AllFreeNovel
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Life was grand.
“I’m in the bathroom,” Keaton called out.
Frowning, August shook her head. She couldn’t hear the fan going, which seemed to be the only thing they ever argued about—a silly, real-relationship thing like leaving empty toilet rolls on the holder or not filling up ice cube trays after they were emptied.
“Kea,” she whined. “We’ve got guests here in an hour. Don’t tell me you’re fogging up the bathroom again!”
Sure enough, the bathroom looked like a sauna. The mirror was totally fogged and she would have to wipe it down before their guests arrived. But it was hard to be mad at the man when he’d just stepped out of the shower. A white towel was slung low on his waist, showing off his fit body to perfection. His dark hair was glossy and damp, his skin dotted with beads of moisture.
Her eyes traveled down to where the towel was knotted at a very enticing spot. “Is that just excess towel fabric, or are you happy to see me?”
He snorted. “You’re so cheesy.”
He pulled her in for a hug and she squealed, because he was getting her all wet. But as he wedged her between his hard body and the bathroom vanity, steam swirling around them and encasing them in their own private, sexy bubble...all was forgiven.
“I love you,” she said, tipping her face up to his.
“AndIloveyou,” he said, lowering his lips to hers.
The kiss was searing and exploratory, and even though it felt like they knew one another inside and out, there was always something new to discover. Learning Keaton had become one of the great joys in her life, because now he was open to letting her know all parts of him.
“Are you going to be ready by the time everyone arrives?” she asked, pulling back. “I need to shower and get ready, but we have to set the table and give the wine time to air and—”
“Shh.” He silenced her with another kiss. “Everything will be fine.”
“But the charcuterie board—”
“Augie, I promise that if we’re still setting up the charcuterie board when our friends arrive, they won’t be mad.” There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Besides, I need to borrow you for a bit.”
“No, you don’t! I have to get ready.” Keatonlovedto try and tempt her back to bed when she needed to get things done, and he always managed to succeed. She never could find the willpower to resist him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll save that for after everyone’s gone.” He kissed down her neck, making her melt against him. “But I have something for you.”
Okay, now her curiosity was well and truly piqued.
Keaton pulled on his underwear, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and August let herself ogle him the whole time. The man wasfine, in every sense of the word.
“Follow me.” He took her hand and led her back out to the main room, right over to the Christmas tree.
“We’re not supposed to open gifts yet,” she said, her eyes scanning the pretty foil-wrapped boxes decorated with ribbon sitting under the tree. They were all labeled and ready to be transported to Keaton’s mom’s place on Christmas Day.
“This is a special one, just for you and me.” He reached for a small velvet box. It wasn’t wrapped like all the others. When had he put it there? Surely, she would have noticed.
Her breath stilled. “What is going on right now?”
“Just open it.”
When she opened the box, a gasp caught in the back of her throat. Nestled on a plump navy velvet cushion was a simple silver band with a heart in the middle.
“Okay, I’ll admit that the design is a little cheesy,” he said. “But my taste hadn’t quite matured in my early twenties. All I knew was that girls were supposed to like hearts.”
August’s breath hitched. “It’s beautiful.”
“I was planning to give it to you that Christmas Eve, but I got ahead of myself and tried to kiss you first. It was in my coat pocket the whole time.” He rocked on his heels. “Obviously I was a bit too embarrassed to give it to you after you...ah, well you know. And then when I met Ellery, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. There was no way I could give it to someone else, because that felt wrong. But taking it back to the store didn’t feel right, either.”
“So you kept it?”
“I put it in the back of my sock drawer and forgot about it. I could never force myself to get rid of it.”
