Page 60

Mindy

“This was a brilliant idea. How did you talk them into it?” Fiona carries a tray of bread out to the tables.

I shrug carefully, so that I don’t drop the focaccia that’s on my platter. “No idea. They just all said yes.”

“That doesn’t sound like them. They guard their Sunday dinners like they’re sacred. This was an amazing idea.”

“Are you talking about Sunday dinner?” Dahlia walks up.

“Yeah.”

“They made a schedule for Maverick and me to follow for the next year. And if we want to go on vacation, they need to approve it.” Dahlia grins. “My mom is now suggesting that she should have equal time on the schedule. It’s a trap, I tell you. All Maverick and I want to do on Sundays is sit in the library and read.”

“We should protest.”

“Protest what?” Louisella walks up, carrying a pan full of something intoxicating.

I don’t know what’s in there, but I just wanna shove my face in it and eat until they need to roll me away. “Um.” Nothing pops into my head.

“The weather,” Fea jumps in. “We’re going to need to set up more space heaters.”

Louisella raises an eyebrow. “I already told Matthew to take care of it.” She sets the pan into the waiting chafing dish. “Mindy, come with me.”

Fea mouths, ‘uh oh, you’re in trouble,’ at me.

Like I didn’t already know that. Is it too late to run? I follow Louisella to a bench in one of the quiet parks.

“We need to have a serious conversation.”

Definitely should have tried running.

“Your mother raised you a lot like mine did.”

How do you know about my mother?

“Which meant we both were strong enough to care for ourselves and never expect anything from a man. In my case, that meant my first husband rarely let me down. But I didn’t mourn his death, because I didn’t love him. Love only occurred in fairy tales.”

“It’s real.”

“So, you finally figured that out on your own?”

“I’m slow, not stupid.”

Louisella turns to glare at me. “Then why aren’t you two engaged yet?”

“You and Maddox. What is the thing with marriage? They always end up in divorce.” The idea of divorcing him terrifies me.

Louisella laughs.

“Share the joke.” Emilia walks up.

“Mindy won’t marry Maddox because she thinks she’s like her mother, that she’s doomed to divorce every man.”

I don’t think it, I know it.

“Marriage isn’t the beginning of the end. It’s the end of the beginning and the start of the future. But you can’t tell kids these days anything.” Emila grins at me. “We need to work on Mindy's and Maddox’s schedule.”

Louisella stands up. “Don’t even try to get an extra week.”

“Would I do that?” Emilia winks at me.

She’s totally trying to get an extra week.

The end of the beginning. That sounds really nice.

***

“Have I warned you about how weird people are at these dinners?” Maddox walks up to me as the lights go low over the street and the music starts for dancing.

“No need. I was prepared.” Sort of.

“It was a great idea to throw one here. The kids need to know that a family being together is important.”

Family is important. But so is finding out what that is in his hand. “I didn’t see that on the dessert table.”

“That’s because they kept it hidden for some reason. Dahlia made a brownie cheesecake. She told me to give you a slice.”

Dahlia is the sweetest friend. “Thank you. Mmmmm.” Why aren’t these sold everywhere? Like on a random Tuesday, Maddox and I should be able to have a slice of this. “Try it.” I lift a bite up to his mouth. “It’ll change your life.”

“Mmmm. It’s really good.”

Maddox’s smile is enough for me to lose the world.

People say they feel fireworks when they fall in love. The world goes silent for mine.

Wait, the music stopped. I turn to look around. “Why is everyone staring at us?”

“Because they know I’m about to do this.” He takes the cheesecake from my hand and sets it on a table nearby.

“They aren’t saying anything?”

“That’s so that they can hear your answer.” Maddox sinks down on one knee, holding out a small box to me. “Mindy Peters, will you marry me?”

Louisella knew. That was why she told me that sort of story.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, but I actually need you to say the word.”

This man saved me from a world without love. I can risk the pain of losing him in the future. “Yes, you can be my one divorce.” Something strikes me hard across my head.

There’s Louisella glaring at me less than a foot away.

“You hit me.”

“Call it aversion therapy. We talked. I thought you were good. But there you go and say something stupid like that. You're too stubborn for your own good. So every time you say something stupid, I’m going to slap you upside the head.” She folds her hands across her chest and dares me.

“But I said yes.” I turn back to Maddox. “I will marry you.”

“But I won’t marry you with that condition.”

Huh? “What?”

“I’m not giving my whole heart to a woman who’s too afraid of tomorrow to give me her own. For now isn’t good enough. I want to spend all of my tomorrows with you. And when things get tough, I don’t want you to give up on me. I want you to fight for our forever like I will be. That can’t happen if you’re planning our end.”

My mother had the prenup planned before the end of the first date. Was that her giving up before she even started? I don’t want this to be the beginning of our end. “I’ll try not to be afraid like my mother.”

“When I was young, Ethan taught me that there is no try. There’s only do or fail. You aren’t going to fail.”

“You know it’s irritating when you’re right.” I glare at him.

“Not my problem.” He smirks

Which is way too sexy for my own good. I need to see his smile every day for the rest of my life just as much as I need to wake up every morning. “Maddox Locke, I want today to be the end of our beginning. And I want tomorrow and every day after it to be the start of our future. I’ll marry you for every one of them.”

Maddox leans down as he takes me into his arms. “I think we’ll go with a passionate one this time.”

“Only one? How can I be sure it’s real if you only kiss me once?”

“True. I’ll have to kiss you every day for the rest of our tomorrows, so you always know my love for you is real.” He sweeps me into his arms, tipping our bodies into the perfect passionate kiss.

This is real.

The end…for now!

Thank you for reading Dark Endures . The next book in this series is Dark Rage .