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Taking a few steps to the left, I turn to Richard. “Did you know about this?”

  “I had no idea she loved geckos so much. I would have created a whole gecko room for her, especially in her teen years. This is… random.”

  I smile a little. “Yeah.”

  … But my girl is random. She’s an unconventional beauty. And I love her for it.

  Rain

  Two Years Later

  Even though marriage was never in my plans, I always dreamed about the dress. I always dreamed of looking myself in the mirror in a wedding dress from a local designer that had long, lace sleeves. That was my only qualification. The long, lace sleeves. That always seemed so elegant and classy to me. I haven’t seen myself yet but I feel the fabric against my skin. I feel the extensions clipped into my hair. I feel the weight of my lashes every time I blink. I feel the silver heart necklace around my neck.

  “You look so beautiful,” Kiki sobs from behind me. “You’re a literal angel.”

  Taking a deep breath, I turn to face the mirror. My breath catches immediately. I look just like I did in my dreams as a girl. I look… perfect.

  “Kiki,” I whisper.

  She’s full-on sobbing now. “I can’t believe you get this moment. I never thought…” She wraps her arms around me. “I love you, you beautiful, crazy bitch.”

  I laugh. “Love you too, you adorable little psycho.”

  She keeps squeezing me. It’s really cute and melts my heart. I love her so much—my sister, not by blood but by choice.

  “Can you go get my dad?”

  “Yes.” She wipes her face. “Of course. See you in a bit.”

  When she leaves the room, I turn to the mirror again. My fingers lift to find the cherry blossom pinned into my hair. I wanted my mom here. I’d never touch her tree, but I figured that she’d want to be here today. It felt right. It calms me, knowing everyone I love is here.

  “Rain?” Light footsteps sound outside my half-open door.

  “Come in.”

  I turn right as my dad enters. His jaw drops. “Oh, sweetheart, you look beautiful.”

  His eyes glisten and he swallows a few times so he doesn’t cry, but after a moment of taking me in, he loses his battle. The tears start to fall.

  “I'm so proud of you, R-Rain,” he chokes.

  “You sure?” I smile. My heart feels so full. “Isn’t this, like, your worst nightmare?”

  I'm only teasing. In the past year and a half, my dad has gotten over his issues with Ajax. It was an accumulation of little things. The first was when I confessed how well he handled my nightmares. How he handled them with such tenderness and understanding. The second was when I had to be admitted into the hospital after suffering from a delusion where I was back with my dad. Apparently, not telling the people I love about the memories plaguing me builds up. Who knew?

  It was in the moments Ajax was respectful no matter how rude my dad was to him. It was in the moments where he watched Kiki forgive Ajax. It was in the moments he saw me wrapped up in Ajax’s arms without any fear of his touch.

  It was when he saw me truly fall in love with Ajax that he surrendered to us.

  Dad chuckles. “I was a bit stubborn back then. Genetically related or not, we share that trait.”

  I smile. “Did you bring Ajax’s gift?”

  He taps the inside of his jacket pocket.

  “Eek, thank you! He’s gonna flip!”

  A few weeks after Ajax proposed, I came up with an idea. I knew I wanted to do something for him, but I couldn't decide what.

  Then it hit me.

  It could be a gift from me and Dad. The Browns. I asked my dad to pull him aside, after we’re married, husband and wife. I want him to take him aside as his father-in-law and provide him with a grant he could provide Marcia, the cookie shop owner, to start opening another location to build that franchise both she and Ajax dream of. I can’t tell you how many times he’s talked to me about pulling income from his small business to help her.

  He’s gonna be so incredibly happy.

  After a pause, I say, “Can you believe this is happening, Dad?”

  Tears stream down his cheeks. “No, sweetheart, I can’t. When I look at you, sometimes I still see that thirty-something pound little girl who wouldn’t let me leave the room. The little girl who brought so much light to my life. I didn’t know what love was until I met you, Rain.” He looks at me with so much love it melts my heart. “Now you’re leaving me.”

  “Not leaving you, Dad. I'm pretty sure I'm moving five minutes away.”

  Because, even though we don’t say it, I still get separation anxiety leaving him.

  He chuckles. “Thank God.”

  “You ready to do this thing?”

  “No,” he admits, smiling.

  “Well, suck it up, buttercup.”

  I lift my dress and step up beside him. “You look so beautiful, Rain.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I whisper. As I stand at the end of the aisle, I turn to my dad. “Thank you for saving me.”

  “Ugh,” he chokes. “Are you trying to make me cry before we go out there? I’d save you every single day of my life if it means you get to be my daughter. Now, you have a man to marry.”

  So, with tears in my eyes, in the most beautiful dress I can imagine, I step inside the church. The strongest, most gentle man in the entire universe stands at the end of the aisle, looking at me with so much love in his eyes that I nearly melt on the spot.

  When my dad places my wildly shaking hands in Ajax’s, the shaking immediately dies down. His hands are so strong and sure and confident in mine.

  “Vous avez l'air exquis, Rain.” (You look exquisite, Rain)

  “Grazie.” (Thank you)

  “We’ll save the fluffy sweats for the after party.”

  I can’t stop the laugh that escapes. “Shut up and marry me, you nut.”

  “Happily.”

  Ajax

  Three Years Later

  “Babeeeee,” Rain says from the other room.

  I head into the other room to see Rain in a pair of cut-off shorts—yes, made out of soft material. She feels comfortable being casual around me now. I don’t know that she’ll ever be comfortable with it outside of the house but she is around me and I’ll treasure that. She’s also wearing a t-shirt she got at some 5k race she did. The shirt is stretched to the max with her belly, being seven months pregnant with our little girl, Ayla Lily Mercier. Rain’s last name is hyphenated but she didn’t want her dad’s fame injected into our little girl’s life, which I completely understand.

  “Yes, chérie,” I say, wrapping my arm around her from behind and placing a hand on her stomach. She melts into me.

  “So I know we have four, trust me. I get it. But there’s this gecko at Petco and it—”

  “Rain,” I groan, having had this same argument four other times. I’ve lost each one. I asked her to stop tempting herself at the pet store but does this crazy woman listen? No. I have to put my foot down. We can’t have five geckos, a dog and a baby on the way. Holy shit. I'm scared but trying to be strong for a very anxious Rain as it is. I turn her so she’s facing me. “I don’t want to say no to you, not while you’re pregnant with such an incredible gift, but we need to slow our roll here.”

  “Our youngest gecko is over a year old. Bailey,” our dog, “is two years old. I know the baby will be scary for both of us, but geckos are low maintenance. It’s literally just extra crickets. We already have three tanks.”

  “Rain, we can’t have five geckos.”

  Her hands go to her hips and a wild look enters her eyes. Uh-oh. I'm fucked.

  “Fine. No problem.”

  It is completely not fine.

  So for the next week, we go about our lives. I forget about the gecko disagreement until I walk in on Rain in our sunroom putting our gecko, Donald, in with our other gecko, May. Yes, she named one after her driver. She explained he was the person who would take her to the pet store when she didn’t feel
comfortable telling people.

  I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the doorway. It’s hard not to be distracted by her little dress and tits that are spilling out of the top.

  “What are you doing?”

  She gasps and turns, throwing her hand over her heart. “You scared me, babe.”

  I bite my lip to hide my smile. Is she trying to impregnate our geckos? I can’t with this woman.

  I crook my finger at her. Her eyes go a bit heated and she comes over.

  “Y-Yes?”

  Tracing my finger gently over the top of her chest, I say in a whisper, “What are you doing?”

  “Just messing around with the geckos.”

  Even Bailey lets out a sound of disbelief from his dog bed by the window.

  “Mm, is that so?”

  I dip my fingers lower.

  “Yep,” she squeaks.

  “How about this, mon amour: you tell me the truth and I’ll take you to our bed, spread those beautiful legs of yours in this red dress, and make you come so many times you’ll beg me to stop.” I pull my hand away. “Or you can continue to lie and deal with what I just ignited yourself.”

  “You’re playing dirty,” she mutters. I smile. She pauses a second then huffs. “I really want to come with that tongue, cock, and fingers of yours.”

  … Now I'm turned on.

  “So I’ll tell you. I'm cheating the system. You won’t let me get another gecko but if Donald and May get at it, I can’t help what happens.”

  Sighing, I mutter, “Do you really want another one that bad?”

  “I do, Ajax. Really. This one is so cute!”

  “I can’t say no to you. Okay, chérie, we’ll go tomorrow.”

  “Eek, thank you!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I grumble. “Now I made you a promise.”

  I close the space between us and slip one hand under her shoulders and the other under her knees.

  “Ajax!” she shrieks when I lift her. “I'm too heavy for this!”

  I'm practically running to the bedroom. These tits, these eyes, fuck!

  “Babe, if I can’t carry my beautiful, pregnant wife to bed, why the hell do I even lift?”

  She cocks her head and smiles. “Fair.”

  I smirk at her and kiss her nose as I set her down.

  “Je t'aime, Rain.” (I love you, Rain)

  “Ti amo, Ajax. With all my heart. Now that promise…”

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  Do You Want More?

  Several of the characters in this book have stories of their own and they are all in Kindle Unlimited. I’ll share them below if you’re interested :)

  Guy

  Guy and Kiki

  ROSES & THORNS

  Lacey and the Mafia Boss

  Dark Mafia Romance

  CUT

  Cut and Maria

  GRAVEYARD GIRL

  Frances Capello

  Dark Mafia Romance

  Se7En

  Seven and Nia

  Mafia Romance

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  Roses & Thorns (Mafia Romance):

  *Roses & Thorns: Sven, Rose, Lacey, and Adam’s Story

  *Roses & Thorns: Women

  *Roses & Thorns: Men

  *Roses & Thorns: Conquer

  *Roses & Thorns: Box Set

  FBI Brotherhood Series (FBI Romance):

  *Enzio: Derek and Iris’s Story

  *Collin: Collin, Arabella, Raven, and Rhett’s Story

  *Landon: Essie and Landon’s Story

  Shattered Duet (Dark Romance):

  *Shattered: Nix and Sage’s Story

  *Accepted & Rebuilt

  *The Shattered Duet: Box Set

  Assassin Brothers Duet (Dark Romance):

  *Kill or be Killed: Tobias and Scarlett’s Story

  *Desperation Kills: Anatoli and Addy’s Story

  *The Assassin Brothers Duet: Box Set

  Blood Brothers Duet (Mafia Romance):

  *Graveyard Girl: Frances and Marley’s Story

  *Guy: Guy and Kiki’s Story

  *Blood Brothers: A Dark Romance Box Set

  Texas Country Criminals (Country Romance):

  *Kingston: Kingston and Blythe’s Story

  *Hunter: Hunter and Taylor’s Story

  *Jay: Jay and Kailee’s Story

  *The Texas Country Criminals: Box Set

  Saving Her Series (New Adult Romance):

  *Saving Her: Sam and Logan’s Story

  *Saving Him: Dana and Gunner’s Story

  *Saving Them: Rex and Alexa’s Story

  Standalones:

  *Axel (Dark Romance): Axel and Aly’s Story

  *Cut (Dark Romance): Cut and Maria’s Story

  *Se7en (Mafia Romance) Seven and Isla’s Story

  Let’s Chat!

  Hi, thank you for reading! I am a writer, psych major, and yogi who enjoys weight lifting, dancing, car rides, reading, and all things Halloween. I have a love for giving struggling, complicated characters happy endings. I currently live in Arizona but will probably move again... we’ll see!

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