Soft and tender and slow.
A promise.
A passionate claiming.
And my unstable world . . . it no longer spun.
It danced.
Clapping went wild around us, and Kale dropped his forehead to mine, grinning against my lips. Redness flushing to my cheeks, I peeked out to the side to see Jenna jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
Dr. Krane and his wife were beside her.
His smile was slow.
Knowing.
Kale looked at Jenna. “You wouldn’t mind if I gave these two a ride home, would you?”
Jenna smirked. “Like I’d expect anything less from you, Sir Bryant.”
She turned her attention to me. “I just expect all the details tomorrow.”
Giggling, I rested the side of my head against Kale’s beautiful, bleeding heart. “Of course, she does.”
“She’s going to cause me all sorts of trouble, isn’t she?” he murmured down at me.
“Oh, I think you can count on that.”
I stretched my hand out, looking at the diamond glinting on my finger. Giddiness swept through me, head to toe. I peeked up at him, a playful smile taking to my mouth. “A ring, huh, Cowboy? Awful presumptuous of you.”
He let that cockiness ride to his lips. “Hey, can’t blame a man who knows what he wants.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhmm . . .”
He kissed across my jaw and up to my ear. “Besides, I know my girl. If she knows something is right? Then she’s going to jump and trust she lands right where she’s supposed to.”
“With you.”
Kale gathered up Evan’s hand. “With us.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist and leaned in to kiss me on the temple. “Let’s go home, Shortcake.”
Home.
I couldn’t wait to make one with him.
Epilogue
Hope
Laughter roared through the dim-lit space. Downstairs, a band played, the music vibrating through the floors adding to the carefree vibe of the private party happening upstairs.
“Are your eyes closed?” Jenna demanded from behind me. “No peeking, you greedy girl, or I’m not gonna let you have any.”
I pressed my hands tighter against my eyes and shook my head. A rush of heat lit me up everywhere. “Are you sure I even want to know what this surprise is?”
She’d basically had my skin the color of a tomato since the second I’d mounted the top step to the second floor, with the games we’d been playing and the drinks she’d been plying me with.
She’d said this celebration was for me, and I was damn well going to enjoy myself.
Funny how she didn’t have to coerce me into that anymore.
“Oh, I promise you, you’re gonna want this surprise,” she sing-songed as she leaned around my side and placed something on the table in front of me.
Whatever Jenna was up to was met with a bunch of giggles and laughed whispers rippling all around me.
Nikki nudged me in the side. “Oh yeah, you are definitely going to want this surprise. All of them. But I’m def taking one for myself. I am the orgasm fairy, after all. I totally earned one of those babies.”
“Oh God, now I really don’t know if I want to see.”
From across the table, I heard my mama’s distinct laughter.
Mortified.
Yeah. I was so going to be mortified. Still, I didn’t think I’d ever been happier about it in all my life.
“Open up!” Jenna shouted, and I was groaning and bracing myself and simultaneously grinning like a fool when I peeled my hands from my eyes.
Then I busted up laughing.
I was right.
Mortified.
Because there in front of me were at least forty cupcakes.
All of them speared with little stakes that boasted pictures of Kale’s face, the writing beneath claiming, “Sex on a stick.”
“You didn’t,” I scolded.
“Um . . . you know I did. With a little help from my new friends, of course,” she said, glancing at Nikki, Lillith, and Rynna, who kept busting up in fits of laughter.
“Pass one of those down here,” Mindy, one of my old friends, shouted from the other end of the long table. “I want a taste of that.”
It was a little surreal that I was surrounded by so many of the faces of the women who’d been out to celebrate Jenna’s birthday that fateful night nine months ago.
And now, here we were.
My life now looked so incredibly different.
I’d known I was blessed at that time. No question about it. But it’d also come with a weight so heavy there were some days I didn’t know if I’d manage to bear it. Stand up under it.
And now . . .
Joy trembled all the way to my bones as I looked around at the faces smiling back at me.
With a grin, I pointed at Jenna’s accomplices. “All of you are in so much trouble. Hand in those bridesmaid’s dresses.”
Nikki gasped and pressed her hand over her chest. “Never. You know you love those cupcakes. I mean, look at all that delicious, creamy frosting. Don’t you just want to take a big ol’ bite?”