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“It was well overdue.” He pushes open the reception area and leads me through it. “And you don’t know the half of it.”
“What do you …”
He opens the door in the back of reception to the garage, and if he wasn’t pulling me along, I would have come to a stop. There’s a path of flowers and candles leading through the workspace to the outdoor area, and when we follow it and step outside, I can’t believe my damn eyes.
“What the hell is this?”
A large metal cabana-like structure sits in the middle of the yard, completely covered in flowers. They’re up the four metal poles, hang from the canopy above, and cover two of the sides. Along one side of the structure, a large fire burns and licks at the air from the long fire pit that’s been created for it.
In the middle of the cabanathingis a picnic blanket, cushions, and a small table covered in food.
“Holy fuck. I guess now I know where the hell my flowers went.”
He shrugs. “You said flowers should be there for all the important moments. The beginnings and ends and all those milestones in between.” His large hand wraps around mine, fingers linking between my own, and I follow him over to his setup. “This might not be a milestone they write Hallmark cards for, but I hope it’s a big one for us anyway.”
“Why is that?”
Instead of answering, Ford gives me a soft smile. He settles onto a cushion, and I take the one beside it, not able to stop looking around at what he’s done.
“You’re important to me,” he says, unscrewing the lid of a thermos and pouring dark liquid into two cups. He passes mine over, and I get a strong hint of chocolate. Cocoa.
It’s been forever since I’ve had this.
“Maybe the most important person I’ve ever met. I know you can’t say that back, and I don’t want you to. Because I know that I’m the most important person to you right now, and that’s all I care about.”
I nod quickly, wanting him to know how true that is. “I wasn’t expecting it, but you were the best kind of surprise.”
“Right back at you, sweetheart.” Ford grabs my legs and lifts them to rest over his. Then he pulls off my shoes and socks. “It’s incredible to me how fast I’ve fallen for you, but it feels right. The same kinda rightness I felt about being a mechanic one day or offering the lot to help with the soapbox cars. There are things in my life I did because they felt like they fit. I’ve never had doubts about them.” He looks up and winks, then reaches for something behind the table. “You’re one of those things.”
My heart feels so full, even before I register what he’s holding.
A small bottle of blue nail polish. He unscrews the lid, slight concentration line settling in the middle of his forehead. “I’ve gotta warn you; I might have been practicing all day, but I’m still terrible at this.”
And then he starts to paint my toenails.
The cocoa, the fire, the nail polish.
I have to swallow back the lump in my throat as my love for him builds so big ithurts. His tongue is clamped between his teeth as he works, and seeing this giant, tattooed man with the softest heart struggle to keep hold of the tiny brush and paint neatly is my undoing.
“I want to keep you.”
“Hey … that was my line.” His smile is fucking huge. “This isn’t a proposal because I don’t think I want one of those, and I have no idea if you ever would again either, but this is me saying you’re it for me. I’m never changing my mind about you. I want to move in together and discover each other’s bad habits. I want you to burn dinner and for me to be too messy for your liking. I want to argue and disagree, but once that’s over, I want us to be stronger for it. Because nothing can change how I feel about you, and I want to work to make you mine for the rest of our lives.”
“You don’t need to work at it. I already am.”
“And that’s what makes tonight so special. It’s the first day of our lives together.”
We’re smiling at each other so hard I’m sure I look borderline unhinged. I wriggle in closer so I can rest my chin on his shoulder as I watch him work. Every tiny little stroke, every time he gets paint on my skin and madly scrubs it off, every time his tongue pokes out again. All of it makes my heart warm.
I drop a kiss on his neck, then turn so my lips are at his ear. “Just so you know, I didn’tthinkI’d want that ever again. Until you. If you ever wanted to get married, Ford, all you’d need to do is ask.”
34
Orson
The fire is throwingwarmth around us, and I’m so comfortable I never want to move. Other than the sound of occasional cars driving past outside the garage, the afternoon is quiet. We could be on a secluded island for all either of us know because we switched our phones off ages ago.
Ford runs his rough fingers over my abs again, sending ripples through me, and his chest moves behind me as he laughs.
