Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
I am scary.
And the woman-crushing forces of the world should be afraid.
“Holy shit, woman. Yes! Yes!” Duncan shouts from the bank, his breath rushing out as he stands. His camera drops to his side as he points my way. “You just took me to church, Beatrice Nix, and that is a wrap!”
The rest of the team—his two lighting assistants, Jan and Janie, and Deb, my stylist, who gave up on my hair the second I waded into the water—burst into applause, making me blush, self-conscious now that the ancestors are seeping back into the water and soil.
But no one is clapping as loudly as Blue.
He’s not just clapping; he’s beaming, smiling so hard it’s infectious. By the time I reach the bank and he wraps me up in a towel, we’re both laughing.
Laughing and clinging to each other, celebrating this victory together.
Then, he kisses my temple and whispers, “You’re going to change the world, baby,” and I know he saw everything that went on in the water.
I pull back, gazing up at him. “We’ll change it together. And we won’t let her grow up believing any of their lies. None of that garbage touches her.”
He nods. “It’ll have to go through me first.”
A grateful lump rises in my throat as we say our goodbyes to Duncan and the others, thanking them for their amazing work.
Duncan promises to have online galleries ready for me to view by the end of next week, shakes my hand in a way that makes me think these shots must be something special, and heads for the exit, Jan and Janie tittering beside him. Deb, who’s already collected her things from the dressing room, shoots me a double thumbs up behind Blue’s back, clearly approving of my new man, before joining Duncan’s assistants on their way out.
I hear them talking about grabbing sushi, and my stomach rumbles.
Archer smiles. “Bean wants sushi?”
“Bean can’t have raw fish. Sadly.” I take his hand, letting him help me up the bank and onto the path back to the bride’s suite. “But I think she’d be happy with Mongolian barbeque and a side of spicy broccoli.”
Blue makes an approving sound. “Sounds good. I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” I say as we cross the quiet garden. It’s so beautiful in the dusk, so peaceful. It makes me wish we could linger a while, but my stomach feels like it’s about to start digesting my spine, and Bean is not happy about how long it’s been since we finished that last pack of trail mix.
“I’ll be fast in the shower,” I promise as we reach the suite. “I just need to get the green gunk out of my hair. The pond was grosser than it looked. Hopefully, Duncan can remove the slime in post.”
“I didn’t see any slime,” Blue says, holding the door open for me. “You looked…”
I glance back at him as I toss the towel onto the floor by my bag. “Good?”
He pauses, choosing his words carefully. “Fearless. Sexy. And completely yourself. That’s the part I liked best.”
Touched again, I watch him in the mirrored wall as he moves behind me to help with my zipper. “Because you like me?”
He holds my gaze, making me shiver as his warm hands find the zipper at the nape of my neck. “Yeah, I like you. A lot. Especially like this.” He nods toward the mirror. “Look at yourself.”
I shift my focus, studying my own reflection.
My hair hangs in damp, wild waves to my waist. My eye makeup is smudged, but in a way that makes my eyes more striking, and my lavender dress is soaked and mud-stained, with one rogue breast on the verge of busting free of my plunging neckline. I look like I’ve been through something violent, but I’m still standing, still smiling.
Stronger than ever.
And behind me is a massive man with kind eyes and gentle hands who would lay down his life to protect me while I finish growing and birthing our baby.
It’s beautiful. We’re beautiful.
“I wish we had a picture of us like this,” I whisper. “But I know a selfie wouldn’t do it justice.”
“We’ll just have to remember.” He draws the zipper down, his eyes never leaving mine. “I know I won’t forget.”
“Me, either,” I say, my voice breathier than it was before. “Do you think you might need a shower, too?”
He nods. “Yes. And I think we should conserve water.”
“We absolutely should,” I agree, already aching for him. “Last one naked is a rotten egg.”
“Looks like that’s me.” He finishes with the zipper and guides the sleeves of my dress forward, sending them sliding down my arms. A beat later, the rest of the heavy wet satin joins the party, until my clothes lie in a puddle at my feet, leaving me in nothing but a pair of thong panties.