her. Making her feel like she’s less. That stops today.”
I pin all of them with a hard stare. “Turn around and leave, all of you, before I have you escorted out of my town.”
The crowd around us has gone quiet. Locals are watching protectively. Mrs. Hargrove stands near the booth with her arms crossed. The town loves Chloe. They aren’t going to tolerate this.
Jessica tries one last time, but her mother grabs her arm and mutters something. They finally turn and walk away, glaring over their shoulders.
The second they’re gone, I turn and cup Chloe’s face with both hands. “You okay, sweetheart?”
She nods, eyes shiny but steady. “I am now.”
I kiss her forehead, then her lips, not giving a damn who is watching. “Good. Because I’ve still got plans for you tonight.”
That night, as the fireworks show begins, the entire town gathers in the square.
I keep Chloe close, my arm around her waist. When the sky lights up with the first big bursts of gold and red, I turn her to face me in front of everyone.
I want them all to see this. I want the whole damn town to know I’m choosing her.
Dropping to one knee right there in the middle of the square, I pull out the ring I’ve been carrying for weeks.
Fireworks explode overhead as I look up at her.
“Chloe Bennett,” I say, voice loud and steady so everyone can hear, “I fell for you the second I saw you on the side of that road. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Marry me, baby. Let me give you the loud, messy, love-filled life you deserve. Let me keep you tied to me forever.”
Tears spill down her cheeks as the crowd goes quiet, then starts cheering. “Yes,” she whispers, then laughs through happy tears. “Yes, Grant. I’ll marry you.”
I slide the ring onto her finger, stand up, and kiss her deeply as fireworks light up the sky around us. The whole town erupts in applause. She is mine and now everyone knows it.