Free Stupid Hearts by Kristen Hope Mazzola Page B

grilled chicken sandwich. Is that alright?”
    My stomach growled. “Anything would be alright at this point.”
    We sat on the king size bed and chowed down on soggy cold French fries and mediocre sandwiches.
    “Everything alright with Dozer?”
    I nodded, swallowing my last fry. “Brett’s staying the night at my place.”
    “Perfect. Then we can stay here.” Finn gathered the empty containers and pulled down the sheets.
    “Are you sure this is ok?”
    He grabbed my hand, helping me under the covers and into his arms.
    “Joey, I promise this is alright. You had a rough night. Get some rest.”
    I shifted to try to get comfortable but my clothes kept bunching up. I sat up and started to undress.
    “What are you doing, love?”
    “I’m not going to be comfy with all this on.”
    He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled his undershirt off and handed it to me. “Here.”
    I yanked it over my head. “Thanks.”
    Once our pants were thrown onto the floor, Finn’s arms secured around me again. “Goodnight, Jolene.”
    I kissed his smooth cheek. “Goodnight, Sir Wallace. My knight in shining armor.”
    He chuckled.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “William Wallace didn’t wear armor.”
    I shoved him gently with my elbow. “Whatever!”
    “I’ll still take it as a compliment even if your knowledge of history is shit.”
    “Night, Finn.”
    “Sleep well, my love.”

EpIlogue.
    one year later
    “Baby, wake up.” Finn’s brogue broke into my dream-filled sleep.
    “Five more minutes?” I tried to turn away from him, pulling the blanket onto my shoulders.
    “We’re about to land, Joey.”
    “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing going to Nashville anyway?” I rubbed my eyes and returned my seat to its upright position.
    “I told you, it’s a surprise.”
    After Finn’s photo shoot in Boone, his modeling career took off. He had been traveling all over the world doing magazine ads and was even starting to break into television commercials. With his busy schedule and mine, we were lucky to get one or two weekends a month together. When he mentioned that he wanted to take me on a surprise trip, I was thinking something more like Costa Rica or Italy, not Nashville. Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy to have five whole days of quality time with Finn, no matter where in the world it was.
    We grabbed our luggage, rented our car, and started to drive into the middle of nowhere in the mountains.
    “Come on! You know I hate surprises!”
    Finn glanced over at me from the driver’s seat. “It’s just down this road. We’re almost there, beautiful.”
    We made our way down a long winding gravel road until Finn parked the car in front of a house that was clearly under construction.
    “We’re here. Come on, I want you to see something.”
    I climbed out of the car and followed Finn toward the unfinished home. He led me into the wood-framed structure and up the stairs.
    “Are you sure this is safe?” He was leading me out onto a balcony that didn’t have a railing set up yet.
    “Trust me, I called the builder and asked if this was ok.”
    “How do you know the builder of this place?”
    He grabbed my hand and turned me to look out at one of the most breathtaking sights I had ever seen. The rolling hills were covered in lush greenery and ran into a gorgeous mountain range off in the distance. There was a small garden in the backyard with tons of purple, pink, and white flowers of all kinds.
    “So to answer your question, this is our new home.”
    I was shocked. I froze. I didn’t know if I was mad that he had made such a huge decision without me or thrilled because he was finally helping me live out a dream of mine.
    “I don’t know what to say.”
    With that, he got down on one knee.
    “Joey, I love you. I have since the moment I saw you in that bar. There is something about you that I never want to be without for one more second of one more day. Please, spend the rest of your life with me. Marry me,