He growled low in his throat and crushed his mouth to mine. Then he showed me how much he wanted me to be his wife.
“Oh my God, we’re late to my own birthday party.” Hettie was finally getting her Sunday dinner with all the Horsemen, except it was Saturday instead because we were celebrating my birthday. “Vic.” I tried to escape his grasp and climb off the bed, but he snagged my waist and I toppled backward.
“Mmmm,” he murmured, trailing kisses down my neck.
“We needed to leave twenty minutes ago and Jackson will wonder where we are.” Ethan had picked up Jackson this morning to take him swimming at his new cottage just outside of town.
Which meant, Vic and I spent half the day in bed, and when we weren’t in bed, he was fucking me in the shower, on the stairs and then against the fridge which led to the island and involved ice-cubes and me panting and begging. And afterward, we’d sat on the porch, and I’d played guitar while nestled up against him.
“Know why she wants us there so early?” Vic asked, but didn’t wait for a reply. “It’s raspberry-picking season, babe.”
I laughed, wiggling from his arms and crawling off the bed. “I love raspberries.” I bent and picked up my panties and slipped them on. Vic groaned, watching me with heated eyes. My heart leapt and my belly flipped. God, I don’t think I’d ever get used to him looking at me like that.
“I’ve waited a long time to have you all to myself on your birthday.”
I put my hands and one knee on the bed and leaned over to kiss him. “You have me every single second for infinity, Vic Gate.” I scrambled away when he went to grab me, and ran into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
When I came out again, he was dressed in his mouthwatering, drool-worthy, snug faded jeans, and a black, short-sleeved shirt with three buttons undone at the neckline.
He stalked toward me, and my body tingled in anticipation of his touch. When he reached me, he took my left hand in his and slipped the engagement ring on my finger. “I’m yours, Macayla North.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over the rims of my eyes as I stared at the ring glimmering on my finger.
“Hettie is going to freak,” I said. I hadn’t told anyone that he’d asked me, even Addie. I wanted us to tell Jackson and everyone together.
He huffed. “She’ll have an announcement in the local paper tomorrow.”
I curled my arms around his neck and looked up at him. “Good. I want everyone to know you’re mine, especially Cake-face.”
His mouth twitched. “You ready for your birthday presents?”
I frowned. “You just gave me the best present I could ever ask for.”
“Presents, baby.” He tugged me downstairs into the living room, and there on the floor was a pile of presents.
I stared, mouth agape. “Oh my God, Vic. Why did you buy me all these presents?”
He moved to stand behind me, his hands on my hips and his mouth next to my ear. “I kept them. Every year when I came to your birthday, I brought you a present.”
My legs nearly gave out, and I would’ve collapsed if he hadn’t been holding me steady. Words were locked in my throat and tears spilled over the rims of my eyes.
He kissed the side of my neck and I shivered. “Been waiting a long time to see you open them, Rainbird.”
Then we sat on the floor with me between his legs and we opened my birthday presents.
Addie choked on her beer, laughing. “Oh my God, really? I can’t imagine Vic walking into Walmart and buying a Barbie doll. Even if he was only thirteen.”
I chewed my lower lip and smiled. I’d told Hettie and Addie about the presents that was after the half hour of talking about the ring and Vic asking me to marry him. When I saw her looking over at Vic, Hettie had tears in her eyes. Whether he knew it or not, Hettie was the mother he never had. She was that to all of them.
“What else?” Addie asked, leaning forward in her chair.
“The cutest Furby and a stuffed palomino horse.”
“Oh, like Trinket, at camp.” She frowned. “How did he know you loved Trinket if he only saw you on your birthday?”
I shrugged. “Jackson’s going to love the Star Wars figurines. Vader, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and R2-D2.”
Addie sat back in her chair with the beer cradled in her grasp. “Han Solo. Now, that man I’d have in my bed. Or anywhere else.”