“I want you to be mine, legally and before the eyes of God.”
“Yes,” she breathes out and kneels on the hard floor with me, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me wildly. “Of course, I want to marry you! I so was not expecting this.” I wipe her face and smile, kissing her softly before slipping the ring on her finger.
“I love you,” I say millimeters from her lips before taking her mouth in mine.
“I love you, too,” she says as soon as she breaks away from the kiss. “So wait, you want to get married before we move? As in, we have about six months to plan a wedding?” Her eyebrows shoot up.
“I’d like that, yes, but if you need more time, then I’ll wait to marry you.”
“Hmmm…” She gives me a secret smile. “Do you think Mrs. Engle will be able to make our cupcakes? We can get married on the ranch. I think we could make this work.” Her golden eyes sparkle in excitement, and she bites her lower lip as her grin broadens.
“I have one more thing to say.” I swallow thickly as I look into her eyes and bare my soul with a pounding heart. “When the time feels right to you, if it ever does, I’d love for you to adopt Penny and make her ours instead of just mine. You’re already like a mom to her, and I’d be honored.”
“Wow,” she whispers, more tears swimming in her eyes and moving down her face. Sutton places a hand on my chest and nods. No more words are needed, and deep emotion moves between us. I give her a bruising kiss, pouring everything into it.
Having Sutton in my life isn’t just about me, and I’m lucky to have found a woman that loves me and my daughter just as much. It was unplanned, and I fought it, but there is no way I can visualize my life without Sutton in it. Without feeling her love each day.
“You’re so gonna get lucky tonight. Do you want it cowgirl style?” Sutton winks, breaking apart my thoughts.
A gruff laugh moves through me. “I was thinking more along the lines of a reverse piggy-back.” My eyes widen, and eyebrows waggle.
“Piggy-back first, then cowgirl.” She leans forward and presses her lips to mine. “Maybe I’ll surprise you, just to keep things interesting,” she says against my lips.
I hold her to me and explore her mouth. She has kept things interesting in my life from the beginning, and I plan on keeping it that way until the day I die.
With her in my arms, I look down into her eyes, holding her jaw and stroking my thumb across her smooth skin. “You’re the best surprise I’ve ever received when I thought I’d never be happy again, and I’ll live my life a million times over, suffer through it all if it means I end up with you.” Then, I kiss her softly, promising to love her for eternity.
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Thank you for reading Then I Met You! I hope you enjoyed Gavin and Sutton’s story. I absolutely loved digging deeper into these characters! We’ll be heading back to Everton this winter for the final book. I can’t believe it!
I am so excited to share Faith’s story. It’s a second chance romance with a hero you haven’t met yet! Gasp, I know. I am sooo excited for you to meet her leading man and follow their story as they see each other again years later and become reacquainted.
Continue reading for a sneak peek of My Way To You and meet Easton!
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If you haven’t yet read Abbie and Finn’s story, you can read this best friend’s brother romance now! You Make It Easy is sweet, relatable, and swoon-worthy.
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If you enjoyed Then I Met You, you can return to Everton in the following books!
Write You a Love Song: Knox and Ainsley, a country music romance
Roping Your Heart: Axel and Lia, a friends-to-lovers, roommates romance
Pretend You’re Mine: Harris and Poppy, a fake relationship romance
Make You Mine: Eli and Averly, a hate-to-lovers, surprise pregnancy romance
You Make It Easy: Abbie and Finn, a best friend’s romance
Easton
I had forgotten exactly how small Everton is. At church this morning, people stared at me with curious eyes as they whispered. It was awkward as hell, sitting there knowing they were talking about me and not doing anything about it.
It was great to see Gavin and meet his wife and his daughter. I promised him we’d catch up this week. It seems a lot has changed in the years I’ve been gone.
I stop for coffee at Cup-O-Joe, the same coffee shop that’s been in the same location since I was a kid, and random people greet me. Some look familiar, others I had forgotten about. They didn’t forget about me, though.
I am surprised by how many people have called me by name and asked about my parents and sister. I should’ve known, though, that once you’re from Everton, you’re a member for life.
In the sea of familiar faces, the one I didn’t see is the person I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. I thought I’d see Faith at church, but it seems like she skipped today’s service.
Once I have my cup of black coffee in hand, I step out into the frigid cold with only one destination in mind. Camden is still sleeping, and I have a feeling he’ll be passed out for a while.
You forget how cold a place can be when you haven’t lived there for years. Hopping in my car, I make a mental note to check out some car dealerships this week. It’s time to trade in this sedan for a pickup truck.
Fuck, I missed this place.
I drive through the curvy roads, taking in the snow piled on each side of it. It snows in Virginia, but it’s nothing like this. When I first moved, people were amazed at how thirty degrees felt like fifty to
