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Home.
I’d officially moved into Solitaire, although I still spent plenty of time at Vi’s. Cristian had loosened up on the rules a month or so after Mario’s pictures stopped arriving. I still called him Mario, although he’d been unmasked now. Another betrayal by a so-called friend. How had Markus done it? How had he been so nice to my face when all the while he was tormenting me over the internet? Cristian remained cagey about exactly what had gone on with my ex-stalker, but apparently Markus had left the state now, and just in case he got any ideas about returning, a security firm was monitoring his movements. I only hoped he didn’t play his dirty tricks on a new girl.
My ring flashed in the light from the chandelier, and a ripple of happiness ran through me as my fiancé shrugged into his tux jacket. Holy heck, I was getting married. Not tomorrow, not next week—although Cristian would quite happily have flown to Vegas—but soon. He’d asked me last Thursday in the juice bar, right after I wrote The End on my latest novel. No bended knee, no grand gesture, because that wasn’t his style. He’d just slipped the ring onto my finger and said it was time. Then Macie—who’d begun her new job at Planet Health a month ago—had brought my coffee over and begun hyperventilating when she saw the rock, and I’d wondered if I should call another ambulance. Although honestly, who could blame her? Six months ago, I’d probably have fainted myself.
But I’d gotten used to Cristian now. His possessiveness often showed up in the form of gifts. A necklace, a purse, a freaking car. When I told him it was too much, he’d merely shrugged and said it wasn’t, and that was that. Tough luck. I was driving a super-cute BMW with all the latest safety features, whether I liked it or not. Maybe he’d gotten the car idea from Fifty Shades of Grey? I’d bought him the trilogy, and he’d read the first book and started the second, plus given me free rein to turn one of his spare bedrooms into a playroom if I wanted to. I’d already ordered a selection of toys. Call it research.
So, I’d soon be Mrs. Garza, and Vi and Macie had already started planning my bachelorette party. Vi assured me it would be classy and lovely, and once I’d have been disappointed by the lack of strippers, but not anymore. Not with Cristian and his magic hips waiting for me at home. And someday in the not-too-distant future, we’d start trying for a family. Once I heard the full story of what his ex-wife had done to him, I’d begun to understand him better. Much of his possessiveness came from fear—he was scared to lose someone he loved again.
But he wouldn’t lose me.
I’d finally found my soulmate, and I was keeping him.
