Beth Michele: Scarred Beautiful

“You’re sweating,” I say with a shaky voice, heavy with tears.

“I’m nervous,” he tells me, the sweat trickling down his skin, and I lift a finger to wipe it away. “I’ve never done this before.”

“I certainly hope not,” I tease, arching a brow and grinning, and his lips soften into a relaxed smile.

He takes my hand and places a kiss to the inside of my palm before pressing it to his cheek. “I didn’t rehearse some big speech because I wanted this to be spontaneous. I didn’t know much about that word before I met you. Before you, everything in my life was controlled, planned, well-thought out…boring. But then you appeared and you turned everything upside down. You flipped me on my ass, Fran. You showed me there was another way to live. You showed me how to love and God , I love you so much, Fran. You’re all I think about. You’re all I want. You’re all I breathe….”

He blows out a breath, his voice cracking. “I want to build sandcastles with you. I want to hold your hand when you’re scared and I want you to draw strength from my smile when yours is faltering. I want to make you laugh and I want to be the one to make you cry joyful tears when I’ve done something that stirs your heart, the way you’ve stirred mine. You’re the last person I want to see when night falls and you’re the first one I want to see when my eyes open to a new day. I want to be the one you entrust your heart, you mind, and your body to every day for the rest of our lives.

Ride off into the sunset with me, Fran….

Marry me.”

Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I push wisps of hair away from his face and see the same happiness in his eyes that I feel, seeing the man that I love, the man that I choose. “Y-yes…I-I want to marry you, Matt…more than anything.”

His smile blinds me into silence as he reaches into his pocket and slides a shockingly beautiful princess-cut diamond ring on my finger, the sparkles dancing in the sunlight. With my mouth still hanging open, he lifts me off my feet and swings me around before gently placing me back on the ground.

He draws me in, taking my face between the warmth of his hands. “You see the effect you have on me. I’ve become a rebel. I ink my skin and stand on top of cars now.”

I press my lips to the corner of his mouth. “You’re a crazy delinquent.”

“No, just crazy for you, sunshine,” he says, his bright blue eyes smiling down on me. He lowers a hand, digging in his pocket again, and just as I start to wonder what he’s doing, he pulls out the heart charm. With a shy smile that melts my insides, he holds it out in front of me. “I think this belongs to you.” He drapes my hair over my shoulder with gentle hands and then reaches around to unclasp my necklace with the other half, the one I wear every day. Taking the charm, he threads it onto the chain, slides it next to mine, and places it around my neck. He cups my face, his thumbs doing a slow caress of my cheeks. “Now my heart is where it belongs—and I’m where I belong—with you.”

Tears cloud my eyes again and he wipes them away. “You sure do say the sweetest things, Matt Dixon.”

His answering smile is so dazzling that it takes my breath away. “So…isn’t this the part of the fairytale where I get to kiss you?”

“God, I hope so.”

MATT

“You don’t actually think you’re getting the last word in, do you?” I tease, and she grins, her lips eagerly brushing mine.

“Shut up and kiss me, Dixon.”

Then my lips find hers, the roar of the crowd fades, it’s just her and I….

And I’ve finally come home.

To Richard, Isabella, and Richie, the three loves of my life, for being incredibly patient, supportive, and understanding while I sat endlessly at my computer writing this story. I love the three of you more than anything in the world and could not do this without you.

To my soul sister Nikki; for your friendship, your wisdom, your honesty, your telepathic abilities, and for always knowing just the right thing to say. You are a treasure and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, for your suggestions, your enthusiasm, and your support. I love you to the moon and back.

To Cheryl, for your inspiration, your friendship, your encouragement, your suggestions that were absolutely invaluable, your support, your excitement about my novel, and for writing one of my favorite books of all time. Thank you for making time for me always, even when I know you had a million other things to do!

To Sunniva, thank you for your friendship, for taking the time to read my story, for your amazing comments, and all your positive thoughts and encouragement! I feel very blessed to know you!

To Chris, Monica, Devon, A.J., Heidi, Vi, and L.M., thank you for the gift of your friendship and for making me laugh and smile, for sharing stories and supporting me, and even sometimes holding my hand along this crazy, amazing journey! To Natalie and Mary, thank you for making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion, for your friendship, your kindness, your support, and for helping to organize me and my book tours, I appreciate you both so much.

To all my friends in the indie author community and outside, thank you for your advice, your thoughtfulness, your willingness to share and selflessly promote, and for inspiring me every day.

A special thank you to all of the bloggers who take time out of their very hectic lives to read, review, promote, and share. I know blogging isn’t easy when you have so many balls you’re juggling in the air, so I thank you. I appreciate it very much and there’s no way I could get word out about my book without you.

To Regina Wamba for designing an absolutely gorgeous cover, and making the thoughts in my head become a beautiful reality.

To Lea, what can I say? Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your suggestions, for the countless hours you spent helping me polish my baby to perfection, and for understanding my crazy ways because I wanted it to be the best it could be – and for feeling the same way.

Thank you to Julie for taking the time and effort to proofread my novel.

Thank you to Angela at Fictional Formats for always transforming my novel and making it look so beautiful, and for having the patience of a saint.

Finally, thank you so much to all of my readers. Even though I write, I find it hard to put into words what it means to me to have you read and enjoy my stories. Thank you for your never-ending support and kind words. There’s no better feeling in the world…except maybe love. ☺

Many thanks and much love!