However, today the vehicle was being used as a moving van.
Rory jumped out of his Audi, which was also filled with boxes, and came to inspect my parking. “Not bad.”
“What do you mean, not bad? It’s great.”
“You need to be a little farther to the left.”
“Fuck off. It’s damn near perfect.”
“If you say so.”
I play-punched his hard abs and opened the back of the pet hospital so we could start unloading boxes. Rory had moved in with me as we’d house hunted, so we’d only the one flat to bring all our belongings from, and since my place had been furnished, we’d had to buy all new stuff. Luckily, Rory wasn’t the only one with savings.
“Rory, what’s in these boxes?” I asked.
“It says on them.” He pointed to the scrawl from a Sharpie.
“Yeah this says Sentimental shit on it. What does that even mean?”
“Photos, certificates, concert tickets, magnets, and other shit you’ve collected.”
“Other shit like, oh I don’t know, a feckless fiancé?”
He grinned. “You love me.”
“Sadly, yes. Foodie shit?” I inquired, pointing to another box.
“Aye, stuff I found in the kitchen that was weird.”
I put down the box I was carrying and opened the foodie shit box. I found my stick liquidiser, a mortar and pestle, salt and pepper grinders, a garlic crusher, a panini maker, and a bunch of other things. Poor useless man.
“This is not weird. This is useful.”
“If you say so. This will be your favourite box, though.” He held up one, and in great big letters he’d written, KINKY LACEY’S SEX TOYS.
“Rory! I hate you.”
He chuckled and ran for the stairs.
I ran after him and found him in the bedroom on the bed, opening the box.
“Come and get your toys, kitten.” I climbed on the bed and straddled him as he held a vibrator out of arm’s reach.
He dropped it and placed his hands on my hips, urging me to sit on top of him. He was hard, and when I made contact, he groaned.
I hissed at the hardness and began to rock my hips. “We need to christen this bed.”
“We do.”
I reached for his belt and undid it. Reaching into his jeans, I touched his flesh and grinned.
“Yoohoo. Anyone home?” A cheerful voice from downstairs made me freeze.
“Fuck. Olivia,” I said.
“We could pretend we’re not home,” Rory whispered.
“Pretty sure the door being open is a sign we’re home.”
“If we don’t answer, she might assume we’re ... you know.”
“Unlikely to stop Olivia,” I pointed out.
“Sadly true.” Rory eased my hand out of his underwear and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Later.”
“You bet.”
I climbed off him and headed for the stairs. “Just coming.”
When I got downstairs, Olivia, David, and baby Jasmine were on the sofa.
“Sorry. Were you two shagging?”
Heat crept up my cheeks, but I shook my head. “No, we were trying to figure out what’s wrong with the toilet.”
“A likely story,” said Olivia, holding Jasmine out to me. “Here, hold your goddaughter.”
The baby was sleeping, so I gently ran my hand over her head and delighted at the feel of her thick, curly hair.
“David’s mum keeps telling me I’ll need to learn to braid her hair in a few months,” Olivia said. “David said I can practice on his hair.”
David removed his ball cap to show his hair was getting long. “My mum’s a good teacher. Maybe you and Lacey can learn together.”
“That would be fun,” I said. “I chatted to your mum at the wedding for a short time. She’s really nice and immensely proud of you.”
“So, when are you two starting a family?” asked David.
Rory walked in, and I glanced up at him, concerned he would balk at the idea.
He flashed me an easy grin. “Whenever she wants. She’s the one in control.”
“You want one?”
He shrugged, sat down, and eased me and the baby onto his knee. “I want whatever makes you happy.”
“Let’s at least wait until after the wedding before trying. It’s only a few months away.”
He shrugged. “Fine with me.”
As we entertained our best friends, I knew he meant it. He had settled back into our relationship with ease, and we were heading towards our wedding in the new year without any bumps in the road.
We were solid. And if he ever had any doubt in the future, this time we’d talk it out and fight for our love. I would never let him walk away again because I knew it would be not just my heart that would be shattered if we did.
The End