Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
As I hammer nails into the walls so we can put up framed photos of us, Jenna’s phone beeps, and when she checks the message, she lets out a chuckle.
Frowning at her, I ask, “Who texted you?”
“Cassia. I sent her photos of all the changes we’ve made to the house. She says you look grumpy and should smile.”
I let out a grumble and carry on slamming nails into the wall.
“You should smile more. Especially when we go out. You always look like a thunder cloud,” she says as she hangs a photo she sneakily took of me while I was driving.
“Meu amor, you’re the only person I smile for. The rest of the people out there don’t get to see that side of me.”
“Yeah-yeah. You need to uphold your badass status. I get it.”
I reach over and smack her ass, then give her a playful glare. “You’re getting too brave for your own good.”
She pauses and gives me a surprised look. “I am.” Looking all impressed with herself, she heads down the stairs. “You’re rubbing off on me.”
“There’s something else I want to rub on you,” I mutter under my breath.
I quickly finished hammering in all the nails on the spots Jenna marked for me with a pencil, then I go look for my woman, already needing to be close to her again.
Finding her in the kitchen, I ask, “What are you making?”
“Just mac and cheese. If you want meat, I can cut up hot dogs.”
“Don’t worry about the hot dogs,” I say, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
While I watch as she makes the cheese sauce, I think about how much she’s changed from when I first met her. She’s no longer shy around me, but as soon as there are other people around, she either plasters herself to my side or hides behind me.
I love it.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asks as she mixes everything together.
“I’m just thinking how obsessed I am with you.”
A chuckle bubbles over her lips. “Yeah?”
“Insanely.” I get up and walk to her. “Deeply.” Taking hold of her jaw, I force her to look at me. “Forever.” I press a hard kiss to her mouth.
Her tone is filled with happiness as she says, “I love you, too, my heart.”
Chapter 30
JENNA
I feel emotional as I get off the yacht, which we had to take to get from Peru to the island.
Not only is Cassia here, but Mom and Aunt Sherrie arrived last night.
We would’ve been here yesterday morning already, but Enzo had last-minute business to take care of.
As I climb the stairs from the docking area that’s inside a tunnel, I take in all the lush greenery on the island.
Just as I reach the top, I see a huge building and houses situated around it. One of them belongs to Enzo, and it’s where we’ll be staying during the holidays.
It was Enzo’s idea to fly Mom and Aunt Sherrie here so they could spend Christmas and New Year's with us, and in that moment, I couldn’t have loved him more.
The past eight years have been very lonely and depressing around the festive season. But not this year. I get to spend it with all the important people in my life and the man I love.
“How are you holding up?” Enzo asks, giving my hand a squeeze.
“I’m just nervous,” I admit. “But very excited as well.”
He takes me to the building situated in the middle of the island, and as we enter, my eyes land on a beautiful restaurant. At one of the tables, Cassia is having a conversation with Mom and Aunt Sherrie.
I stop dead in my tracks as I look at my family, then my chin begins to quiver, and I can’t stop the tears from coming.
Mom glances in my direction, and seeing me, she darts to her feet and runs toward me.
A sob sputters over my lips as I pull my hand from Enzo’s to meet her halfway, and we fall into each other’s arms.
“Oh my God, kiddo,” she breathes, her voice filled with relief. “Finally.”
She holds me for the longest time, then I feel another pair of arms wrap around me as Aunt Sherrie joins us.
I pull back, and smiling through the tears, I wipe the wetness from my cheeks with the back of my hand while softly saying, “It’s so good to see you. Did you travel okay?”
“Oh gosh, yes,” Aunt Sherrie says. “Five stars all the way. We had beds on the plane.”
My smile widens even more. “That makes me happy.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cassia and Enzo shaking hands before he comes closer to us.
He places his arm around me and says, “I wanted to give you a minute alone with them.”
I lean into him and pat his chest.
They all greet each other, then Aunt Sherrie mentions, “Quite the size difference you’ve got going here. You didn’t look as tall via FaceTime.”