Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

She stared at the gorgeous ring, tears in her eyes. Not too big, not tiny, it was just perfect for her to wear every day, and he obviously knew it. “It’s so beautiful.”

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined him wanting to marry her and give her everything she wanted in life. A family and a future together. Something she’d never believed she’d have as she’d been passed from one set of foster parents to another. Until she’d found Bella. And now Braden. All it had taken was opening herself up and allowing herself to see what was in front of her.

She looked up and met his nervous gaze, realizing she was making the poor man wait for an answer. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said with a grin. “A million times yes.”

“Thank God.” He took her hand in his, slipping the engagement ring on her left third finger before sealing his lips over hers for a long, long, wet kiss.

He lifted his head and pulled her into his arms.

“If it’s okay with you, I don’t want to wait to get married.” Now that she was all in, she wanted everything. “I can’t wait to start our lives together.”

He squeezed her tighter against him. “Yeah? Well, then it won’t freak you out to know I’ve been looking online at houses for us.”

She sighed, glad he wanted to move as quickly as she did. “It doesn’t freak me out at all.”

“You know we can’t just elope. My family would kill us.”

She laughed. “I know that. I just want to plan and not put it off.”

Stretching them out on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her neck. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Good.” Because after hiding her feelings and emotions for so long, she’d found her home with Braden, and she never wanted to let him go.

Epilogue

Braden and Willow told Aurora about their engagement at her goodbye dinner that same night. They’d met up early so she and Linc could fly home at a decent hour. Aurora was so excited, she begged them to wait to get married until she could travel with the baby, and how could they say no to that?

Saying goodbye to her was bittersweet for them both but mostly for Willow, who’d grown to think of her as a sister in a very short time. Linc promised to take good care of her, and Aurora swore she’d stay in touch, while Braden and Willow promised to come visit when the baby was born.

Willow didn’t want to take her ring off, and they couldn’t just have Damon and everyone find out by accident, so after saying goodbye to Aurora and Linc, they headed directly over to Braden’s mom’s house to announce the news. Christine Prescott cried as she welcomed Willow to the family, and within thirty minutes, calls had been made to all the siblings, bringing Braden’s family up to speed.

From there, they stopped at Bella’s place. She was the closest thing Willow had to a mother, and, as Willow had explained, she’d played a role in convincing Willow to be up-front and honest about her feelings for Braden. Once everyone close to them knew, they were able to go back to Braden’s for a private celebration of their own.

The next few months passed quickly. First the Miami Thunder won the Super Bowl without Cole Walsh, who Ian had allowed Braden the pleasure of firing for cause, and with Damon on the sidelines. He’d waited for the season to come to an end before announcing his retirement for medical reasons and informing the press he’d be joining Dare Nation, where he’d shadow Austin while learning the ropes. Meanwhile, Braden was giving Hudson the time he needed to work out his part of the financing for the clinic.

Aurora, they’d learned via FaceTime, calls, and texts, had adapted well to her new family, and soon after, she gave birth to a baby girl. Braden and Willow had flown to New York to visit, and it had been obvious she was flourishing under the Kingstons’ love and care.

On a warm February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day, Austin and Quinn’s wedding day arrived. They’d ended up booking a large hotel ballroom for the event because between Austin’s huge family and Quinn’s many cousins, they had many more guests than originally intended.

Before the ceremony, gathered in the room were all the Prescott brothers, Uncle Paul and Ron, and Hudson. The space was tight, but no one seemed to care because this was one of the few times they’d all been together and alone since pairing up and creating their own lives.

Bri was in the bridal suite with Quinn and baby Jenny – Austin and Quinn’s daughter, or she would be Quinn’s since they were signing adoption papers today, as well. Also with them were Christine, Bella, Macy, Evie, Quinn’s mom, and the other females in her large family.