Surprise! Turns out I'm full of those today *facepalm* Later today, I'm surprising my husband with a 40th birthday party. He thinks everybody has forgotten about his birthday but they're all coming over to his brother's house to surprise him. I can't wait!
Then last night, when I was grabbing a teaser for the epilogue, I realised I'd forgotten I added another chapter between 30 and the epi, so you get that today instead of the epilogue, which I was already planning to post early. Happy Saturday!
Chapter Thirty-One
Edward
Over the next three weeks, we establish a new routine.
An intoxicating routine that quickly surpasses even my wildest fantasies of what having Bella, the boys, and Max live with me could be like.
Thankfully, Jude opts to stick around a while longer and spends a lot of her time here, with Bella and the boys. She's a kind-hearted woman who adores the family I've adopted as my own, so of course, I quickly fall for her sweet smiles and warm hugs. She seems to take great pleasure in mothering any and all who will let her, including Sullivan, who laps up her attention like a greedy puppy.
The first school day after Bella's release from the hospital, she sits at the counter in the kitchen while I find myself brushing hair and pouring bowls of cereal. I grin as I pack sack lunches into miniature backpacks and remind Jaxson not to let Max drool on him. He's already on his second shirt of the day after giggle-snorting milk down himself when Sullivan cursed a blue streak as he stepped on an errant piece of Lego.
It's all very domestic and something I can tell I'll become addicted to.
For the first time in years, I do the school run. Bella sits in the passenger seat, her hand gripped tightly in mine between gear changes, as the boys chatter happily in the backseat. It's still only the second time I've been to the school since Willow's accident, so I don't argue when Bella insists she's perfectly capable of walking them in herself while I wait outside.
With a dry mouth and clammy hands, I nod and manage a small smile as she blows me a kiss and slowly walks into the school with Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo.
My world becomes a little bigger with the realization that coming back here doesn't mean more bad things will happen.
I've neglected Burger Co. since the accident, so I spend most of my mornings in my study, forcing myself not to go and see what Bella is doing. She often tests my restraint by sending pictures of her tanned legs over the edge of the pool or the blanket nests she likes to make in the wide-cushioned couch in the living room. She keeps herself occupied but I know the boredom is driving her crazy, so I also make time for us to go out a few times a week, even if it's just for a leisurely stroll along the beach with Max splashing in the surf.
By the time Halloween rolls around, I know I'm on borrowed time. Bella is all healed up, even the darkest of bruises now invisible. She returned to work sooner than I would have liked, but she's doing great. We had to tweak our routine a little, but her absence means I get to spend more time with the boys after school. The cooler weather doesn't stifle their enthusiasm for the pool, especially when I admit that I can heat the water for the chillier evenings when we need something to do after homework while we wait for Bella to come home.
And that's just it. I've very quickly replaced 'my house' with 'home' even though I know this isn't going to last.
Bella has started making soft comments starting with 'when we leave' and ending with 'you'll have your peace and quiet back soon.' She doesn't realize I've grown reliant on the noise that accompanies the boys and Max. She doesn't understand how much joy it gives me when I can't concentrate on my work because the boys are racing their remote control cars up and down the hardwood floor in the hall. She can't possibly comprehend how full my heart is when I walk through the front door and I'm greeted with life instead of death.
She doesn't realize it'll destroy me when she packs up the books scattered over the boys' bedroom floor, the random pieces of Lego I keep treading on, and the miniature jackets that hang beside mine, Bella's, and Willow's in the hall.
Swallowing hard as I make my way downstairs in my Halloween costume, my eyes are drawn to Willow's small coat, to her tiny shoes still sitting on the rack below, and my thoughts stray to the bedroom upstairs. It's still exactly as she left it. The pajamas she wore the night before her accident are strewn over the floor. Her bed is unmade, an unfinished drawing sits untouched on the craft table, and her toys still spill haphazardly from the toybox. My lips twitch up a little. She was so proud to show me that she'd tidied them all away.
"Oh, look at you!" Alice sings, sashaying down the hall in her skin-tight catsuit to snap me out of my realization that maybe it's time to make a few changes around here.
Maybe it's time to let my precious girl go.
"You look great!"
With burning ears, I manage a faint smirk as I hold my arms out and take the last step down. "Thanks. You look...good."
"Thank you!"
Looping her arm through mine, she leads me down the hall to the kitchen where the doors have been thrown open to the patio, welcoming in the cool but pleasant fall air. It seems like half of Jackson Bay is congregating here, in my once-deathly silent house. It was Bella's idea to host a pre-trick or treating party at my place and I'll admit I wasn't onboard at the start. It took some convincing, but once I agreed, she ran full steam ahead with the party planning and did a fantastic job. The decor is great, there's enough candy here to supply the entire town, and everywhere I look, I can see smiles.
My parents flew in with Jasper, Alice, and Matty. Mom is a witch while Dad has come as a doctor complete with gory 'bloodstained' scrubs. Alice, Jasper, and Matty have come as Catwoman, Batman, and Robin. I spot Charlie and Renee across the yard, dressed as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley and standing with Benjamin and Angela. Danny messed up their plan for a family get-up—he's running around somewhere in a spacesuit while they're rocking their Joker and Harley Quinn costumes. Somewhere, Sullivan is running around in a full werewolf costume with a built-in speaker that randomly plays howling noises. The boys think it's great and join in every time, which then sets off Max and the Samuels's pugs.
There's a sea of smiling, laughing people taking over my yard, with more arriving every second it seems. As I crane my neck and hunt for Bella, I see vampires, ghosts, surfer dudes, minions, clowns, skeletons, princesses, witches...every kind of costume imaginable.
Then I see her. Way across the yard with the most beautiful smile on her face as she twists a red pigtail between her fingers. Alice is distracted by Matty, so I grab a can of soda from the ice bucket and meander across the patio. When I make it to Bella, I realize I was wrong before.
This smile, the one that stretches across her face when she sees me in my costume for the first time, is the most beautiful smile in the world.
"Well, cowboy…." she whistles, thoroughly embarrassing me in front of Jane Samuels and Carlie. "I like this look on you."
Peering down at my bright yellow shirt, cow-print vest, and pointy cowboy boots, I snort. Then I turn my attention to her get-up and I think...I think I could get on board. A tight silk shirt, figure-hugging denim skirt, and knee-high boots make up her Jessie costume. Not forgetting her scarlet cowboy hat, of course. I have a matching brown one on my head.
"I look ridiculous, but you, short stuff, look delicious."
As the girls coo, I take the opportunity to glance around and make sure Charlie isn't looking in our direction before laying one on her. He's been a great sport and even admitted that he's kind of glad we're together, because he knows we'll be good to each other, but neither of us want to push him. We promised no PDA, after all.
Pressing my lips against hers in a brief kiss that does nothing to temper the attraction I feel for her, I smile. "I love you."
Beaming brighter than the sun, she reaches up to stroke my cheek, her eyes only on me as she murmurs her soft "I love you, too."
Later, before we all head out trick-or-treating, a woman I recognize as an occasional visitor to the restaurant rushes over to introduce herself. "I'm Lexi," she beams, tucking her hair behind her ear. She's come dressed in a black leotard with planets stuck all over her body—the solar system, I assume. "I work for the paper. I'm just doing the rounds, trying to get photos of as many party-goers as possible. Mr. Swan invited me," she adds quickly.
"Ooh, that would be great. Could you wait one sec? I just need to grab our boys."
I don't have long enough to ruminate over the fact that Bella called the boys 'our' boys before she's herding them back toward us and guiding me into position in front of the steps, which have been decorated with pumpkins and spooky figurines—all Bella's handiwork, of course.
Lexi shoots me an odd look and raises an eyebrow as she checks the first picture of all five of us. "You could smile, Mr. Cullen!"
Bella elbows me in the side as my mind finally quiets. Wrapping an arm around her waist and resting a hand on Arlo's Buzz Lightyear helmet as she reminds Jaxson and Finley—or Green Army Man and Rex—to stand still, I can't help but grin wide, even when the flash of Lexi's camera almost blinds me and especially when she shows us the screen and tells us something we already know.
We have a beautiful family.
~ oOo ~
Once the tricks and treats have been doled out and the sun has set, the boys are so full of sugar that they go crazy for an hour before suddenly crashing. Carrying a tuckered out Green Army Man in one arm and an equally sleepy Rex in the other, I trail behind Bella and almost well up at how lovely she is whispering to our sleeping Buzz Lightyear, his head pillowed on her shoulder, his helmet and her wig in her free hand.
The house is a wreck, exactly the way we left it to go trick-or-treating with all our friends and family, but we make the decision to tidy up tomorrow and head down the hall to our room after tucking the boys in. Everything else can wait, I just want Bella.
As I sprawl out on the bed with my hands behind my head, Bella slowly, sensually removes each piece of her costume until she's clad only in her fake red Stetson and sinfully little else. I already know the tiny scrap of lace hiding her sweet pussy from me will easily give way with a tug.
With a teasing, rosy-cheeked smile, she takes her time removing her bra. The moonlight streams through the gap in the curtains, illuminating her gray gaze and the flush spreading over her chest as she crawls up the bed toward me.
"You're wearing too many clothes, cowboy," she whispers, her words ghosting over me. Her mouth over my skin brands me everywhere it touches, her kisses driving me crazy by the time she reaches my lips where she sets up camp, her hips resting over my abs and her hands twisting themselves into my hair.
"I could say the same about you."
She stifles her giggle against my mouth as we both hear the quiet rip of her panties giving way under my greedy fingers.
I flip us over, shivering as Bella deliberately grazes my skin with her cow-print nails while she undoes the buttons of my shirt. When we're both left in just our cowboy hats, we stare at each other for a moment, heat simmering between us and "I love you's" in every touch, every gaze.
Her hands trail lightly over my chest, one of her palms pausing to rest over the fast thud of my heart. It beats for her. My eyes follow the gentle slope of her delicate nose to the sweet curve of her smile. Breaths are exchanged as well as murmured promises of love, adoration, and support. Our bodies know this dance well, my hard length sliding home with a slight shift of position. Her breathy sigh is met with a low groan, my guttural curse swallowed by her desperate kiss. She's maddening, intoxicating, breath-stealing sin.
We twist and turn, bend and break, and put each other back together again with soothing words and bone-melting kisses. The hats come off and Bella takes the reins, turning us so that she's over me and around me and filling me up with the love I didn't know I was missing.
The moonlight makes her gray gaze shine a brilliant silver, her mouth parted in a silent scream as I find the sweet spot that makes her lose her mind. Falling apart with my name on her lips, she's never been more stunning and I've never wanted to consume her more.
I follow her, of course. I'll always follow her.
And when we're both exhausted, both sated and smiling too wide as she drapes herself over my sweaty chest after running to the bathroom to clean up, I feel whole.
"I love you, handsome," she whispers into the dark, pressing a kiss against my racing heart.
"I love you, short stuff." My kiss lands on her forehead, a tired smile tugging at my lips because I feel the shiver that travels up her spine.
Lying there in the silence, the woman I love in my arms and our boys sleeping contentedly down the hall, my thoughts wander. Before I can chicken out, I voice the decision I've been tossing around in my mind for weeks now, but only made today.
"I want to renovate the house."
The fingers drawing mindless shapes on my stomach still. "Renovate?"
"Yeah," I sigh. "I love this house, but I want it to feel like…" ours.
I want to get rid of the remnants of Kate that still linger in the colors on the walls and the kitchen cabinets she picked out. I want to spend hours looking at paint colors in the hardware store with Bella and have her choose what the kitchen counters should look like so that, in the future, I can teach the boys to cook in a kitchen she and I designed together. I want to help the boys with their math homework at a table she and I picked out. I want to make blanket nests with her on a sofa we tested out together.
It's too soon to ask Bella to move in permanently, I think, but I do want Bella to know that living together is something I'll want sooner rather than later, if she and the boys are amenable. Hell, if I didn't think she'd kill me, I'd have hired movers and had all their belongings moved down here while she was in the hospital. Thinking about asking Bella to move in leads me to imagining myself asking her another very important question; goosebumps rise over my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
It's way too soon for that...isn't it?
"Can I help? I uncovered a love of decorating I didn't know I had when I bought my house."
With a grin, I squeeze her tighter to me and nod. "I was hoping you would."
Bella lifts herself up, propping her chin on her palm with an impish smile. "I haven't said it yet, but I'm really proud of you, Edward. You've grown so much even just in the five months I've been back. Your spark is returning."
My...spark. Right.
Her soft laugh makes it pretty damn clear my confusion isn't all that hidden. "You'd lost your spark, handsome, but every day you seem a little more like yourself. I just like seeing you happy, is all."
Rolling us over so she's caged in my arms, her leg sneaking between mine and one of her hands coming to rest on my abs, I sneak a quick kiss. "It's you, Bella. You make me happy. You and our boys."
~ oOo ~
"It gives me great pleasure to welcome the new Mr. and Mrs. Swan to the room! Give the bride and groom some love, people!"
Everyone chuckles at the best man's introduction, all of us rising to our feet to applaud the blushing bride and her Cheshire-cat-grinning husband as they enter the community center. Benjamin and Angela make a stunning couple, both of them smiling so hard their cheeks must be hurting. Once they've taken their seats, we all settle back into ours and are quickly served our food.
Smirking, Sullivan leans into my space to whisper, "Does it sting that you weren't asked to cater?"
Bella, Everly, and Rosalie laugh at my vehement "Not even a little." Continuing, I add, "If Burger Co. had catered, I would have been a nervous wreck running all over the place to make sure it all went off without a hitch."
Thanking the server as she sets my food in front of me, I hum at how good it looks and offer my brother the crooked grin we share. "This way, I can chill out with my family and not have to worry about a thing."
The few of us who were roped in to help out have done a great job turning the biggest room in the bay's small community center into a beautiful reception venue. There are only fifty or so people here, almost all of them family. The tables are set up in shades of cream and white with pink accents here and there. At one end of the room, there's a small stage rigged up with speakers, a microphone, and a guitar stand for the musician when he gets here a bit later. For now, soft, romantic music is playing through the overhead speakers which have been carefully hidden behind the white bunting Charlie and I were responsible for putting up this morning.
As we all tuck into our food, my thoughts stray to the somewhat nerve-wracking conversation I had with Charlie, my eyes sliding to my left to Bella. She's crazy beautiful in her soft pink bridesmaid dress. It's got thin straps and a flappy, extra bit of floaty material that hangs over the top of her arms. It's 'extra detail,' I was told very succinctly this morning when I asked what the purpose of the material was. All three bridesmaids, Bella, Rosalie, and Everly, have their hair loose down their backs in gentle waves, their bangs pinned back off their faces, so I can see the unabashedly happy smile on my love's face as she laughs at something Finley says before switching a couple of prawns from his plate to hers, replacing them with a few scallops.
My heart aches, but not with the pain that had become so second-nature to me. Contentment and love fill me up as I set down my knife and fork for a moment, looking around at the friends who are really family.
Charlie and Renee are up on the top table with the bride and groom and Angela's parents. They're both grinning broadly at each other when I glance over.
Much to everybody's surprise, Rosalie has brought a date to the wedding today. Bryce seems like a nice enough guy, but he's brash and a little rude at times. I've already caught Bella and Everly cursing him out twice while their sister is distracted, and even Rosalie's looking irritated by him. I don't think he'll be around long.
Everly has Jaxson on one side of her, Sullivan on the other, and she's handling their craziness like a pro. "Hey, Jax, do you want to try a giant booger?" she's saying, waving an oyster in front of his scrunched-up face as I tune into their conversation, glancing at Sullivan as he bursts out laughing and falls in love with her on the spot.
Then there's Arlo between me and Sullivan. He's twisted all the way around in his chair to wave at Jude, who is on the table with a bunch of Charlie's many sisters. She hit it off with a few of them at the Halloween party, so she's more than happy sitting with them now as our table is already full. She blows Arlo a kiss and mimes eating her food so he'll get the hint to turn around and behave. When he does, he finds me watching him and grins with no shame.
"Can you help me cut this?"
Without missing a beat, Bella stresses "please" over her shoulder.
Arlo nods and rolls his eyes, but does as he's told and cheerfully thanks me once I'm done helping him with his food. "Are we gonna party after this?"
"We sure are, bud," I laugh lightly, stifling the urge to ruffle his hair. I know better than to do that after watching Bella battle his mop into submission this morning. Right now, it's still in the neat, straight waves she brushed out earlier. Give it a couple hours, and it'll either be a wild mane around his face or tied up in a messy knot on top of his head.
"Will you dance with me?"
"Uh…" Dancing isn't really my thing, but the hope in Arlo's dark eyes breaks me. Since losing his cast a couple days ago, he's making full use of his new freedom. "Sure I will."
Sullivan coughs to hide his laugh, winking at Arlo when he asks him what's up. "Nothin', little dude. You'll see later."
Unconcerned by Sullivan's cryptic response hinting at my god-awful dancing, Arlo tucks into his dinner with the enthusiasm I've come to expect from him, which leaves me free to continue people-watching.
Only, I'm busted.
Bella's eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiles, reaching over to squeeze my forearm. "Are you okay?"
Am I okay?
"I've never been better."
~ oOo ~
Benjamin and Angela's wedding day has been both relaxing and a pleasure, but there's no relief like Bella stepping into my arms as the sunset paints the sky a glorious mixture of pinks, purples, and blues, the cool breeze whipping in off the ocean a welcome balm to the heat inside.
Out here, on the deck overlooking the water, we're alone—for now.
"Dance with me," Bella demands, flashing me a smirk when I grumble a curse but take her hand in mine anyway, my other hand slipping down to rest in the curve of her waist. The faint sounds of a MAJOR song reach us through the ajar windows. I grin into Bella's hair and hum along with the hired musician, my eyes slipping closed.
"I found love in you.
And I've learned to love me too.
Never have I felt that I could be all that you see.
It's like our hearts have intertwined into the perfect harmony."
"You sappy thing, you," Bella teases softly, twisting her fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck and tipping her face up to treat me to the stunning vista that is her eyes. They're such an unusual color, so pretty and bottomless.
"What, I'm sappy because I know the tune of a romantic song?"
"No, you're sappy because you're humming the tune and swaying us to the music," she laughs, but the soft look on her face takes any sting out of her teasing.
"Well, then I'm sappy," I agree, guiding her cheek back to my chest and tucking my chin over her crown. "Now let me be all romantic and shit, woman."
Giggling, she murmurs, "Sir, yes, Sir."
In the peace and tranquility of our unexpected solitude, I let everything fall away so nothing can detract from this moment here with Bella and nobody else as we sway together and listen to the distant rush of the ocean meeting the shore, the breeze rustling the palms.
"I'm going to miss you when we go to England next week," she whispers after the song has segued into another, this one more upbeat.
Blowing out a deep breath, there's no denying that I'm going to miss the shit out of her and the boys, too, so I don't even try. They've had this trip planned since before they moved back to Florida though, so I can't complain even if I were inclined to—which I'm not, because I know it's going to be tough saying goodbye to Jude when she flies home on Monday, a week before Bella and the boys join her for ten days in England. I'm not looking forward to it either, if I'm honest. She's been here over a month now, her steady presence not something I think any of us are ready to lose just yet.
Of course, she'll be back and not just to see us. Her new man will miss her as much as we will.
Nobody was more mortified than me two weeks ago when I stopped into Mr. Eddison's house next door, worried because I hadn't seen much of him recently, and found him and Jude 'making kissy faces,' as the boys call it. I don't think I've ever felt my cheeks burn so hot as I did while I bumbled through my apology and got the hell out of there. In the two weeks since, we've had a few dinners together and Mr. Eddison came with us to Lake Eola on Friday. They're not a couple I ever would have predicted, but they make each other happy, and that's all I can ask for my old friend and the woman who is, for all intents and purposes, another grandma to our boys.
"You could come with us," Bella finally says, squeezing me around the waist. "Burger Co. is closed for most of December, anyway. I think it's only open five days out of the ten we're away, and I'm sure Sully would love the extra money for his trip."
My mind takes off at a sprint as I attempt to work out the logistics of taking five days off to go with Bella and the boys. I've never been to England, so it would be great to experience it with them—especially at Christmas time. But does it make me a shitty boss, taking off at such short notice? Possibly. Then again, December is arguably our quietest month of the year and I know Bella's right about Sullivan wanting the hours. He's been picking up the odd shift for me whenever anyone is sick or on vacation, but he and some of his high school buddies are going skiing in January so I know he'd be grateful for a few extra days of work.
The boys make the decision for me.
The slapping of hands against glass makes Bella jump; she twists in my arms, her body shaking against mine as she laughs at their faces smushed against the windows. All three of them have lost multiple components of their tuxes and, just as I predicted a couple of hours ago, Arlo's hair is piled on top of his head in a scruffy topknot. Even so, they're adorable as fuck and I can't help but compare them to the kids I met just five months ago.
They've all grown so much. I swear they get taller and older and smarter every damn day. I already feel like I miss stuff on the days they spend at their house instead of mine. Bella and I came to an agreement that weekdays would be spent at her place, weekends at mine, at least until the renovations are all done. I've already ripped out half of the kitchen, unwilling to put it off when I just want Kate out of my damn house already. Once that's done, we'll revisit the topic of them moving in with me. In hindsight, asking on Thanksgiving morning just before we all left to go spend the day at Charlie and Renee's probably wasn't my best or brightest idea, but I don't want to wait. I don't want to waste a minute of time I could be spending with the people I love the most—and Max, of course. I spent too long wallowing in grief and loneliness to put off the happiness I know I can have with Bella and the boys.
With that in mind, I realize I don't want to miss seeing Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo light up when Jude and Bella take them to the Christmas markets back in England. I want to be there when they take them to see Santa at the grotto they've been going to ever since the twins were born. I don't want to miss seeing the lights getting switched on at the park where Bella, Jude, and the boys will pick out Jude's Christmas tree.
"Okay."
Twisting to look up at me, Bella frowns. "'Okay,' what?"
"Okay, I'll come with you. If you're sure."
Instead of answering, or I suppose her actions are answer enough, she turns and grabs my face in both of her hands, tugging me down so we're forehead to forehead, nose to nose. "You will? You'll come with us?"
"I will," I chuckle. "I don't want to miss all the holiday stuff with you and the boys, even though we'll probably do a bunch of it again here with everybody else. You guys are my family. I want to be where you are, and if that's England…" I shrug, smiling at her teary-eyed grin. "If Jude has room for one more, I'll get online tomorrow and see what tickets are still available."
Once she gets over her initial rush of excitement, Bella announces that she needs to go tell Jude and heads for the door as Sullivan throws it open, loudly declaring it 'too fucking mushy in there.' The musician has switched to a more romantic tone again; I can see numerous couples dancing closely together and Bella immediately orders me to come inside in a few minutes so she can give me a twirl on the dancefloor.
"Yes, dear," I tease, shooting her a wink and a smirk as she blows me a kiss and slips inside.
Sullivan rolls his eyes and pretends to gag as he sidles over to join me. "Did you do it yet?"
Cursing under my breath, I lightly tap the back of his head and bump him with my shoulder when he just laughs and leans against the wooden railing around the edge of the deck. "No, you ass. I wish I hadn't even told you I was thinking about it."
"Thinking about it, schminking about it. You're gonna propose and you know it."
I find myself fighting a shit-eating grin, because, yeah, I've decided that I'm gonna propose to Bella.
I've been alone for six years. That's a long time to think you'll never find love again, to think you don't care if you spend the rest of your life wallowing in self-pity and misery. But it's not true. I have found it, and I don't ever want to lose it or let it go. She's only been back in my life for six months and dating for even less than that, but she's it for me.
I want to be able to call Bella my wife, if she'll have me as her husband.
"I spoke to Charlie this morning," I admit, able to smile about it now I have his blessing. I was probably more nervous than Benjamin and Angela this morning when I decided to broach the topic with him while we were here, setting up the last few decorations.
"Where'd you think this should go? Here?"
Rubbing my freshly trimmed beard, I take a big step back and shake my head. "A little to your right. There we go. It's level with the other end now, see?"
Charlie pins the end of the bunting, climbing down from the stepladder with a muttered curse. If it weren't for the tiny smile on his face, I'd think he was hating this. "I can't believe I'm here doing manual labor on my firstborn's wedding day." Pointing a finger at me with a suddenly serious expression, he frowns. "Don't you be getting any ideas, EC. This is it, this is the last damn wedding for a good while, and I'm absolutely not spending my girls' wedding days pinning up mini fuckin' flags."
Barking a nervous laugh, I rake a hand through my hair and grimace. Sweaty, gross. "Well, about that…"
Charlie's eyes widen. He throws his hands out, backing away from me. "Oh, no. You're kidding!"
"I'm not in any rush, Charlie, but Bella's it for me. There's gonna be a day sometime in the future when I'm gonna ask for your permission to ask Bella a certain question, and you know I'm a stubborn jackass."
Muttering something unintelligible, he grabs his soda from the table near him and downs the rest. Then he shakes his head and strides over to me, his dark eyes narrowed. "Have you got a ring?"
"No, not yet." Reaching up to squeeze his shoulder, I smile. "Like I said, I'm in no rush, and neither is she. But I just thought you'd appreciate the heads up."
"Well, we'll see how you feel in twenty years when some girl is shacking up with one of the boys," he grumbles, heading back to his ladder.
I laugh quietly, getting back to work untangling the ribbons of bunting, but after a little while Charlie calls my name. Looking up, I find him trying to hold back a grin. "For what it's worth, you've got it."
"Got what?"
Rolling his eyes, he turns back to the bunting he's attempting to pin up. "My permission, asshole. Don't make me spell it out for you. I know you're not that stupid. My daughter chose you, after all."
No, I think to myself with the goofiest of grins. She didn't just choose me. She saved me.
Brought back to the present by Sullivan asking how Charlie took it, I feel my lips curling up into a nervous smile as I toss an arm around my little brother and gaze out at the sun sinking below the horizon. One day, probably soon, I'm going to ask the woman I love more than life itself if she'll tie herself to me for the rest of our sunsets.
There's just one thing I need before I can do that.
"I need your help with something before I go to England with Bella and the boys next week," I admit, waving him off when he snorts and tells me he knew I'd end up going.
It's possible I told Charlie a little white lie when I said I'm not in any rush to make an honest woman of his daughter, but I didn't want to freak him out, especially not on his son's wedding day.
"I'm gonna go pick out a ring."
*sigh* I'd spend all my sunsets with our sweet EC, would you?