I brush the hair off her face and don’t even try to look away from her. It hits me hard how fucking fearless this little half pint of a woman is about being all in at the chance of true love. Looking at her, I know she deserves to receive nothing less.
We stare at each other so long I can see every emotion filter across her face. I wrap my hand around the base of her neck. “I’m all in, my fearless Mia.”
I seal my lips to hers, wanting her to know exactly what I’m feeling.MiaNestled in Mason’s arms, I feel so close to him.
I could stay right here, just like this for eternity and know I’ll never want another thing.
Cuddled against him, tracing patterns on his chest, I ask him, “Do you think your family is going to like me?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” he starts.
I gasp and look up into his face, and he’s smiling wickedly at me. “Oh, you,” I say, playfully slapping him on the chest.
Finally he says, “They’ll love you. Not as much as I do, but yeah.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, planting a big kiss on his lips. “I love you, too. Now take me to bed, Mr. Mistletoe.”
He stands up. “As you wish, wife.” And carries me to the bedroom after making all my dreams come true.
THE ENDWant to read about Mason and Mia? Get their one year epilogue here —> https://BookHip.com/TVGCPFNate by Kelli CallahanChapter OneNateIt’s insanity.
My mom has come up with a few schemes in her day, but this one may take the cake, and by the looks of it, she wants it to be a wedding cake. Six of them. Or would we each get a slice from the same one? I’m not even sure.
I pick up the brochure for the Mail-Order Brides For Christmas service and step out onto my back porch. My ass drops down into a chair as I light a cigarette and start flipping through the pages.
Yep. Insanity, just like I thought.
I love my mom. I really do. I would do anything for that woman, but this isn’t some simple request. This is a lifelong commitment. This is marriage.
This may be the one time I have to put my foot down and say no.
The day my mom caught me smoking was the day she thought I quit. The first night I came home so drunk that I fell and smashed her favorite vase was the time she saw me get more than a little tipsy at a family event. But I never gave up my vices, not permanently at least. I just learned to hide them better.
I smoke on the back porch so that nobody ever sees me, because in this town, word would get back to my mom pretty damn quick. I keep saying I’m going to quit, but I haven’t yet. There’s beer in the fridge, but what I drink is hidden in the back of the pantry. She doesn’t say too much about alcohol as long as none of us go overboard. She’ll be the first one to tell us to top off our glass as long as everyone is having a good time. I’ll just never be falling down drunk in front of her again.
I’ve done my best to make her believe I’m the reformed black sheep of the family, and it’s true for the most part, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to settle down. I thought I was once. Things didn’t work out. It was for the best, and looking back now, Mom was right when she said Amelia wasn’t the right girl for me.
Real life isn’t as perfect as those Wild West romance novels my mom reads where a hero pops up at the last minute and saves the world so that everyone can live their happily ever after. People don’t fall in love at first sight. Hell, even if they do, there’s a damn good chance they’ll fall out of love before they make it to the altar. That’s exactly what happened with Amelia, and we dodged a bullet that didn’t come from an outlaw’s gun.
I think my mom has been reading so many of those books that she’s decided to live one of her own out right here in Snow Valley. Titan Corporation wants to buy our town and turn it into a tourist hotspot. My mom wants my brothers and me to be the heroes. Pool our money. Buy the town before Titan Corporation can take over. But there’s a twist. There always is. Due to some antiquated law set up by the founder of Snow Valley, the town can’t be sold unless the person buying it is married.
Oh, 1867—you had no idea how time would pass you by. If someone tried to pass a law like that today, they’d get roasted over the open flame of public opinion, and there’s no way in hell it would actually go through.