A Not So Meet Cute(128)

“‘Request number four—even though the previous contract has been destroyed, Huxley is still indebted to Lottie and therefore will attend any social event to help her stick it to her old boss, but this time, he prefers to act as her real fiancé.’”

His eyes peer up at me.

Uh, did I hear that right? Real fiancé?

“‘Request number five—Lottie realizes that Huxley is a shell of a man without her. That he not only craves her in his life, but he needs her in his life. She’s become a permanent fixture and not having her in his life is non-negotiable.’ Which brings me to ‘Request number six—Lottie follows Huxley to the rooftop.’” Huxley stands and holds out his hand.

I don’t take it right away.

I’m not even sure I can with how shaky I am.

“Lottie . . .”

Mustering up some words, I say, “I’m, uh . . . I’m going to need my lawyer to look at that contract.”

His smile nearly knocks me over, it’s so brilliantly handsome, and full of joy. It propels my hand into his and guides me through the house, up the stairs, and to the rooftop. When Huxley pushes open the door, he allows me to go through first, revealing the beautiful setup.

Two wooden lounge chairs occupy the middle of the space, decorated with rose petals, and surrounded by fake candles that offer just enough light to set the scene.

“Wow,” I say, taking it all in.

The door shuts behind us, and I turn to find Huxley bent down on one knee, holding a ring box.

This can’t be real. This seriously can’t be the life I’m living right now, but when he opens his mouth and says my name in a breathless tone, I realize this is very much real.

“Lottie, I love you. You’re beautifully frustrating, annoyingly right most of the time, and you bring me more joy than I ever thought I’d be lucky enough to have. You complement my surly attitude. You put me in my place when I need it, and you listen to me when I need a listening ear. Plain and simple, you complete me, and I know for certain, I can’t live this life without you in it.” He pops open the ring box, revealing a beautiful, cushion-shaped diamond ring with diamond accents on the band. It’s different than the current ring on my finger, edgier, just like me. “I love you so goddamn much. Please, would you accept the contract, and will you also do me the honor of being my wife?”

I stare down at him, those deep, mysterious eyes piercing through me, holding me captive.

They always will.

I believe he’s had my heart from the very beginning. Even through our ups and downs, there was a connection, an unrelenting bond that drew me toward him. There’s no denying I love this man, there’s no denying I’ll always love him. He’s it for me. I realize this. But . . .

“You hurt me, Huxley.”

He stands up and quickly closes the space between us. “I know, Lottie, and I’m really fucking sorry. I can’t promise you I won’t hurt you again, because we’ll always have disagreements, but I’ll promise you this—you’re my number one, you’re the person I trust, the person I know will always be by my side, cheering for me and telling me when I’m an asshole. And I’ll do everything possible to make you happy. To make sure I never—on purpose—make you cry again.” His hand rises to my face and his thumb gently rubs across my cheek. “I love you, baby.”

I wet my lips, get lost in those eyes, and on a leap and a prayer, I say, “I love you, too.”

“Fuck,” he says in an exhale before tilting my jaw up and pressing his lips to mine. My arms instantly wrap around his neck and I deepen the kiss, letting go of the anger and tension that’s drained from me.

Oddly, he’s everything I’ve ever wanted. He challenges me. Teases me. And passionately loves me.

When he pulls away, he grips my cheeks and rests his forehead on mine. “Please tell me it’s a yes. Please tell me you’ll be mine forever.”

Locking gazes with him, I say, “I’m yours forever, Huxley.”

“Thank fuck,” he says, lifting my hand and pressing a kiss to my knuckles. Then, he takes the fake engagement ring off my finger and replaces it with the real thing. He gives it a kiss and asks, “Do you like it?”

I smile. “I love it, just like I love you.”

He presses another kiss to my lips and then quietly says, “Looks like you snagged yourself a rich husband after all.”

I chuckle. “I think it was the braids.”

“It was the braids for sure.”

He pulls me into a hug, then lifts me up and spins me around as we both laugh.

Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, when you don’t think there’s any way you could climb the mountain again to find happiness, you stumble across a trail, one that has its bumps and bruises, but offers a gorgeous outcome. I might not have known the outcome of saying yes to Huxley and his crazy scheme, but I’m so glad I did, because I can’t imagine what this life would be like without him.





Epilogue





HUXLEY





“Does my butt look good?”

“For the tenth time, your ass looks amazing,” I say, though I don’t even bother to look at it this time. I’m sure it hasn’t changed in the last minute, and the more I stare at it, the more I’m going to get hard, and the last thing I want to do is be hard when we walk into Lottie’s high school reunion.