“I know,” she says, her hand splaying over my chest.
“I just want to love you,” I say. “I want to put you first. I want to see you smile every day and know I’m the reason. I want to be your person. I want to make my home in you, and I want you to make your home in me.”
“I want that too,” she says. “More than anything.”
“I told you I would never ask you to marry me, and I meant it—”
“I’ll ask,” she says, tipping up on her toes, her hands on my shoulders.
“Wait—what?” I look down at her, eyes wide.
She looks right back up at me, her gaze unwavering. “I’ll ask you. Ryan, you deserve to be asked—not right now,” she adds quickly, and we both let out a nervous laugh.
“No, yeah,” I say, nodding as if she hasn’t just punched a hole through my universe.
“My divorce isn’t even final yet,” she hedges.
“Fair,” I say, still reeling.
“And if it’s okay with you, I’d like us to just take this slow,” she goes on. “I want us to enjoy each other. No cages, no labels, right?”
“Of course,” I say, nodding like a bobblehead.
“But I will ask you, Ryan,” she says again, a smile curling her lips. “If we someday decide that a legal marriage is what we both want, then when I’m ready…when we’re ready…I’ll ask you to be my husband.”
“Are you serious right now?”
She flips my hair off my brow with gentle fingers. “It’s like what you said about soulmates. You don’t know what it means to have one until you have one. I think perhaps I was too quick to dismiss the labels of husband and wife and what they could mean to me because I hadn’t met the person who was meant to carry that title with me.” She smiles, dropping her hand away. “Ryan Puppy Langley, you’re the best person I know. You’re so kind and loving. You’re gentle, yet strong. You listen. You learn. You fight and grow. I’m in love with you, and I’d be honored to be your wife…someday…probably…” Her grins widens and there’s a twinkle in her eye. “I know that’s not the most romantic of not-proposals, but it’s as vague as I can make it.”
Joy floods through me, and then I have her in my arms. “I’m gonna need you to say that again,” I say, my face nuzzling her neck.
“What—the whole thing? Ryan, that was total word salad.”
“No, just the last part—or the second to last part—the “L” word part,” I clarify.
She laughs, her hands stroking my back. “I love you, Ryan.”
I groan. “Again.”
“Don’t get greedy,” she teases.
“Too late,” I reply, my hands drifting down to cup her perfect ass. “You know that’s my fatal flaw. I’m greedy when it comes to you. I want every kiss…” I brush my lips against hers. “Every smile…”
“They’re yours,” she replies, her face glowing with joy.
“Every orgasm,” I add with a smirk.
“There I draw the line,” she says, pushing against my shoulder. “You know how much I like playing with my toys. And you travel a lot. I can’t possibly give them all to you.”
I consider for a moment. “That’s fair. How about when I’m away, I still get to watch? We haven’t experimented with video calls yet. That could be fun.”
“Sorry, puppy. This show is live action only,” she teases, her strokes shifting from loving to seeking, her hands brushing down my abs and over my hips. “What if I promise to think of you when I come and you’re not around?”
I groan, sinking against her as I kiss her neck. “Don’t go breaking my heart—”
She stills, pushing me off her gently to hold my gaze. “Don’t break mine.”
“Never. Tess, I’m gonna be so good to you.”
“We’ll be good to each other,” she replies, kissing up my jaw. Her hands slip under my shirt to stroke the warm skin of my back.
I weave my fingers into the curly hair at her nape and give it a pull, loving the little hiss she does, the way her eyes heat as she gazes up at me like I’m the only thing she sees. Smirking down at her, I add, “And if we ever do get married, we’re having mac and cheese at our wedding.”
She laughs, her hands slipping down to cup my ass, pulling me tight against her. Then she angles her mouth up and whispers in my ear, “Make it lobster mac and cheese, and I’ll even wear white.”