Perfectly Toxic (Sterling Shore 9)

“Brin!” he growls.

She whirls around, ready to say something else, but he throws the box, and she barely catches it before it hits the ground in front of her feet.

“What is this? Another prank? A spider maybe?” she bites out, flipping open the lid.

Her eyes widen, and her entire stance changes as the cake and icing drip from her.

“I’m trying to fucking ask you to marry me!” Rye snaps. “It’s not like I could propose like a normal guy. Because we’re not normal! I don’t want to be normal! I love everything about us, and I never want to fucking lose you. Kids? You want kids? Then so do I. We’ll work it out together. You want a ranch in the backyard? I’ll buy a different fucking house. I want whatever you want, Brin, because at the end of the day, you’re all that fucking matters to me.”

Rye looks like he’s on the verge of breaking something, when Brin smiles through the icing. “You want to marry me?”

He groans. “Of course I want to fucking marry you. Did you not hear anything I just said?”

Brin sprints to him and launches herself in his arms. Rye’s so surprised that he almost doesn’t catch her.

We all start clapping when Brin starts covering him in icing, laughing as she kisses him wildly all over his face.

“Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!” she yells.

Rye smiles as his lips land on hers, and that’s when we all turn away.

“Great,” Kode says dryly. “Another couple is getting married before me.”

“At this point, I think Tria is the only person who doesn’t know you want to marry her,” Maverick points out.

He turns his beer up, drinking it as he tunes Maverick out. It reminds me that I still need to have a conversation with my cousin about her father. Fucking eh. Bella has turned me into a damn meddler.

Speaking of Bella…

She’s walking toward me as her parents take a seat near Angel. Allie looks wary, but she’s sitting with them.

Maverick and Kode walk away to join in the celebration going on around Rye and Brin, but I wait for my girl to reach me.

“I guess I missed the fun stuff,” Bella says, wiping away the lingering tears on her cheeks.

“Rye was a nervous mess, so Rain decided to put him out of his misery a little earlier than planned.” My eyes flick to her parents as they talk to Angel. My mother goes to take a seat near them, along with my dad who follows Mom’s lead. I look back at Bella. “You okay?”

She nods, and a smile spreads over her lips. “You’re pretty damn perfect, you know?”

“I’ve always known that. Glad you’re finally up to speed,” I quip, smirking when she rolls her eyes.

She tosses her arms around my neck, and I lean down to kiss her, not giving a damn who is looking on when I grab her ass and pull her closer. If we were alone, I’d already have her against the wall.

She breaks the kiss, and pulls back, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “You ready to meet my parents?”

Ah shit.

I dart a glance to the table, and her mother is looking away with bright red cheeks. My hands slide up from Bella’s ass to land on her waist.

“Well, that should test their comfort level,” I state flatly.

“I love you,” Bella says, bringing my attention back to her.

My hand slides over her stomach, and I brush my lips over hers again. “I love you,” I tell her, forgetting all about everyone watching us once again.

Fuck ‘em if they don’t like watching me maul the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Bella doesn’t seem to mind, because she’s kissing me back just as hungrily.

Before her, I felt nothing. Since her, I can’t stop feeling.