I nod and West swoops in, pressing a kiss to my cheek before taking Asher and passing him off to AJ. He turns back to me, takes the ring box, and flips it open, revealing to me the single most stunning ring I’ve ever seen.
Nestled in the box is an emerald cut black diamond framed by two white diamonds in a gold setting. “It’s…”
“What, baby? Tell me,” West urges as he slips it onto my ring finger.
“It’s breathtaking. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
West nods, pleased. “Good, because I bought the one that made me think of you and you’re absolutely breathtaking; the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I hold my hand up, admiring the way the ring looks on my finger. “I love you, West Larson. I love you and our son and this amazing little life we’re creating together.”
He presses a kiss to my neck. “So that’s a yes, then?”
“It’s a hell yes!”
His lips meet mine and he dips me low as he deepens our kiss. “Now, why don’t you open your other gifts?”
My eyes fly up to meet his. “Other gifts?”
“That’s right, baby.”
He bends over and passes me a huge bouquet of wildflowers, which I promptly sniff before placing them on Asher’s highchair tray. “They’re amazing. Thank you.”
“That’s not all, baby,” he says as he hands me a glossy white gift box topped with a golden bow.
I carefully tug on the end of the ribbon and it falls away. Slowly, I lift the lid only to be met with gold dotted tissue paper. I pull it from the box, sheet by sheet, until its contents are revealed.
The first item I retrieve is a pair of black lace pumps with the iconic red sole. “These are…wow.”
West ducks his head. “They weren’t actually meant to be a part of the gift, but I saw them and immediately imagined you walking down the aisle in them.” He leans in and whispers in my ear, “I also imagined you wearing only them with your legs wrapped around my neck.”
I suppress a moan—barely—as I set them aside and move on to the next item: a pale pink leather cat collar with a diamond encrusted heart-shaped tag with the letters D and Q engraved into it. “What? What is this?” I ask.
“Keep going, baby.”
I do as he says and pull out food and water dishes that look like teacups along with a myriad of cat toys. “You know we don’t have a cat, right? And while roleplay can be great…this is not my kink.”
West snorts out a laugh. “A little more.”
I roll my eyes and retrieve a card from the bottom of the box. I open the envelope, smiling as I read the outside of the card. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life trying to decide what’s for dinner with you.” I flip it open and a picture falls out and onto my lap.
Lifting it, I see it’s a picture of the fluffiest Himalayan kitten there ever was. “She’s so cute!” I coo, rubbing my finger over the image.
“Good because we pick her up tomorrow. Surprise, baby!”
“You got a cat?”
West smirks. “I mean, I figured it was pretty obvious, what with the collar, food bowls, and toys.”
“You got a cat and named it after Dairy Queen?”
Now he outright laughs. “No, baby, I got a cat and named it DQ after you, my defiant queen.”
My lower lip trembles. “Like my username?”
“Just like it. You applying for Virtual Kitty was the catalyst for all of this in a way. I don’t know.” He shrugs sheepishly. “It just seemed fitting.”
“I love it. I love you. All of it. You’re so good to me and Asher.”
West hauls me into his arms and gestures for AJ to hand our son to him. He holds both of us close, murmuring all the while about how much he loves us. “You’re it for me, Stacia. You and Asher are my whole world. You two are my entire reason for existing, my purpose. You’re my sunrise, sunset, and everything in between. I want to love you and your rebel soul for the rest of our days until we’re old and gray, though knowing you, you’ll probably be old and purple. But that’s just another reason I love you. You’re so unapologetically you.”
The tender moment is ruined when Asher lets out a wail worthy of a battle cry. “You hungry?” I ask as West snuggles him closer.
“I’ll feed him a bottle before we head out,” AJ offers.
“Head out? Like, with Asher?” I ask, perplexed.
West grins and passes our son to my friend. “I figured we could use the night alone to, you know, celebrate.”
I swipe my tongue over my lower lip, already anticipating the many ways this night could end—lucky me, every single scenario includes multiple O’s for me.