Tame Me (The Macintyre Brothers 3)

"Good," Josh said and held his hands on the sides of my face, his eyes burning into mine. "Don't ever doubt my feelings for you. If you need me to tell you, I will happily. Every day of my life for the rest of my life."

I felt emotions well up inside of me. "I'd love to hear it every day. If you want, I'll tell you happily every day of my life for the rest of my life."

"I think we have our wedding vows."

I smiled. "You think so? We'll have to see what the officiant says but I agree."

"Speaking of which, who should we get to officiate? I'm failed Catholic. What are you -- failed Presbyterian?"

"Yep."

"I guess we should go with Presbyterian, because I think the penalties for being a failed member are less onerous to overcome if you want to get married."

"I thought you'd want to be married in a cathedral in Manhattan," I said, surprised that he was so willing to forgo a Catholic ceremony.

He shrugged. "I did at one time, but I don't expect you to become a Catholic. I'm not a good Catholic. I like the cathedrals and the pomp and ceremony, but more for theatrical purposes than religious. If my parents were still alive, I probably would want to coerce you into becoming Catholic and marrying me at St. Patrick's. In fact, I believe Marcella was going to book it for me, on the off-chance I found a bride through her matchmaking service."

"Oh, that's right," I said, remembering the whole business when we first met. "You had it all figured out."

He shook his head. "Yeah, I thought it would be so much easier to find a wife using her." He kissed me warmly and we snuggled together, our foreheads pressed against each other's. I couldn't help but tear up, remembering those first days when I was so new to Manhattan. It was like a dream to me at that point.

"I looked at the prospect of falling in love and finding my soul mate like it was a business project," Josh said and looked in my eyes. "I thought I'd have to go through date after date, interviewing potential fiancées, matching likes and dislikes, hopes for the future, backgrounds. Little did I know all it took was a couple of scraped knees..."

I smiled and laid my head against his shoulder, glad I had jaywalked that morning. It turned out to be the best mistake I had ever made.

* * *

The next day, in the middle of the morning when my head was in the middle of a manuscript that I particularly liked, my cell dinged indicating an incoming text.

I checked and saw it was a text from Steph.

STEPH: Hey kiddo, I'm going to be in Manhattan for the weekend on Thursday night. I thought we could get together and shop for dresses on Friday and I could finally meet this mystery man who stole you away from me. I'll be returning to Concord at five o'clock on Sunday, but we'll have all day Friday and Saturday to enjoy.

I smiled to myself, excited that she'd soon be in town and we could spend time together. If the news about Josh and the baby was bad, I'd need Steph to help me get through it. I'd always have her ear and could call or text her if I needed to sound off but having her in town would be a bonus.

ELLA: I can't wait to see you. Where will you stay? You could stay at the apartment. There's a spare bedroom.

STEPH: Naw, I'm staying at a cute little Airbnb I found. It's already paid for so I can't back out due to the short timeline. Besides, I don't want to get in the way of your time with Mr. B -- for billionaire.

ELLA: He's really not a billionaire, Steph. He's worth millions, but not billions -- yet. His father didn't believe in inherited wealth.

STEPH: That's rare. Usually, rich people can't wait to make their own kids rich.

ELLA: His dad was a self-made man and believed in his sons making their own way in life, with his help of course, but they had to work for it. I wish you were staying with us.

ELLA: No. It's good I got the Airbnb. This way, I can enjoy the New York experience and see my bestie at the same time. Win-win!

ELLA: Okay, if you insist. I can't wait to see you!

STEPH: You get the big news today, right?

ELLA: Yes, and either way, I'm going to need to party this weekend so it's great timing on your part.

STEPH: I'll be here for you, no matter what the result is. Count on it. Talk later. Let me know what happens.

ELLA: I will. OXOXO

STEPH: XOXOX