He laughed lightly, and his hand coasted up my side in a proprietary move that made my dick perk up again, despite the two phenomenal orgasms, because I wanted so badly to be his.
“No, Ryder. At least, not tonight. I was just thinking that every year she tells me, ‘This is gonna be your year, Colin.’ And every year I pretend to agree, just ’cause she’s so sweet about it. But this year…” He looked up at me, his brown eyes liquid gold in the reflected light of the fire. “This year I won’t be pretending.”
I pulled him against my side to snuggle him against my chest. “Does that mean yes?” I demanded, because I needed to hear the words, to know for sure.
Colin pushed himself up, snagged my hands in both of his, and held me down on the rug. His smile shone down on me, brighter than the sun, and yeah, no, my dick was definitely fucking perky, impossible as it seemed.
“Let me understand this.” Colin tilted his head to one side. “You’re telling me you’re in love with me, right?”
I threaded my fingers with his. “Didn’t we just discuss this?”
“Maybe. But my motto is ‘Trust but verify.’”
“Oh, is it now?”
“Mmmhmm. Some guy once told me that.” He shrugged nonchalantly.
I grinned up at him, the fizz of excitement and possibility in my blood headier than any champagne being poured anywhere on the planet this evening. “That guy sounds like a really intelligent person.”
“That remains to be seen.” Colin pursed his lips. “Since that guy hasn’t answered my question.”
I snorted. “Yes.” I leaned up just far enough to press a kiss to his lips. “I am crazy in love with you, Colin Kearns.”
“And you have been for a long time?”
“Years,” I agreed.
“And you want to invest in my business? Invest in my dreams?”
“Your dreams are my dreams,” I said softly.
“And you want me to move into your cabin with you?”
“Very much. So much.” I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more.
“Even if I decorate it in glitter and antlers?” he teased.
“Well.” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and pretended to think about it. “Honestly, I think after tonight I may find glitter and antlers uncontrollably arousing, but if you’re willing to take that risk…”
He laughed. “And we’ll plant daisies in pots?”
Ah, shit. The idea of the future stretching out before us nearly made me tear up. “By the thousands. Whichever color your Granny Joyce likes best, since maybe it’d be nice to surprise her with flowers for a change.”
His smile softened. “And yellow for Grandmother Bell?”
“Yeah,” I agreed after clearing my throat. “Definitely.”
“And we can… we can maybe have kids down the line?” He swallowed nervously, like he thought maybe this would be the deal breaker. “I’ve always sort of wanted to adopt. To give a kid a family and a home here in the Thicket. To love them unconditionally.”
“Like your Granny loved you?”
Colin nodded slowly.
“Yeah, baby, we can do that.” Fuck, he killed me in the very best way. I hoped he always would. “In fact, I insist on it.”
“Then for heaven’s sake, Ryder Richards, how could you possibly think I’d say no to anything you ask?” His nose rubbed against mine, and his breath was warm against my lips. “Are you suggesting I’m some kind of flake?”
Epilogue
Colin
“Sadie, get back here!”
Ryder chased our daughter as she shrieked her way through the crowd toward the cotton candy booth.
I heard a soft gasp behind me and turned to see a blast from the past. “Why, Ava Ivey, as I live and breathe,” I said, sounding way more like a character from Steel Magnolias than I cared to admit.
“Colin Kearns, oh my goodness,” she said, enveloping me in a huge hug. She looked gorgeous if a little pale, and she was dressed to kill in a low-cut, sleeveless white shirt. The most popular girl in high school looked the same as she had ten years ago when she’d left town.
“It’s Colin Richards now, actually,” I said, feeling my face heat. Even though it had been five years since Ryder and I had tied the knot, I still got all flustered telling people about it.
“Richards?” she asked. “Who… Oh my God! Did you marry Rachel Richards? Marty Bell’s cousin? She is so freaking cute!”
I glanced toward Ryder in hopes he’d get that husband Spidey sense he seemed to get sometimes when I needed him. Unfortunately, he was busy plucking cotton candy out of our daughter’s hair.
“No, I, um… I married her brother, Ryder.”
Ava stared at me for a minute. “Ryder Richards? The guy who spray-painted dirty words on the back of the high school gym when we were in eighth grade?”
I barked out a laugh. “Oh my gosh. That was totally him, wasn’t it? I forgot all about that. I’m married to a criminal.” I found him in the crowd again. “Babe! Ryder! Get over here. We need to have words.”
His head full of messy dark hair popped up as he turned to face me. “Huh?” Then he spotted Ava and smiled. He grabbed Sadie around the waist and hauled her under his arm like a pirate with a cask of spirits. Her little ponytail puffs looked like fuzzy teddy bear ears and always made me smile. She kept a strong hold on her cotton candy bag despite being carried like a sack of potatoes. “Ava Ivey? That you? Is Brooks here?”
Uh-oh. I shot Ryder a look. How could you have just brought that up? Don’t you remember the scandal?
His eyes widened in response. What scandal? I want the scoop!
Ava’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “I wouldn’t know Brooks’s whereabouts,” she said with a sniff. “I haven’t seen the man in a decade until the other day. I’m here with my very serious and committed boyfriend, Malachi.”
She turned and looked around, finally spotting a cute guy with mischievous eyes, who looked totally out of place at the Lickin’ Artists’ Fair despite the fact that he was manning a booth.
“There you are. Mal!” She gestured wildly. “Come over here and meet my old friends from high school.”
Her “boyfriend” seemed nice enough, but when the guy looked at my husband’s dick before checking out my own bulge, Ryder and I lifted eyebrows at each other. Straight, my ass, we said in more silent husband-speak.
I opened my mouth to say something to poor Ava, but Ryder cut me off at the pass. “Here, take your hellion,” he said, shoving Sadie into my arms, cotton candy hair and all. He reached out a hand to shake Mal and Ava’s hands. “Forgive the sticky fingers.”
I stifled a laugh as I watched Ava’s face turn a little green.
“Can you please excuse us?” she asked. “I need to… leave.” She bolted away, cupping her hand over her mouth, and Mal mumbled an apology and chased after her.
Honestly, how could someone be so grossed out by a little cotton candy?
Ryder reached into my pocket for the little pack of wet wipes he knew I always carried. Once his and Sadie’s hands were clean, he took her back on his hip and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You okay, sweetheart?”