Make Me Yours (Bellamy Creek, #2)

by Melanie Harlow

“Hi there,” I said, smiling at her. “It’s good to see you.” “Hi.” She looked serious. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need help with something. Could you come over?” “You never bother me. What do you need help with?” “Homework.” I raised my eyebrows. “Homework? On a Friday afternoon?” “Yes. It’s, um, a really hard math problem. And Grandma doesn’t remember how to do it.” “Okay. Just let me grab my coat and get my boots back on.” A minute later, we were heading up her driveway. “I didn’t see you much this week,” I said. “Did you have a nice break?” “It was okay. Sorry I didn’t come to see you. I wanted to, but my dad said it was better if I didn’t.” Annoyed, I shoved my hands in my pockets. “You can come say hello at school any time.” We stepped onto her back porch and stamped the snow off our boots. She put a hand on the door handle and looked at me. “Okay, don’t be mad.” “About what?” “I lied about the math problem.” “Why?” But I understood a second later when Cole pulled open the back door. “Hi,” he said. “Hi.” My heart was pounding. What was this? “Will you come in?” he asked.

I hesitated, and Mariah grabbed my hand. “Please? I really do need your help with something.” “Okay,” I said, letting her pull me into the kitchen. Right away, the dog came trotting over to say hello, and I knelt down to give him some attention. Then I stood up and looked from daughter to father. “So what’s going on here?” Cole wore the sweater I’d given him for Christmas. His brilliant blue eyes, as always, put my heart in a vise. “I have things I want to say to you,” he said, “but I promised Mariah I would let her talk first.” “I’m sorry I lied about the math problem,” Mariah began solemnly. “I’ll never do it again. But I was scared he was going to mess this up.” “Mess what up?” I asked, bewildered. “Winning you back,” she said. “And I really want him to get it right, because I miss you so much.” My eyes filled. “I miss you too.” “So will you give him another chance? He wants to take you somewhere.” “Where?” I asked, dabbing at my eyes before I looked at Cole. “Home.” He reached for my hand. “Let me take you home.” “What home? Whose?” He and Mariah exchanged a smile, then he looked at me again. “Ours.”

He stood behind me and wrapped me in his arms. “The night I walked you home for the first time, I remember how you said it was something you used to dream about when we were kids.” “It was.” “And maybe I was just too dumb to see it back then, or maybe it just wasn’t our time, but I see it now—you and me, we belong together.” I put my hands over his forearms, holding them tight to my chest. He pressed his mouth to my hair. “Nothing is right without you, Chey. I’m sorry I hid the truth from you. You were right—I let you in,

but not all the way. I didn’t fight for you the way I should have. But I want to, and I will. Please give me another chance.” I turned to face him. “I want to, Cole. But I’m scared.” “I know you are. But let me tell you this. My life has taken some unexpected twists and turns, but I know a few things for sure. I know I was meant to be Mariah’s father. I know I was meant to live in this house. And I know I was meant to spend the rest of my life with you.” He cradled my face in his hands. “You’re home to me, Cheyenne. You’re family to me. The way you love me makes me want to be a better man.” Tears filled my eyes. “You’re the best man I know, Cole Mitchell. You always have been.” “But I can be better.” He paused to take a breath. “I had my first appointment with a therapist yesterday.” Gasping, I tipped my head back to look at him. My heart beat even faster. “Really? You did?” “Yes. And I survived.” His shoulders rose. “My scars aren’t pretty, but if you want to see them, I’ll show them all to you.” “Cole, that means everything to me,” I whispered, rising up on my toes to kiss his lips. “Everything.” “Good. Now come inside. There’s one more thing I want to show you.” He took my hand and led me up the walk, through the front door, and up the stairs. When we reached the closed door to the master bedroom, he paused and turned to me. “Close your eyes.”

I did as he asked. A moment later, he took both my hands and I felt myself being pulled forward into the room. It was warm, and smelled delicious—like Blair’s bakery in the morning. “Okay. You can open them.” I opened them and gasped. My hands flew to my cheeks. I turned in a slow circle, looking at the bedroom of my dreams, lit by dozens of candles. My eyes traveled over the elegant bedding, the soft colors, the plush fabrics, the shining floors. And the window seat—he’d built a window seat. With a cushioned bench upon which half a dozen pillows rested, along with a soft throw blanket. Not only that, but it was bookended by floor-to-ceiling shelves, freshly painted white and waiting to be filled. “Cole,” I choked out over a sob. “Did you do all this?” “I had help,” he confessed, looking happy about my reaction. “The guys were here all last weekend. Moretti was a godsend. And Bianca DeRossi—no matter what he thinks—is an angel. That was her in the car out front. She lit the candles for me and waited to make sure it was safe.” BDR—Bianca DeRossi. Now it made sense. ...

“God, I swore to myself I was going to take my time with you,” he whispered, moving inside me hard and deep. “And now we’re here and I can’t slow down.” “Don’t,” I begged, pulling him tighter to me, rocking my hips beneath his. “Don’t slow down. For once, I won’t say there’s no rush. There’s a rush. There’s definitely a rush.” He laughed, pausing only to bring his lips to mine. “I love you so much.” “I love you too.” And then we were lost to each other, and just like he promised, it was something better than a dream.

“I’m sorry I made you wait so long before getting this right,” he said, propping his head up in one hand. “I was dying to call you every day last week, but I felt like I couldn’t, not unless I had something real to offer you.” “All I’ve ever wanted was this.” I placed one hand over his heart. “It’s all yours.” “Finally.” “Now you tell that girl inside you that I chose her, and I fucking meant it.” He poked a finger playfully against my sternum. I laughed. “She heard you.”

“Does she believe me?” “Yes.” He grabbed me and rolled me on top of him. “Well, just in case she needs more convincing, let her know I’ve got all night.” “All night?” Surprised, I looked down at him. “We have all night?” “We have all night.” He kissed me, brushing my messy hair back from my face. “Our first night in our bed in our house. That is, if you’ll agree to live here with me.” “Can we have pancakes for dinner?” He grinned. “All the time.” “Yes,” I said, a shiver moving through me. “I’ll live here with you.” He kissed me once more. “This is the real New Year’s Eve,” he whispered. “This is the real beginning.” “Mmm,” I murmured against his lips. “Finally, I get to kiss Cole Mitchell at midnight.”

“So you get it now, huh?” I took his face in my hands. “It was always you, Cole.” “I get it now.” He kissed me softly. “I get you now. And I’ll never let go.”

He disappeared into the bedroom area while I finished getting ready at the mirror. When my hair was neat enough and my makeup complete, I turned off the light. “Well?” I said, presenting myself to Cole, who was dressed in a charcoal suit with a light blue dress shirt. His hair was combed, his shoes were shined, and the room smelled like his cologne. As always, he set off butterflies in my stomach. “How do I look?” I asked. He looked up from adjusting a cufflink. “Hmm.” “Hmm?” I stuck my hands on my hips and pouted. “That’s not the right answer.” “I know, but . . .” He studied me as he came closer. “What?” I looked down at the chunky, off-the-shoulder sweater dress. “I thought you’d like this outfit. It’s the same one I wore on—” “I know. I do like it.” He circled me like I was a bride trying on a wedding gown and he was the dude from Say Yes to the Dress. “It’s just missing something.” “It is?” I touched my earlobes. “Oh, I forgot my earrings!” “No. That’s not what’s missing.” He moved around to the front of me again, reached into his pocket and took out a small box. Then he opened it. “This is.” I couldn’t breathe. Twinkling against the black velvet cushion inside the box was a gorgeous diamond solitaire on a delicate silver band. Cole got down on one knee. “This was supposed to happen at dinner,” he said. “But I just can’t wait another minute.” I covered my mouth with both hands and squeaked. “Cheyenne Dempsey, I’ve known you almost my entire life. And even though our pa...

know in my heart that right now, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m with the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. And when I think about our future together, I’m happier than I ever imagined was possible.” I started to cry and had to wipe tears from beneath my eyes. He smiled, although his eyes shone too. “Now I don’t come alone,” he said. “Mariah and I are sort of a package deal.” Laughing, I sniffed and nodded. “But she and I agree that you make our family complete—for now, at least. Hopefully we’ll continue to grow it in the years to come.” He plucked the solitaire from the box and took my left hand, slipping it onto my ring finger. “I love you more than I could ever say.” His smile turned boyish and a little crooked. “And as someone once told me, when you have something precious in your hands, you need to hold on tight. Tonight, I’m asking to hold onto you forever. Will you marry me?” “Yes,” I bawled, tears spilling down my face. “Yes, yes, yes!”