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“Okay, guys,” I called as I swallowed down the last of my beer and resigned myself to spending the evening channel surfing surrounded by at least one bunny butt pressed up against some part of my face. “Thumper, Bugs, Hazel, Snowball, Bunnicula, come on, dinnertime.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the three names Christopher had come up with to replace my ill-advised numbering system. He’d absolutely refused to use Google to find some famous bunny names, but after he’d only managed to come up with Hazel, the only female rabbit name he could remember fromWatership Down, he’d sought out expert help from a younger generation.
His sister, Rory, had come up with Snowball from thePetsmovies while Luca’s daughter, Violet, had insisted that the last rabbit be named Bunnicula. When questioned, the little girl had insisted not only was Bunnicula a female name but that it fit perfectly because Bunnicula the movie rabbit and our Bunnicula both loved to suck the juice out of vegetables.
Since there was no arguing with that kind of logic, rabbit number five had been christened as such.
As predicted, all the rabbits came hopping up the steps followed by an excited but still pretty wobbly Pip. I was in the process of following everyone inside when something white caught my eye. I looked over my shoulder and saw a white rabbit in the grass. “Snowball, what the hell—” I began only to notice that while the rabbit in the grass was white, it wasn’t solid white like Snowball.
I put my beer bottle down and slowly made my way down the porch steps. “Hey, sweetie, where did you come from?” I said softly. Since I’d checked the fence for holes just that morning, there was no way the rabbit had gotten into the yard that way.
To my surprise, the rabbit didn’t run away as I approached it. It continued to munch on the grass like I wasn’t even there. I gently picked the bunny up but stopped short when I realized the little creature had some kind of sheer, pink material tied around its neck. “What the—” I began but stopped short when a ray of sunlight hit something shiny that was dangling from the makeshift collar. More confused than ever, I lifted the rabbit up higher so I could see what had caught the light. Assuming it was some kind of ID tag, I tried to get a better look, but the bunny wasn’t loving the idea of being held so high off the ground, so I tucked her against my chest and searched out the object with my fingers.
As soon as the smooth material hit my skin, I knew what it was.
The soft click of a door shutting had me looking up. I nearly dropped the rabbit in surprise when I saw who it was that was standing on the back porch surrounded by five confused and hungry bunnies and one very happy orange tabby.
“You said you were coming home tomorrow,” I blurted even as I drank in the sight of Christopher.
“Did I?” Christopher said in all innocence.
Bullshit innocence.
Not that I cared at all. As he slowly made his way down the stairs, I met him there in just a few big strides. I kissed him before he could object, but when the bunny in my arms began struggling, I realized I’d been squishing the poor thing between us in my haste to get closer to Christopher.
“Hi,” I said softly.
“Hi,” he said, his skin flush with color. He’d never looked healthier. He’d filled out quite a bit as the stress of his illness waned and his body had started to become used to the medications. But today, there seemed to be just a little bit more pink to his cheeks.
I held up the rabbit a bit. “If you’re home early to break up with me, it’s not happening,” I growled, even though I knew that he had no such plan. Not after feeling what I had on the rabbit’s makeshift collar.
“I think the last boyfriend you’re ever going to have should be the one to give you your last rabbit,” Christopher said with a smile.
“So you’re saying no to any more rabbits?” I asked.
Christopher’s face fell. “What? No!” he responded. “Just no more breakup bunnies,” he clarified.
I nodded and then carefully pulled the bunny’s collar over its head before putting the animal back on the ground. All the other rabbits had followed Christopher down the stairs so we were surrounded by the brood. But I had eyes only for Christopher as I searched out the gold band from the folds of the fabric. My heart lurched in my chest as my eyes accepted what my fingers had already felt.
“Did our new girl come with her own bling?” I asked.
Christopher took the ring from my hand and shyly smiled. “You did say whoever cried on the first date had to be the one to propose, right?”
“Yes,” I said simply.
“Well, that’s good because—”
“Christopher—” I cut in. He stopped toying nervously with the ring and looked up at me. “Yes,” I repeated.
It took him a moment to get what I was saying. When he did, a broad smile split his face, and then he launched himself into my arms. I kissed him hard. When we separated, Christopher let out a rough breath. “And to think I was all ready to use these to get my way,” he said as he pushed the waistband of his pants down enough to expose the edge of his underwear.
His very pink, very sheer, very snug underwear. He took off for the house before I could pull my tongue back up into my mouth, dancing over the various rabbits as he went. I caught up to him just as he reached the door. I took my time claiming the prize of his mouth. When I had no choice but to catch my breath, Christopher breathed, “I love you, Rush. So much.”
“I love you too, my beautiful Christopher.”
I pulled him back enough so I could open the door, then started to lead him into the house.
“What about the rabbits?” Christopher asked.
