Then she holds out a red Blow Pop.
“If you want,” she says impishly, though her expression conveys utter sincerity, “this is me asking.”
I’m not even sure if I’m still standing. But I’m not a moron, either. “Yeah, I want.”
Fingers tugging my shirt, she leans up to press her lips to mine. I’m still half stunned for a few seconds before my brain reboots and I wrap my arms around her, kissing her deeply. This amazing, absurd woman who has no idea what she’s getting herself into.
“You’re going to get sick of how much I love you,” I tell her, brushing her hair off her shoulders. “Totally disgusted with it.”
“I’ll take that bet.” She tips her head to smile at me, then tries to kiss me again.
“Listen.” I hold her still. “Don’t get me wrong, I love this plan. Whatever you had for breakfast, let’s stick with that. But what about …” Hell, I don’t know how to say it. “You know, your dad. And your brothers. I’m pretty sure they have a hole dug somewhere with my name on it.”
“What about your brother?” she counters. “Who cares. They’ll come around or they won’t. You’re what I want. The only thing I’ve ever asked for. I think I’m kind of entitled at this point.”
“Well, I have a feeling Cooper will come around sooner than you think.”
For the first time in my life, I can picture my future more than a few days out. A sense of family and security. Permanence. Me and Gen, married and blissfully happy. I’m catching glimpses of what waking up to someone feels like, knowing they aren’t rushing to sneak out with their shoes in their hands.
“Seriously. We’re doing this?” I ask roughly. “Because if you think you had to come up with some grand gesture to get me back, you could have just shown me your tits. I would’ve caved right away. No question.” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I don’t want you to think we need to get married to prove this is real.”
She flashes a cocky grin. “Trust me, I’ve known I’ve had you whipped since seventh grade.”
“See.” With my arms around her, I slide my hands into her back pockets to grab her ass. “You think that’s an insult, but I don’t mind a bit. My masculinity is entirely intact. I’d follow this ass anywhere.”
This time when she tries to kiss me, I let her. She does me in when she bites my lip. By then, I’ve got no sense left. Instead, I wrap my arms under her thighs to lift her up around my hips as we kiss.
How did I ever think I could live without this? Her skin under my palms. Her taste on my tongue. The way my heart beats almost painfully fast when she weaves her fingers into my hair and pulls. This woman.
As Gen begins to breathe harder, sliding her tongue in my mouth to tangle with mine, I shove my hand up her shirt to grab a handful of her breast. She arches into my hand, grinding herself on me. I’m hard and pushing against the zipper of my shorts as she scrapes her teeth against the stubble on my chin and runs her tongue down my neck.
“Wait.” She lowers her legs to stand. “Get in the backseat of my car.”
I stare at her. “You know, if a cop comes by, this time we’ll both end up spending a night in jail.”
“Maybe. But I’ll take my chances.” She plants a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Gotta be a bad girl some of the time, right?”
Good enough for me. Because I’ll take her any way I can.
Forever.
EPILOGUE
GENEVIEVE
I’ve got my head in the twins’ linen closet looking for an outdoor tablecloth when I’m jolted by a pair of arms coming around me from behind. Evan’s lips brush my neck. His hands travel up my ribs, under my shirt, to sneak their way past my bra and cup my breasts. I feel his erection pressing against my ass.
“I want you,” he breathes.
“So you keep saying.” This is the fourth time this afternoon he’s cornered me somewhere around the house to make his intentions clear. “Dinner will be ready soon.”
One hand slides down my stomach and into my shorts. “I want to eat now.”
A hot shiver rolls through me. He isn’t playing fair. Since we made the engagement official, we can’t keep our hands off each other. Evan’s new favorite game—which I’ve been less than sincere about deterring—is seeing how close he can get to outright seducing me in public before I call a time-out.
So far, pretty damn close.
“Have I mentioned I love you?” he whispers, his fingers slipping between my thighs. “Especially this part.”
“Especially?” I yank his hand free and turn to face him, eyebrow raised.
“Equally. I meant equally. As I love all the …” His eyes drag over my body. “Parts of you.”
“Just for that”—I reach under my shirt and unclasp my strapless bra, letting it drop to the floor—“I’m not wearing a bra to dinner.”
“Whoops.” Mac appears around the corner of the hallway. She pauses, then spins on her heel. “Carry on. Not even here.”
With a devilish grin, Evan bends down and picks up my bra. He shoves it in his back pocket. “I’m keeping this.”
Among the stranger things he’s done, this is up there. “Why?”
“You’ll find out.”
Far too happy with himself, he saunters off.
Once I’ve found the tablecloth, I head back to the kitchen where Mac is placing trays of food on a larger serving tray to carry outside. I toss the cloth at Evan and order him to go set the table on the deck.
“So what’s the score?” Mac asks me.
“Honestly, I’ve lost count.” I spoon the potato salad into a big bowl then pull the roasted carrots out of the oven.
We’re having an al fresco buffet-style dinner tonight. Several of our friends, along with Riley and his aunt, are already outside milling about. Steph keeps joking that it’s our engagement dinner, but it’s really not. More of a spur-of-the-moment suggestion on the part of Evan, whose impulsive tendencies haven’t completely abated.
He bumps into me while pulling utensils out of a drawer. “I’m winning.”
“I’m gonna say this again—” Cooper announces, coming to stand in the middle of the kitchen.
“Coop, stop.” Mac rolls her eyes as she picks up a tray laden with various salads.
“No, I’d like to reiterate. If I find out anyone but me is having sex on my bed, I’m setting theirs on fire in the backyard.”
“Dude.” Evan laughs at him. “Seriously, what makes you think I’d want to blow a load in your room? I’ve heard what you get up to in there.”
For that, he gets a swift smack to the arm from Mac.
“Just so you know,” Cooper shoots back as Evan is picking a cucumber spear off the cutting board to pop in his mouth. “I’ve had sex with her on that counter. So enjoy.”
“Jesus.” Evan shudders. “I know you confuse me with a mirror, but we don’t actually share a dick, man. Keep it to yourself.”
Lately, most of the ribbing has come at our expense. Just a little good-natured teasing about our newly engaged bliss. That we’re too young to get married and, before we know it, we’ll both be bored with each other and drowning in baby diapers. Still, it doesn’t faze us. Like Evan told Cooper when we announced it, we know we’re forever. We’ve always known.