“Evening, Thane. It all smells wonderful.”
“Thanks.” I had an herb-crusted beef filet roasting and some garlic cream sauce simmering. There were about to be potatoes roasting as well. There was still a lot more to go and now that Linda was there, Roe could help me again.
“Wine, Mom?” Roe asked as they walked into the dining and living room.
“I would love some.”
Roe appeared back in the doorway. “Where are we?”
I glanced around. “I need you to finish up the salad, then start in on your asparagus magic and sauté the green beans.”
“Okay, Captain.”
I couldn’t help but stare at her wearing an apron to help keep her dress clean. Visions of her wearing only it danced across my mind, and I let out a low groan.
“Stop it.”
She blinked at me. “Stop what?”
“Looking so damn sexy all the time.”
She giggled and stretched up to kiss my cheek. “Just like with your hotness, it can’t be helped.”
A little while later, the doorbell rang again and Linda answered it for us. James and Lizzie’s voices bounced off the walls followed by a screech from Kinsey and an echoed one by Oliver. There would be another high-pitched sound, but Bailey was on vacation with her grandparents.
They’d barely made it through the door when another familiar voice sounded. By the intro to Linda I knew it was Jace, and on cue he appeared in front of the kitchen door.
“The party can start, I have arrived!”
“You mean it can end now that you’re here,” Roe said.
“I can’t even get in the damn door and you’re already on me. Just admit it, baby, you want me over this sack of dung,” he said, staring at me with a grin.
Not two minutes and he was baiting her. She just grinned beside me, ready to strike back.
“I’d rather eat shit than be with you. Besides, his ass is hotter.”
He slapped his hand over his heart. “You sting me, babe. That hurt. Do you know how much time I put into this ass to get it so fine?”
I jumped as Roe’s hand slapped my ass, then grabbed it. “Hey, I am not a plaything in your bickering.”
They both ignored me.
“You couldn’t get an ass this fine if you worked on it ten hours a day. Some men are just made that way.”
“What way is that?”
“Perfect.”
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head as I covered the potatoes in oil and herbs. “The night starts out again with Roe on top.”
“Yeah, I’d like Roe on top of me. Think I could borrow her some time?”
My eyes turned to slits as I turned to him. “Shut the fuck up and go get a drink.”
He was wearing a shit-eating grin and looked between us and the group in the living room.
“So,” Jace rubbed his hands together. “Are we playing strip poker tonight?”
“No!” Both James and I shouted at the same time.
Roe and I quickly finished up what we were doing so that we could join our guests. It was almost like a dance as we moved around each other, stealing kisses as we went. We had become excellent kitchen dance partners.
Finally able to take a break, we joined everyone. When we entered, Kinsey squealed and toddled over to me.
“Dada!”
“Yeah, baby boo?” I leaned over and picked her up. I looked around the room to find more than one set of eyes on me. “What?”
“Dude, she called you Dada,” Jace said
“And I am.”
“It’s sweet,” Lizzie said, daring Jace to say one bad thing about it.
It didn’t matter if he did, because I was her dada in my heart and now everyone knew.
“She’s your sister’s kid, right?” Jace asked, looking to Roe. He didn’t know much about how Kinsey came to be with Roe.
Roe nodded. “But I’m her legal guardian.”
“And her mother,” I added.
“Whatever happened to your sister?” Lizzie asked.
We hadn’t seen Ryn since Kinsey’s birthday, but when we received more information about the case, we came to find out why.
“She got caught high by her parole officer, and now she’s serving time,” Roe said. “That was part of her parole. To stay off drugs.”
“Well, maybe this will make her straighten out,” James said, groaning at his wife when she elbowed him.
I saw how Roe’s expression dropped, and I reached out for her hand. Losing Kinsey to Ryn was one of her greatest fears.
“Stop,” I whispered in her ear.
She drew in a breath and straightened, then turned to me. “Thank you,” she said as she lightly pressed her lips to mine.
I squeezed her hand. If things went the way I hoped, we could start the process of adopting Kinsey. At least we knew where Ryn was. I just worried how susceptive she would be to giving up her parental rights.
A little while later, we were all sitting at the table, including the kids—Kinsey in a high chair and Oliver on James’s lap.
A year ago, the room we were in held none of the life it did now. Dark and grey and empty compared to the warmth to share with friends and family. I would have met Jace for drinks, then gone home, worked half of the weekend, rinsed and repeated. I couldn’t imagine how my life could change with the simple act of spilled coffee.
My nerves kicked into overdrive as dinner ended. Even though we hadn’t been together long, there was no doubt in my mind or heart that it was right.
We were right.
There was lots of chatter going on and I tapped my fork on the edge of my glass to get everyone’s attention.
I stood, pushing my chair back, and caught James’s eye. He gave me a subtle thumbs up, which helped to calm me a little.
“I wanted to thank you all for coming over tonight and christening our home as a place for friends as well as family. The night has been great, but I keep thinking there is one thing that could make it even better.”
“Skinny dipping? Weed?” Jace said, making the whole table laugh.
“Somebody smack him,” Roe said, to which Lizzie obliged.
With a hard swallow, I pulled the small box from my pocket and adjusted to kneeling on one knee beside Roe.
Her eyes popped wide, and her lips parted as I opened the box and exposed the diamond ring within.
“Thane?”
“Roe, from the moment you didn’t so accidentally spill coffee on me,” I began, earning a few chuckles from our guests. “I have been completely taken by you. At first I didn’t understand why, but I learned—it’s because you were meant to be my everything. We’re a perfect match and I can’t express the depth of my love for you. I want to blast away the rest of our fears and insecurities and bind us together forever, because I have no life without you. You, me, and Kinsey against the world. I know it hasn’t been long, but I know we are right together. Will you please marry me, become my wife, and stay with me forever?”
Her bottom lip trembled, and her brow furrowed as she fought tears. “Yes!” she cried out before throwing her arms around my shoulders and pulling me close. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Forever, yes.”
Two and a half years later…