As I stand with my hands clasped together and happy tears in my eyes, Leo reaches an arm out towards me and another towards Niall and pulls us in so we’re all squished together in a happy-family sandwich.
“I helped him choose the ring,” Niall informs me when we finally part. “And I’m glad you said yes. I’m going to call you Mum the Second, because it sounds fancy and will match your new bling.” He nods towards the box that still hasn’t been opened. And I give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“I’d really like that, Niall.”
“Oh, can I put the ring on for you?” Archer asks, looking up at Leo.
“How about we both put it on your mum’s finger together, huh?”
Abigail moves to my side and slips her left hand in my right while Leo and Archer kneel on the ground together and pluck a beautiful diamond and emerald ring from the box. “Did you know about this too?” I ask her as she grins happily, nodding.
“It was so hard to keep secret. I had to help them with your ring size since we have the same size fingers.”
“Oh, what the hell, I’m joining in,” Niall says with a laugh, getting down with them. “You marry the man, you marry the family, right?”
“Right.” I laugh, remembering our conversation the first morning I woke up in this house. Leo and our kids were package deals, it was all of us or none of us. It was the only way this could work.
As we gather as a unit, Leo and the boys hold my left hand and the ring slots into the small divot on my ring finger that never seemed to fill in after I removed the gold band Kevin had given me.
Leo stands and takes my face in his hands. “I love you so much,” he says.
“I love you too,” I return, feeling on top of the world as he kisses me and everyone around the table claps.
Betsy’s quick to add, “I told you. The cards are never wrong.”
And I have to agree, because my life has never felt more right.
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Lilliana’s next release is A Beautiful Destination the final instalment of her Beautiful Series.
ALSO BY LILLIANA ANDERSON
Preorders (2019)
Love is a Beach
A Beautiful Destination
Lying Game
* * *
Cartwright Brothers
Fool Me Twice
Fools Rush In
Foolish Games
Fool’s Errand
Fool’s Paradise
* * *
47 Things
47 Things
One More Thing
* * *
Standalones
In the Wind
Till There Was You
Never Again
* * *
Drawn Series
Drawn
Drawn 2 – Obsession
Drawn 2 – Redemption
* * *
Drawn to Fight
Zac & Evie
Hugo & Meg
* * *
Beautiful Series
A Beautiful Struggle
Phoenix
A Beautiful Forever
Commitment
A Beautiful Melody
A Beautiful Rock
Devotion
A Beautiful Star
A Beautiful Taste
A Beautiful Danger
* * *
Entwined Series
Our Hearts Entwined
Our Lives Entwined
* * *
The Confidante Trilogy
Confidante: The Brothel
Confidante: The Escort
Confidante: The Madame
* * *
For more information on upcoming releases visit
www.lillianaanderson.com/preorders
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling Author of the Beautiful Series, Drawn and 47 Things, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.
Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters with all the quirks you’d expect from those born Down Under.
Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it's outback and tries to show characters in a city and suburban setting.
When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and five children.
Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.
Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.
For more information on Lilliana and her work:
www.lillianaanderson.com
info@lillianaanderson.com
To join her Facebook reader group and talk books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/438800699591852
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Time for thanks! This book was truly a labour of love, and I am eternally grateful for the patience, understanding and effort that came from my team. I rarely miss deadlines, and as this book grew and grew, the motivation and understanding that was sent my way was heartwarming.
To, Marion Archer, I thank you all for your keen eyes, your amazing patience and funny comments. Margaret Neal and Helena Cullen, thank you for dropping everything and helping to proof the final copy. As my knuckles get worse, I make more errors and your eyes are my saviours!
To my author friends, blogger friends and readers who share my posts, you’re all so wonderful. I don’t ask you to do what you do, but you see something I post and share it far and wide. I’m eternally grateful. Thank you all so much. I love you!
To every blogger and reviewer who has an ARC – I thank you too (please like it!) You are the first step to announcing my work to the world. No author can do this without you, certainly not me xoxox
Also, a big thank you to Wade, my husband. He’s very understanding of the long hours and the effort I put in to each book and never moans when I say I’ll be finished on the weekend but I’m not finished for another week. I really appreciate his unending support and encouragement.
Thank you to my kids for being my cheer squad and for being so patient while I type and type and type. I love that you all come and sit with me while I work just to spend a bit of extra time with mummy!
And of course – thank you to all of my readers. You are the most important of all. Without you, I would be lost in the sea of words and unread books. You mean the world.
Mwah! xoxox