Beautifully Flawed (Shine Design Series Book 2) Page 30

  “It’s faster this way. Your little legs don’t move as quick as mine.”

  “You’re crazy.” She slapped his backside.

  “I’m so glad you’re home. I’ve missed you. And so has my flaming baton,” he said, setting her on her feet.

  Her head tipped back with a big glorious smile. “You have a one-track mind, Wallace.”

  “Only when it comes to you.”

  Daisy galloped to greet them, and Elle dropped down on the wood floors while the oversized doodle assaulted her with kisses. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the moment. Hell, maybe Elle was rubbing off on him—because this sure felt like his own happily ever after.

  Epilogue

  Elle

  Three months later

  “So much has happened since we were last here. It feels like a lifetime,” Elle said when he pulled into the driveway at the Lake Tahoe house.

  “It does.” He jumped out of the truck and came around to help her out.

  “How do you feel about the season being over?”

  “I mean, I would have preferred to win the whole thing, but I’m glad we made it to the Super Bowl,” he said, before pushing open the front door. “Having you there cheering for me was the best part.”

  “I’ll always be cheering for you.”

  “Damn, it feels good to be back. I forgot how awesome this place is. I’ve hardly spent any time at this house.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, as they took in the magnificent view from the great room. Her back pressed to his front, and his chin settled on her shoulder.

  “I know. It’s been a while. With your season over, it’ll be nice to come up here on the weekends.”

  His scruff brushed her cheek. The man’s scent did crazy things to her. Mint and sandalwood awakened her senses. Every. Single. Time.

  Since she’d returned to the city, they’d been inseparable. Better than ever. They were solid. Like two broken pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly. She’d moved into his house a week after she returned. He never pressured her once. But after being apart those few weeks, she didn’t want to be away from him when she didn’t have to be. Edward had reached out once after she returned to the city, but she made it clear there would be no further communication as he’d caused enough trouble in her relationship with Maverick for a lifetime.

  Maverick continued to see Dr. Sparrow and she joined him. He was making progress. He’d had two nightmares since she’d been back, but they were different. He no longer screamed for help or appeared terrorized by whoever haunted him. Something was working. His most recent nightmare left her cryin’ something awful. He’d said goodbye to his mama. He told her he was okay. Somehow the terror she usually saw in his gaze wasn’t there. His tone wasn’t frantic or desperate. Maybe it was closure.

  “We can come as often as you want, Peaches.” He tickled her cheek with his scruff, and her head fell back in laughter.

  “Have I told you how proud I am of you for sticking with Dr. Sparrow and diggin’ into your past?” She turned in his arms and looked up at him. His wild dark hair tousled around his beautiful face, and his dark stare locked with hers.

  “Nothing to be proud of, baby. Doing what I should have done a long time ago.”

  “You can’t do things until you’re ready. I know you were worried about the press findin’ out, but they just looked like a-holes trying to force a story there.” The news of Maverick’s therapy sessions blew over quickly. Teammates shared with the media how proud they were of him for dealing with his past and Maverick handled it with grace and humility.

  “Did you really say a-holes? You can’t say asshole, can you?” He tickled her sides and she fell onto the couch howling like a lunatic. He propped himself above her.

  “I choose not to,” she said, still breathless.

  “You’re perfect to me exactly as you are.”

  She put a hand on his cheek and met his gaze. “Right back at ya, Wallace.”

  And what else mattered? Loving someone so much their flaws became attributes. She’d strived for perfection her whole life and failed. But together, they were perfectly imperfect.

  He moved to his feet and whistled for Daisy. “Come on, let’s get out on the boat so we can catch the sun going down.”

  They’d stopped by Mimi’s on their way into town, and she’d whipped them up a picnic basket so they could get out on the water.

  “Let me grab a few extra jackets and a blanket. The temp is dropping as we speak,” she said, jogging over to the closet.

  “Okay. I’ll grab a few waters and throw them in the bag.”

  The lake was so serene, especially this time of year. They pulled the boat around to their favorite spot on the water. She zipped her jacket over her hoody and pulled her knees up to her chest. Maverick turned off the boat and came to sit beside her, pulling her close and wrapping her up in his arms.

  “This is fucking beautiful, isn’t it?”

  She tipped her head back to look at him. “Yeah, I love it here.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about something.” He turned her so they faced one another.

  “Okaaaay?”

  “You know how there are some things you know? There’s no question. No shadow of a doubt,” he said, studying her.

  “Yep. I know a lot of things. What in particular are you referring to?”

  “How I feel about you.”

  She scooted forward and tangled her hands into his hair. “I most definitely know how I feel about you too.”

  He leaned down and kissed her hard. He pulled away, dropped off the bench and onto the floor of the boat propped on one knee.

  “Maverick Wallace, what are you doin’?” She cupped both hands over her mouth and tried to catch her breath.

  “What I’ve wanted to do since the first time I laid eyes on you. I knew you were meant to be mine even way back then, Peaches. And I’ve known every day since.”

  He paused, and she couldn’t help herself. She dropped down on her knees and faced him. Tears streamed down her face. “I can’t believe you’re doin’ this right now.”

  “We fell in love in Lake Tahoe. So, I wanted to do it here. And nothing says romance like a sunset, a boat, and a decorative goldendoodle,” he said with a laugh. “But you were supposed to be standing or sitting on the bench. Why the hell are you down on your knees?”

  “It’s too far away up there.” Her words broke on a sob.

  Maverick swiped at her cheeks with his thumbs. “Elle Fiore, my heart belongs to you forever. You make me want to be a better man. I also want to put a shit ton of babies in you and spend my life making you smile. What do you say, will you marry me?”

  “Did you just curse in my proposal?” Her head fell back with laughter.

  “I sure as shit did. I want to give you the fairy-tale, Peaches. I want you to open the business you’ve always dreamed about, and I want to build a family with you.” He pulled a box from his pocket and opened it to show the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen. All the air left her lungs. So much emotion stirred inside her.

  “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you did this,” she said on a sob.

  “Dying here, Peaches. Is that a yes?” He laughed, but his stare remained serious. Nervous. Maverick Wallace was actually nervous about asking her to marry him.

  “Well, of course it’s a yes. I’d marry you today if I didn’t think our families would be devastated if we ran off and got hitched,” she said, dangling her fingers in front of him, wanting him to slip the ring on.

  He gently glided it on to her finger before letting a long sigh escape. “Thank Christ. You had me nervous there.”

  “You know I want to marry you, Maverick Wallace. Even when I hated you, I think I secretly loved you. You’re my best friend. My favorite person. The love of my life. And your flaming baton ain’t too shabby either.” She winked, and he pulled her close, tilted her head back, and kissed her hard.

  “I love you. And I don’t give a shit about a we
dding. Hell, I’d fly to Vegas tonight and marry you if I had my way. But I agree. My mom, your mom, and Mimi would never forgive us. And don’t even get me started on the wonder twins. They’d kick my ass if they didn’t attend our wedding.”

  “Yeah, and I couldn’t do it to my dad and Winston. I know they’d want to give me away.” She stared down at her sparkly ring. “This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. Did you design it?”

  “It’s Mimi’s wedding band from my grandfather, engraved with the words, forever mine. I added the stone and the design with a little help from Peyton and Dani. You’ve got something old and something new.”

  She slipped the ring off and read the inscription, staring down at it in awe. “I absolutely love it. Thanks for being my fairy-tale.”

  “Thanks for making me believe in them.”

  They moved up to the bench, and she leaned back against his chest as they watched the sun disappear behind the horizon. Oranges and yellows and reds mixed together like a colorful canvas in the sky. His arms came around her, and she intertwined her fingers with his, still starin’ down at her ring.

  “I can’t believe it. We’re getting’ married,” she said, tilting her head back to look up at him.

  “You happy, baby?”

  “Happier than I ever dreamed I could be.”

  His laughter boomed, and he wrapped her up in his arms a bit tighter. “Love you, Peaches.”

  “Love you more.” And she meant it.

  Maverick Wallace didn’t stride into her life on a white horse. Or any horse for that matter. The man was a bull in a China shop. He was passionate and strong. Fierce and loyal. And he got her in a way no one else ever had.

  She could retire her flaming batons, because this man set her world on fire.

  And now that she found her happily ever after, she was never letting go.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much for reading Beautifully Flawed! I hope you enjoyed your journey with Elle and Maverick as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads, as they truly help authors so much!!

  Greg, Chase & Hannah, thank you for always supporting me and believing in me. I love you so much!

  A huge thank you to the most amazing beta readers: Pathi, Natalie, Annette, Abi, Nicole, & Doo

  Judi Mobley, thank you for all the time you put in to editing Beautifully Flawed. I’m so excited to have this story out in the world!

  Willow Aster, thank you so much for your help, feedback and input with this story. You definitely got me over the last hurdle, and your support and encouragement mean the world to me!!

  To my amazing parents…thank you for teaching me to never give up! That lesson has been invaluable in my life! I love you so much!

  Thank you to my amazing siblings, who always support me with each release, Lisa, Julie, Eric, Jennifer, and Jim. I love you!

  Steph, Pathi, Nat, Nicole, Sue, Thompson, Bell, Annette, Carol, Margy, Mindy, Kristin, Laura, Anne, Abi, Dina, Kelly, Maggie, Sammi, Liva, Leigh Anne, Julie, Nancy, Bev, Leslie, Florence, Tina, Renae, Cindy, Kelly & Kate, Darleen, Althea, Jess, Ariel, Heather, Shannon, Brandon, Logan, Brock, Caroline, Kennedy, and all of my friends and family who have supported throughout this journey…I am so thankful for you!! Xo

  A word about the author…

  Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to a couple crazy Yorkies. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after.

  laurapavlov.com

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