Finding Me (30 page)
Authors: Stephanie Rose
“Owen, it’s . . . too much.” I was hiccupping from the tears now, and gave up trying to control it.
“I needed something as bright as my sky full of stars. Isabella Rose, will you mar—”
“Yes!”
“I didn’t finish the quest—”
I flung my arms around his neck and crushed my lips to his. I clutched the back of his neck as he moaned into my mouth. He pulled back, panting with narrowed eyes.
“Now, you’re gonna let me finish. Will. You. Marry. Me.”
“Yes. I. Will.” I took his face in my hands and kissed him with everything I had. From the beginning, all of me was always his.
“Before I drop the ring in the sand, can I please get this on your finger?”
I nodded and he slipped the ring on. When the sun shone on the diamonds, it really did look like a sky full of stars.
Owen threaded his fingers in my hair and brought my lips back to his. We started drifting back on the towel when I pulled back from the kiss.
“My phone is in the car. I should tell my parents.”
“They know. Do you really think I would ask Lucas Hunter’s daughter to marry me without getting his permission first? I’m crazy in love, but I don’t have a death wish.”
I laughed and reached for the journal again. I took the pen that was attached to the cover and started scribbling.
Owen’s brow furrowed as he gazed at me. “What are you doing?”
“It’s my journal to write in, right?” I handed it back to him and pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Let’s see here. ‘I plan to spend the rest of my life making Owen as happy as he makes me. Once he takes me to wherever the hell we’re supposed to be going, I’m taking my clothes off and showing him how happy I really am, over and over and over again.’” Owen shut the journal and took in a deep breath. “Well, City. You win. Let’s go.” Owen pulled me to stand and gave me one last passionate kiss before he dragged me back to the truck.
A happiness like this was something I never expected. The girl who’d been cast aside somehow got everything she ever wanted, and more. Owen was always it for me, and as long as we were together, I could manage whatever life wanted to throw at us. I was loved, and even though I was never really lost, I was found—for the rest of my life.
The End
Thank you for reading Finding Me. Please leave an honest review on Goodreads and Amazon, it’s the best thing you can do for an author.
THEY SAY IT TAKES A
village, but this book needed an entire city. I’ll try to keep my mushy and long-winded self in check and keep it as short and sweet as possible.
First, to my editor Brenda Letendre. I learn more from you with each book I write. Thank you for helping me really get in there and make Finding Me a book I’m proud of. You do double duty as editor and therapist with each book, in addition to being my full-time friend. Thank you never seems like enough.
To Najla Qamber, I love all my covers, but Finding Me is my favorite. Thank you for bringing the crazy ideas in my head to life and I look forward to each project with you. You have amazing talent and vision and you’ll never be rid of me.
To Christine at Perfectly Publishable, thank you for taking care of all my babies. Your talent and work ethic is amazing and you have a lifelong client in me.
To Daniela at DCP Designs, thank you for the beautiful teasers. You captured the story perfectly and I love sharing your beautiful work everywhere.
To Between the Sheets Promotions. You always take such good care of me. Thank you for a great cover reveal and release blitz.
To my betas, Barb, Laura, Shannon D, Shannon M, Ella, Jennifer, Christine, Lara, Tina, Jena, Kaitie and Roxie. If there is a purgatory, your time with me will make you bypass it for sure. Thank you for your dedication to Owen and Bella and helping me make their story great. Shannon D, thank you for loving my boys and making sure Owen was good enough for “our Bella.” Shannon M, your support and love for my words humbles me, so glad Lucas and Evan led me to you. Ella, I can’t thank you enough for all you do for me and for being in my corner even before I pressed publish. Jennifer, thank you for the awesome journal suggestion and for helping me make Finding Me perfect. Christine, my wonderful friend by my side from the beginning, knowing that you loved Owen so much is what kept me going. Lara, I love you hooker, thank you for your support, your emoji, and for pushing me to make Owen and Bella all they could be. Roxie, your amazing ability to see what I never can always amazes me, thank you for guidance and for being such an amazing friend to me always. Kaitie, your enthusiasm and love for my words means so much to me, thank you for your constant support. Tina, thank you for your amazing feedback that helped me move the story forward, and being in my corner from before day one. Jena, my wonderful and talented friend who really digs deep to help me write the best story I can, I will never let you stop reading for me even if you threaten me with your Cross- fit muscles. (I stand by the fact I was drunk when I first wrote Chapter 16.)
Laura, the first and last keeper of my words and the very patient friend who still talks to me despite my constant freak outs. Having a true friend that believes in you is worth its weight in gold, and you are platinum sister.
Everyone should have a friend like BL Berry. Barb, I really don’t know what I would do without you. Thank you for believing in me and pushing me to be my best, and holding me back from jumping off the ledge. If I had one wish, it would be to make Kansas closer to New York. Regardless of distance, you’re stuck with me for life.
For the wonderful friends who read through Finding Me. Mia Kayla, thank you so much for being my standalone check, and cheering me on every step of the way. I love you friend, and we are in this together forever! Faith Andrews, thank you so much for giving me the tough love I needed to make Owen and Bella the best they could be and for being such a great friend to me all these years, I’ll always wish I could be half the writer you are.
To Lucas’s girls, Tanya and Kelly. I was so lucky to meet the both of you on this crazy writing journey. Thank you for making sure I gave Bella the story that she deserved.
To Jennifer and Jill, thank you for your eyes on my words to help make Finding Me perfect.
My amazing friends, Jaimee, Kristy, Daina, Paula, and Natalie, thank you for being my very final check to make sure this story was as tight as it could be. The time you took and your enthusiasm for Jaimee’s “Friday Night Lights” boy meant the world to me.
Jaimee, Kristy, and Kim, three amazing and talented ladies. Your friendship means the world to me. I wanted Bella to have friends like you.
To Logan, your enthusiasm for my books is what makes this writing gig fun. Thanks for weighing in as hockey expert when I needed you.
To Alison Bailey, thanks for always being someone to look up to, and for finding the right beer for Owen to drink so his trip home to Savannah was authentic.
To #indiechicksrock, the Indie Chicks Rockin’ Readers Group, and all my author friends; I’ve met some wonderful writers and readers along the way, and I appreciate every ounce of support and friendship.
To my wonderful Rose Garden, your constant support for me and my boys are what keeps me going. Your love for my words is what makes me want to write more of them, and you are the reason why Bella has her own story.
To every blogger and reader who picked up one of my books, having anyone read and love your words is a high I can’t begin to describe. Every review and recommendation are how Indie authors survive, and I don’t take a single one for granted.
To my family, my very patient husband and son who build LEGO while I pound at the keys from my seat on the couch. Everything I do in life is for the both of you. My two superheroes mean everything to me.
Mom, I’m so excited that you can actually read this one, although there are parts I’m sure I’ll still get the stink eye for. The pride in your eyes at me becoming a writer means more to me than you’ll ever know.
To my grandfather. I spent my whole life wondering about my father until the day you died. That’s when I realized I always had one. You picked me up from school every day, played dominos and checkers with me and always let me win (even when I got really obnoxious), taught me to drive, and walked me down the aisle. All I had to do was walk into a room and you’d light up, and that’s what I still miss the most. I don’t feel cheated, I feel blessed. I tell my son every single day about his namesake, and wish you were here to laugh at all the silly things he does. No one would be prouder of my writing than you, and I hope somehow you could see and still are.
To fatherless daughters and the men who step in to love them as their own. Sometimes our parents aren’t the ones we’re assigned, sometimes God gives them to us in other ways. Biology doesn’t make a father, love does.
Stephanie Rose was born and raised in the Bronx, New York and still lives there with her superhero-obsessed husband and son.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a day job in marketing, but she always has a story in her head. Her books are full of swoon-worthy men and feisty heroines.
This lifelong New Yorker lives for Starbucks, book boyfriends, and 80s rock. Her voice is often mistaken for a
Mob Wives
trailer.
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