She shook her head. “I don’t want to move. I want you to stay inside of me like this forever.”
My heart felt as if it were suddenly floating freely in my chest. I rolled her over and started to move once again. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I quickly got hard.
And I wasn’t surprised when it only took a few minutes for us to cry out each other’s names once again.
Emmerson
THE SOUND OF Landon’s constant, rhythmic heartbeat should have lulled me to sleep, but I was wide awake. I moved my finger in small circles on his chest as I lay in his arms in the back of his truck. We had crawled under one of the quilts, and Landon had held me after we both caught our breaths from another mind-blowing lovemaking session.
I smiled, thinking about how perfect this all felt. Landon was the first man I had ever had sex with and not used a condom. He was the first man I’d ever had an orgasm with during sex. And he was the first man to ever make me long for something I’d never had before. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was. It felt like this longing had always been deep down inside of me, but now I could finally feel it. And I knew I needed to explore it more.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Landon whispered.
“I feel so…content. So happy,” I truthfully replied.
He held me a bit tighter. “Me too. It’s weird—I feel like this moment was meant to happen. That the universe was simply waiting on us to make it happen.”
I moved my head and rested my chin on his chest. “Yes! That’s exactly it.”
He smiled down at me. “As much as I’ve doubted not telling our folks about us actually dating, I’m glad we haven’t said anything yet. I’m glad we don’t have any added pressure.”
“Me too. At some point, though, we’re going to have to tell them.”
“Yeah, I know. I sorta like it just being us right now. Living in this little bubble and not having anyone push us or offer advice.”
I laid my head back on his chest. “Have any of your friends said anything about the engagement?”
“Yeah, most of them have reached out. The guys at the shop got in a good round of teasing and told me I was now ruined for life.”
A chuckle slipped from my lips.
“You?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. And most were not happy I’d kept our ‘relationship’ a secret.”
Landon laughed. “If they only knew.”
I felt my grin widen. “It’s been pretty easy to push off their questions. Most of them said they’d always suspected something was between us. Which isn’t surprising since everyone always has.”
He lightly moved his fingers over my arm. “Now that Hailey’s marriage is off, how long do we play this fake engagement for?”
I swallowed hard. I wanted to ask him if he wanted to end it now, but a part of me didn’t want to let it go. I was actually looking forward to the cake tasting and the engagement party. And the venue shopping. What in the hell was wrong with me? But Landon beat me to the answer.
“I don’t think it should be anytime soon,” Landon mused. “Especially with it still being posted about in the media.”
Nodding, I replied, “I agree. Plus, I really want to go to this one venue and check it out. It’s fairly new.”
A deep rumble came from his chest. “Truth be told, I want to go to the cake tasting.”
I lifted my head to look at him once more. “Really?”
His cheeks flushed some. “Yes. I know that’s terrible to admit.”
“I don’t think so! I’ve already started my post about it!”
We both fell into a fit of laughter.
“Aw shit,” Landon said on an exhale. “We might as well have fun with it, right?”
“Right. I mean, no one’s getting hurt. If anything, and if I’m being honest, it’s brought so much attention to my business. I’m actually thinking of hiring an assistant to help me out with some things, especially emails. All these businesses have been emailing me to use their services or products for the wedding.”
He pulled his head back, so he could look at me. “That’s great, Emme.”
I smiled, then bit down on my lip. “I do feel sorta bad, though, that the stuff they’re sending will never actually be used.”
“Well, share them with some of your brides.”
“That’s a great idea, Landon.”
He smiled, and I nearly sighed at the sight of those dimples. They seemed to catch the rays of moonlight filtering through the tree.
“What about this engagement party?” I asked. “Do I still let Autumn throw it?”
Landon reached over to a small bag that was sitting off in the upper corner of his truck. He reached inside and pulled out a small ring box.
He held it up and looked at it. “It would be a shame not to show off this ring I got for you.”
I quickly sat up, allowing the quilt to fall and expose the upper part of my naked body to the chilled air. Landon’s eyes went down at my breasts, and I was almost positive I saw his nostrils flare.
“Let me see it!” I said in an excited voice.
He laughed and opened the box. I gasped as I looked down at the ring and then snapped my gaze back up to meet his.
“Landon. How did…when did you…” I was staring down at the exact ring I had described to him two years ago. I had seen it in an antique store in Italy when I was there with my mother, Addie, and Hailey on our annual girls’ trip.
“After you told me about the ring and talked nonstop about it, I asked my mom if she remembered you seeing an old antique ring in Italy. She said she remembered and told me the name of the town. I started calling all the stores there and finally found the right one. I paid for it over the phone, and they mailed me the ring.”
My mouth fell open. “They mailed you the ring? Landon, this ring was expensive! Very expensive! And wait…”
I let everything fall into place in my mind and then gasped again. “You’ve had this ring for two years, and you’ve just been holding onto it? Why?”
He shrugged. “I never knew the right time to give it to you. It’s technically an engagement ring, and well…I never thought I’d be asking you… I mean, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t dreamed of asking you to marry me…” Landon’s voice trailed off. “Anyway, we’re in a fake engagement now, and I’ve been wanting to give it to you, so this is perfect. When we call the engagement off, it’s yours to keep, of course.”
I smiled, but a part of me grew sad at the idea of calling off our fake engagement. I suddenly wanted this fake engagement to be a real one. The thought was crazy, but a part of me wondered if maybe Landon felt the same way—though now was not the time to ask him.
I brushed those feelings to the side and held out my hand. “What are you waiting for? Put it on!”
Landon laughed as he pulled the stunning ring out of the box.
“I can’t believe you had them mail this, Landon.”
He laughed. “They insured it, and it was sent express.”
I shook my head, staring down at the ring. It was a platinum band with a cushion-cut diamond surrounded by mine-cut diamonds. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it.