The Complete Series Boxed Set (54 page)

And hated herself for doing this to him.

“You’re not pregnant?” His hand withdrew from her belly. She missed it instantly.

“No, Alex,” she answered with a weak smile. “Laura is.”

“Oh.”

His single-word reply felt like a gunshot.

“And that ring wasn’t for me,” she said, trying so hard not to say the words, scrambling inside her emotional core to cover the resentment she felt that he hadn’t planned to propose.

His head snapped back with surprise. “No—I thought you didn’t want to get married!” His voice grew progressively louder at the end of the sentence, the word “married” carrying through the room.

Laura, Mike, Dylan, and Madge all turned to look at them.

“I never said that,” she replied in a low voice. “I just wasn’t ready…now.”

“Your
now
and my
now
are about a thousand years apart,” he cracked. The sarcasm was new for him. Suddenly, it seemed Alex could build walls, too.

Josie had two choices, and, as more eyes fell on her and Alex, she felt time slip into a slower
pace, her heart acutely aware of each microsecond, of how Alex’s soul was closing off to her, and she chose the path that made her most vulnerable.
 

Most trusting.

Most raw.

“No,” she rasped, looking him in the eye, the world around them turning to a blur. “Our nows are in sync. If that ring had been for me, if you had intended to propose, that would have made me very, very happy.”

Watching Alex respond to her words was like seeing winter turn to spring in triple time, hope blossoming on his face, in his skin, infused in the way his muscles altered their grip on her.

“You—really?” The incredulity in his voice made her smile.

“Yes. Really.” The heat of his body against hers filled her with everything she ever needed.

Until he dropped, suddenly, on one knee before her.

Laura, Mike, Dylan, Jillian, and Madge edged closer, now less than two yards away, their eyes the only thing Josie could see in her peripheral vision. She saw Laura reach up and grab Dylan’s bicep, registered Jillian’s wiggliness and Madge’s keen sense of attention.

“Josephine
Elizabeth
Mendham, I…” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I wish I had a ring for this.”

Madge stepped closer and tapped him on his shoulder, making Josie look at the old woman. Alex turned to her, befuddled.

When Madge spoke, her voice was thick with emotion, one wrinkled finger pointing to the other hand. “Here.” Madge worked to pull a ring off her finger, carefully passing it to a dazed Alex. Madge put her hands on Alex’s shoulders and bent over to whisper face to face. Josie heard every word.

“Eddie told me a long time ago that I am his memory now, Alex.” Madge cleared her throat, and tears grew fat on the lower edge of her eyes, spilling over as she continued. “This was your grandmother’s ring. Eddie gave it to me and told me that he wanted the first grandchild who married to have it.”

Josie looked at the simple diamond ring, a single marquis-cut
stone
buried in a thin silver band.

Alex’s jaw tightened, and Josie saw his throat move as he struggled to maintain composure, eyes flipping from the ring now in his hand to Madge’s tearful face.

“Thank you,” he whispered, eyes searc
h
ing Madge’s face. “
I…I remember the ring… Grandma wore it through everything, even when she gardened or washed the dishes.
I didn’t know
Grandpa wanted it to go to—
”

Madge
smiled, the movement making tears travel down her cheek and neck, wetting her uniform’s collar. “Now you do.”
She
turned to Josie and gave her a huge hug, whispering, “And now the ring is in the rightful woman’s hands.”

Josie joined in the waterworks as Madge pulled away and made a grand gesture with her arm.

“What the hell are you waiting for, kiddo?”
Madge
asked Alex, nudging him with her knee. “The lady is waiting!”

Mike fished a handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to Laura. Josie wanted to say something, to do something, but when her eyes met Alex’s again she just—

He was the only person there.

“Will you, Josie, be my wife?” He held the ring out in the soft palm of his hand, the diamond glittering like a beacon.
Go toward the light, Josie. Go toward the light.
 

“Yes!” she gasped.
He reached for her left hand and slid the ring on her finger, the band too loose yet, somehow, just perfect.
 

Dr. and Mrs. Perfect.

More cheers filled the room, and Madge announced that cake was on the house for everyone. Laura bum-rushed Josie with a hug, the two descending into giggles and tears, finally just jumping up and down in place screaming, “Can you believe it?” over and over.

Mike, Dylan, and Alex all shook each other’s hands and grinned like fools.

Jillian
screamed, “Mama! Mama!” until finally, Laura had to leave Josie, who was quickly scooped up into a kiss that made her toes tingle, her future husband looking like the most incredible soul in the world.
 

Because he was.

“How about a double wedding?” Laura asked, Jillian now in her arms.

“You
have
a double wedding,” Josie joked, pointing to Mike and Dylan.

“Ha ha. I mean it,” Laura said, her face flushed with happiness. “We could have something private. Away from cameras. Combine our fun.”

“We can’t seem to shake you two anyhow, and Josie’s practically joined to Laura at the hip,” Dylan said dryly.

Alex squeezed her hand. “I’m game for anything. We can elope, run off to Vegas, do the big church wedding in Ohio—”

“Dear God, no,” Josie moaned. “No Ohio.”

“Okay…but my mom has to be there. She’ll kill me if I get married without her,” Alex explained.

“We need a place in the woods,” Mike said adamantly. “Lots of nature. Peaceful, and out of the way.”

Madge shepherded them into the biggest booth in the place, grabbing a high chair for Jillian. As Laura clicked the baby in place and fished through the diaper bag for cereal, her new ring nearly blinded Josie. By comparison, her own ring was tiny.

But there was no comparison.

Ever.

“I have a huge, extended family,” Alex warned.

“Me, too,” Dylan said sheepishly,
with
the perma-grin shared by all three men. Josie wanted to laugh, but this humming feeling, like she was being run by an electric current of love, made her gooey and soft inside.

She liked it.

“My family is tiny,” Josie said, thinking. “Darla. Aunt Cathy.”

“
Don’t forget y
our mom,” Laura said, then winced, throwing her hands up defensively. “Don’t hate me for mentioning her!”

“I know.” Josie sighed
and looked at Alex
. “You’ll have to meet her eventually.”

Alex
kissed her temple. “I’m sure I’ll love her.”

Josie gave
him
an exaggerated once-over. “And she will love you.
I
n all the wrong ways.”

“
My only family is Frank, and he’s certainly not invited,” Laura said. “So I have no one coming.”
 

Mike and Dylan instinctively hugged her, the pile of arms and heads adorable.

“We’re your family now,” they said in unison.

“Besides, I don’t have any family coming, either,” Mike added.

“
W
e need a wedding place that can handle extended family, is in the woods, and isn’t too far from a major airport,”
Dylan
declared
as he pulled back
. “That’s a challenge.”

Madge came over as
Dylan
spoke, her arms loaded with a giant tray of water, coffee, and cake. She set the tray down and delivered the food quickly, her face plastered with the same goofy grin everyone else had.

Food disbursed, she stopped suddenly, eyes widening.

Alex half stood, alarmed by the change in her. “Madge, is something wrong?”

She laughed and waved a hand at him. “No! The opposite.” She snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it.”

“Got what?”

Madge leaned down and placed a loving hand on Alex’s shoulder, facing the rest of the group. “I know the perfect place for the wedding. My daughter owns this campground up in Maine…”

THE END

…but not really.

The final book in the Her Billionaires series is titled
It’s Always Complicated
.
I
t will be published in July 2015 -- sign up for
my mailing list
to get details on when it will be available
. Yes, you face a long wait, but it will be a long book!
 

If you’ve followed Laura, Mike, Dylan, Josie, and Alex through the 1,
5
00 pages of the series so far, you’ll love
It’s Always Complicated
, which will blend characters from three of my series: the Her Billionaires series, the Random series, and the Obedient series.

While you wait for
It’s Always Complicated
, please join my mailing list at:
Julia Kent’s Mailing List
to learn about other books, new releases, and sales.
 

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this book.
Please consider writing a review wherever you read it, to help share this series with other readers.
 

Suggested Reading Order

Shopping for a Billionaire 1

Shopping for a Billionaire 2

Shopping for a Billionaire 3

Shopping for a Billionaire 4

Before Her Billionaires

Her Billionaires: Boxed Set

• Her First Billionaire—FREE
  ebook
   
  

• Her Second Billionaire
  

• Her Two Billionaires
  

• Her Two Billionaires and a Baby
  

Complete Abandon
(A Her Billionaires novella)
 

Complete Harmony (A Her Billionaires novella #2)

Complete Bliss (A Her Billionaires novella #
3
)

Complete We (A Her Billionaires novella #4)

Random Acts of Crazy

Random Acts of Trust

Random Acts of Fantasy

Random Acts of Hope

Text JKentBooks to 77948 and get a text message on release dates!

New York Times
and
USA Today
b
estselling
a
uthor Julia Kent turned to writing contemporary romance after deciding that life is too short not to have fun. She writes romantic comedy with an edge, and new adult books that push contemporary boundaries. From billionaires to BBWs to rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every book she writes, but unlike Trevor from
Random Acts of Crazy
, she has never kissed a chicken.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at [email protected], on Twitter @jkentauthor, and on Facebook at
facebook.com/jkentauthor
 

Visit her
website
at
http://
jkentauthor.com