Promise Me

“Yeah, I didn’t want to slip. I want to make you proud of me, Skylar.”

“Ronan, I am so proud of you but you need to do these things for you so you get better.” I could hear her getting choked up.

“Hey baby, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it,” she sniffed.

I chuckled. “I’ll be home soon.” I looked behind me then backed out of the spot I was in. I talked to her through the Bluetooth in the truck as I drove towards home. “The meeting was in the Christ Church of Kings,” I explained.

“On Main?” She asked.

“Yeah. The main guy, moderator. I don’t know what you call him but his name is Sam and he knows my dad.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

I was shaking my head. “No,” I finally said to her. I was driving through town thinking about my dad. “So how did it go after I left?”

She kissed my brother goodbye. I heard her lips smack against his cheek. I heard him tell her to call if she needed him. Apparently Ciaran stayed with her after he brought her home. I was grateful to my brother for not leaving her when she was upset and worried about me. “I went inside and informed everyone we were getting married this week and Declan better fix his shit with you if he wanted to be a part of Luke’s life.”

“Really?” I was a little surprised at this. Skylar wasn’t a confrontational kind of girl. She tended to be quiet and shy. My dad could be an intimidating kind of guy. “What was his reaction?”

“I didn’t wait around for it.” I chuckled at her. “I kind of made another decision.” I could hear the hesitation in her voice. She was scared.

“What baby? What is it?”

“I told Gramps we were getting married on Tuesday. He’s going to speak to the Reverend about marrying us at the farm.”

I wasn’t sure why she picked Tuesday but I didn’t really care. “Okay. I’ll go to the courthouse tomorrow and get our marriage license after practice.”

“You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah Skylar. After we finish up at the farm, we can see what we can find for wedding rings and an engagement ring for you.”

“I don’t need an engagement ring Ronan. Let’s save our money.” This sounded like Skylar. Always practical. “Maybe when we’ve been married ten or twenty years then you buy me the big diamond.”

I smiled, ten or twenty years with Skylar? That sounded better pretty damn good. “You’ll probably kill before that happens sweetheart.”

“Not a chance.” She sounded so positive.

I turned into the driveway and saw her. She was standing on the sidewalk watching for me. It was drizzling rain on my way home. Did my girl care? Hell no, she walked down the sidewalk to the drive as I got out of the truck. Skylar waited at the end where the drive met the end of the sidewalk.

I kissed her first. She stood up for me to my dad. That was huge. I looked at her after that kiss. Raindrops pelting her face and dripping down her nose. She looked adorable. Then I scooped her up in my arms making her squeal.

“We can’t have you getting sick Skylar.” I kissed her again and carried her inside the cabin, straight to her room. She needed to put on dry clothes. Hers were a little damp. “Change and I’ll make dinner tonight.”

She was wearing something that belonged to Aine. It wasn’t what she was wearing yesterday. A loose fitting white knit top that she pulled over her head. I stopped as I was about to exit the room. She hadn’t noticed me staring at her. She shoved her shorts down next. We had been living together for weeks. It was nothing for her to sit in my lap. For me to hold her in my arms. I saw her in her underwear before tonight but right now, looking at her in her bra and underpants she never looked more beautiful.

She bent over and picked up the wet things off the floor. Her hair was even slightly damp hanging over her slender shoulders. When she raised to a standing position she was looking right at me. Skylar licked her lips nervously. I just wanted to touch her. I crossed the space between us and reached out to caress her cheek. She dropped her clothes on the floor. “You dropped something.”

“I did,” she agreed.

My hand slipped beneath her hair to pull her head closer to me. Our lips hovered near, waiting for each other to make the first move. She finally did, touching hers to mine. I groaned deep in my chest. She was soft and warm and round with my baby and I couldn’t remember how she got that way but damn I wanted to find out what it was like.

“Skylar,” I said her name against her lips.

“What?”

“Do you want to wait until Tuesday?”