He growled into her mouth, and his hands gripped that gorgeous ass. “Hang on, I’ve got something for you.”
Tansy pressed her hips forward and smiled. “I can feel that.”
Laughing, he swatted her ass lightly, then rubbed against her until they were both panting with need.
Then he shot the bolt across the door and carried her upstairs to the office and his desk that overlooked the main room.
Placing her ass on the edge of the desk, he stood between her knees and kissed her again. “These past few months have changed almost everything in my life, Tans. And it’s all for the better.”
He reached into the desk drawer and pulled out the small box. He popped it open with his thumb and stood back to lift it in front of her. “You’re the most incredible person I know, and I want you to spend forever with me. I want to be at your side as you make the world a better place, one TeenySaur, one person, one solar panel at a time. Will you marry me, Tansy?”
Tansy’s eyes filled with tears as he spoke, but her smile told him all he needed to know. She hadn’t so much as glanced at the box, instead her eyes remained locked on his.
“Of course, I’ll marry you, Sam. You’re my everything. You keep me grounded and let me fly at the same time. I love you so much.”
He took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger.
“Oh, Sam, it’s beautiful.”
“And ethically sourced, made by local artisans.”
Tansy laughed and pulled him down for a kiss. “No wonder I love you so much, Sam. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
That made him laugh. “Not hardly, but we’re pretty perfect together.”
And then he went about proving it.
Tansy held on to Sam as their breathing returned to normal. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and she waggled her fingers to look at her ring.
Engaged.
To the man she’d always loved.
Six months before, she’d bolted from Sacramento, embarrassed and looking to heal. Hide away from everyone.
The property from Koko had allowed her to do both.
It had also brought her Sam.
“Koko would be so happy to see us like this.”
Sam snorted out a laugh and leaned back. He raised his eyebrow and looked down at their naked bodies, still joined. “I don’t know about that.”
Tansy laughed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, not exactly at this moment and not like this. But, in general. He always liked you, Sam. He thought you were smart and capable. He respected your drive and your determination.”
Sam leaned over and kissed her, then moved to deal with the condom and hand her the clothes they’d tossed around.
Then he grinned at her. “Why wouldn’t the shrimp share his treasure?”
Tansy laughed as she tugged on her underwear. “He was a little shellfish. How do you catch a whole school of fish?”
“With a bunch of bookworms. What do you call an illegally parked frog.”
“Toad.”
Koko had been the king of corny jokes and one of the ways he’d bonded with the her and Joe. And then Sam and Nico, too. Koko had visited Sacramento a couple of times a year and had brought all four kids up to Vermont many times.
They’d all become experts at his style of jokes over the years.