I love her.
I love him.
“I, Nicolas, take you, Aviva, as my wife. My forever. My everything.”
“Mama!” Celeste yells, interrupting the pastor as she reaches for me even though she is nowhere near me. Everyone laughs as Celeste wiggles herself out of Jean’s lap and hauls ass to me. I bend down, picking her up as soon as she is within reach. She cuddles close into me, grabbing my bouquet from me and holding it to her chest.
I kiss her temple as Aviva looks back at me. “Sorry.”
She grins as Nico chuckles sweetly before she turns back to marrying her soul mate. I redirect attention to them, and I’m in awe. They’re so beautiful, so perfect for each other. I couldn’t handpick a better man for her. Nor could I have handpicked a man like Kirby Litman. As my gaze always does, it shifts to Kirby, who is watching me hold Celeste so close to me. She has her head under my chin, content as she bounces her fingers along the flowers in my bouquet. His lips quirk, and I smile back at him, so completely in love with him. So fully his, it’s mind-blowing.
I love you, he mouths.
And I mouth right back to him, Love you more.
After an evening full of a lot of food, drinks, and wishing the new couple a happy honeymoon, I find myself applying my face lotion as I lie in bed. Kirby sits on the end of the bed, taking off his shoes as he watches SportsCenter. He’s off for a few days for a small break for the Winter Classic. I have no clue what that is. Apparently, they play outside on ice? Instead of inside? Doesn’t make sense to me. Either way, I guess they would be cold. Kirby says it fulfills childhood dreams, which is cool if your dream is to play outside in the freezing cold on a slab of ice.
I’d rather be in my bed in my PJs, but that’s why I don’t play hockey. I do enjoy watching him play, though. He’s super good and super sexy.
“Will you guys get to do the Winter Classic?”
He glances back at me, tucking his socks in his shoes. “I don’t know, hopefully. It’ll be a cool experience. Though, I doubt I’d be able to get you there.”
I grin. “I’d go if you’re playing.”
He sends me a grin as he stands, unbuttoning his shirt. “Wanna go to the mountains this weekend? A little getaway?”
“Sure, I can bring work with me and do it on the way. Oh! But Celeste and I have Mommy and Me class this weekend.”
He shrugs. “She can miss.”
“Okay. We should take Jean. She’d enjoy some time away.”
“Absolutely. Plus, I can take you to a romantic dinner.”
As he crawls onto the bed, covering my body with his, I let out a breathless laugh. “I would love that a lot,” I announce, tucking my hands in the back pockets of his slacks. He presses his thick cock against my center, and instantly, I’m hot everywhere. He kisses my lips, and I welcome the intrusion of his tongue. As we kiss, my heart picks up speed. I want him desperately, but he pulls back, gazing down at me.
“I want to thank you in advance for being there for Celeste when I’m on this long road trip.”
Ugh, I hate thinking of it. Nineteen days apart. That’s basically a month. Such shit. Jean and I are going to tag-team taking care of Celeste, and while I’m happy to be with them, I’m going to miss Kirby like crazy. “You don’t need to thank me. I want to do it.”
“I know, but it’s a lot, taking care of a kid when you have a full-time job and you go to her Mommy and Me classes. It means a lot to me.”
“Kirby, I love you, and I love her.”
He kisses me, his whole heart in the kiss. He pulls back, gazing into my eyes, and my heart swells.
“I have a question,” I find myself asking. “I don’t know if it was the wedding or what, but something is weighing heavy on my heart.”
His brows come together as he moves his fingers along my jaw. “You have some goop left. I blended it in, but please proceed, Counselor.”
I snicker at him as I focus in on his nose, my laughter subsiding. If he were to say no, I’d be heartbroken. But maybe I’m overstepping.
“What is it?”
I inhale very harshly as my gaze meets his once more. “You know I love Celeste—and you, of course.”
“I’m aware, and I’m glad since you might press charges against me for lying on you like this if that weren’t the case.”
He flashes me a dorky grin, and I laugh, so happy. “Yeah, yeah. Focus,” I demand, and he cups my face in his hands, staring deep into my eyes. I want to laugh, but I also need to get this out. Ignoring his goofy ways, I say quickly, “And you know, I love spending time with her and being there for her. And so, I guess lately…I’ve been wondering if you’d ever consider allowing me to adopt her?”
“Adopt her?”
Well, that’s not promising. “Yes, as my daughter. I want her to be mine, Kirby. I love her deeply—”
“You want to adopt Celeste?”
His eyes are wild, and my heart is basically rocking my chest. Though, with confidence, I nod and say, “I do.”
His eyes search mine, and then a grin comes over his face. “Only if you marry me.”
I smirk. “Are you asking me? Or telling me?”
He uses his arm to hold himself up before he reaches into his nightstand drawer. When he comes back with a very recognizable teal box, my jaw drops. “I’m asking.”
I cover my mouth in shock, fully not expecting this as he sits back on his haunches. He takes my hand, pulling me up to him as tears well up in my eyes. “I was going to wait until Celeste’s first birthday. I had this whole thing planned, but this feels right.”
I’m speechless, gazing at him in awe as he slowly opens the box. I can’t even focus on the ring because my eyes are flooding with tears, and I’m locked in his gaze. After letting out a long breath, with so much beautiful emotion in his voice, he says, “My whole life, I have felt like I was losing. I could never gain traction to achieve the life I wanted. When Celeste was born, I started to feel like I was getting there, but then I lost the Cup for the second time. Again, failure was coming for me, but then you came back into my life like a 240-pound defensemen slamming me into the boards, stealing my heart like he would a puck. Jaylin, I can’t describe how perfectly you complete me. You give me a level of confidence I didn’t know was possible. You help make me the man I want to be. I have never, nor will I ever love anyone the way I love you. I want you to be Celeste’s mother and the mother of all our future children. So, will you fully complete me by being my wife?”
The tears start to flow down my face, and I can’t answer him. I only nod before I press my lips to his. He wraps his arm around my neck, kissing me deeply as I smile against his lips. He pulls back a little, laughing happily as he takes the giant diamond out of the box and slides it on my finger. It’s a perfect fit. “Oh, Kirby.”
“A diamond fit for a queen,” he whispers against my temple as I gaze at the ring. It’s beautiful, just a huge, square diamond solitaire. “My queen.”
I tip my head back to gaze up at him. “I love you.”
He captures my chin in his fingers and grins. “Same, Jay. Same.”
We both grin before our lips meet once more, and I can’t believe I waited so long for this moment. For this feeling. But maybe I wasn’t waiting for this feeling. Or this moment.