“What do you mean?” She rolls over in my arms to face me. I can’t see her face, but I can feel her breath on my cheek. We’re so close.
“I’ve wanted you for so long, McKenna. I can’t tell you the exact day you stopped being my sister’s best friend and more to me. Hell, I think you’ve always been more to me. You were my first kiss.” I find her lips in the dark and give her a chaste kiss.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“You had big dreams, Kenna. I was afraid if we started something, you wouldn’t go through with them. I wanted you to achieve everything in life you always dreamed of.”
“I’ve always had a crush on you,” she confesses.
“I had hoped.”
“So, what now?”
Rolling over, I turn on the bedside lamp so we can see each other. Climbing out of bed, I walk to her side and drop to my knees. She sits up, moving her legs to hang over the side of the bed. There’s confusion written all over her face. I know this is corny as fuck, but if she needs me to spell it out for her, I will.
“McKenna Dawson, I want you to be mine. I want to spend as much time with you as I can, and I want this relationship to grow. I don’t want us to see other people, and I want to touch you and kiss you anytime that I want.” I pause and bring our joined hands to my lips, pressing featherlight kisses against her knuckles. “I have something to ask you.”
“O-kay?” She’s curious yet hesitant.
“McKenna, will you be my girlfriend?” I ask. “And before you say yes, that title seems too insignificant with the way I feel about you. Full disclosure: I want you to be more than my girlfriend. I want to build a life with you.”
“Are you….” Her voice trails off as she swallows hard.
“Not tonight. Not in this moment. Tonight, I just want confirmation that you’re mine, and I’m yours, and we’ll work on the ‘forever after all’ part together.”
She smiles so big her face lights up. “You remember that?”
“I’ve never forgotten a single moment that I’ve shared with you.”
“I was seven.”
“And I was nine, but I still remember. One day, I hope that when we say our vows, it will be for real.”
“Am I dreaming?”
“No, baby, you’re not dreaming. This is real. This is us. If you’ll have me.”
She nods as a lone tear trails down her cheek. “I’ve always wanted you. I just… I thought you were just being nice and flirty the last few weeks.”
“Oh, I have been. But not because you were my sister’s best friend. It was all because I wanted you to be mine.”
“You’re mine?”
Dropping her hands, I stand and hold my arms out to my sides. “All of this is yours, McKenna.”
She bites down on her bottom lip, and I would give anything to know what she is thinking. Before I get a chance to ask, her cell phone on the nightstand rings. Glancing down, I see my sister's name.
“It’s Laramie.”
“She’s probably in town and wants an update.” She reaches for her phone but doesn’t move to answer it. “This, us, it’s not a secret?”
“Fuck that. I want the world to know you’re mine.”
“What if this doesn’t work out?”
“Do you want it to?”
“Yes.” She nods. “More than anything.” I don’t want her to be a secret. I want her. I know I’ve been telling me this all along, but tonight it feels different. The way my heart squeezes when she looks at me. It feels real. It is real. This is us. It’s finally our time.
“Me too. Relationships take work, and there’s no one else I want to work at it with. Just you.” Her phone stops ringing, only to start again. I take the phone from her hands, swipe the screen, and place it to my ear. “Hey, sis,” I greet Laramie.
“Is everything okay? I’ve been calling.”
“This is your second call, and we were in the middle of a conversation.”
“Oh, no, is everything okay?”
I smile at McKenna. “Everything is perfect. My girlfriend and I just needed to discuss a few things.”
“Girlfriend? Damnit, Rip, have the two of you been holding out on me?”
“No, we just made it officially official. Here, I’ll let you talk to my girlfriend.” I pull the phone from my ear and hand it to McKenna. “It’s for you, baby.” I kiss her softly before moving to my side of the bed.
I smile as I slide under the covers and listen to McKenna give Laramie an update on her grandfather. Then I hear her explain that she is indeed my girlfriend. My smile is wide, and I reach over and turn off the lamp, bathing the room in darkness. I snuggle up to McKenna, where she’s resting back on the pillow talking to my sister—talking to her best friend about me. Her new boyfriend.
Our day might have started out rocky with the unease of what we shared last night and the news of her grandfather, but the ending, well, it’s made a shitty day one of the best I’ve ever had.
She’s finally mine.
Chapter 20
McKenna
It’s been a week since I got the call while in Vegas that Gramps was being rushed to the hospital having a heart attack. A week as a reminder that life is short. A week of sleeping every night in Rip’s bed and in his arms. I’m not sure what happened in my former life to bring me such blessings, but I’m not going to kick a gift horse in the mouth.
Gramps is doing well. He’s a little cranky about straight-up black coffee and decaf at that, but otherwise, he’s healing from his surgery, and the doctor even cleared him to go back to the office a few hours a day next week. I’ve been holding down the fort, keeping the office running, and keeping in contact with his friend Mr. Morgan from the next town over. They cover for one another, and he’s been taking all of Gramps’ court dates. I’ve been making sure the files are thorough and complete, and it’s been going well. I’ve checked the website for my bar exam results about ten times a day. It would be so much easier if I could just handle everything on my own.
As for Rip, well, this thing between us was unexpected. At least to me it was unexpected. To hear Laramie, my grandparents, and hell, even Sara, they all say they saw it coming. I guess I was too close and too guarded to see it. I never in a million years would have dreamed that Rip and I would end up in a relationship. Sure, it was something I thought a lot about growing up, but never did I think it would be my reality.
“Are we in for the night?” I ask Rip.
“You’re staying, right?” he asks.
“Yeah, I put my bag in your room.”
“Good. Then yes, I’m good with being in for the night.”
It’s Saturday night, and we’ve just finished dinner. Rip threw some steaks on the grill while I made us a salad. I’m about to ask him if he wants to call the guys for a beer or something when his phone rings.
“Hey, Corbin, what’s up?” he greets his best friend. There’s a pause. “Nah, Kenna and I just had dinner. We’re just going to chill here.” Rip laughs and shakes his head. “I’m not denying it. She’s prettier to look at,” he says, smiling down at me. “Later,” he says, ending the call.