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Nova twisted her mouth, and it felt like a mirror of how twisted up her insides were. “When Linc first arrived and we ran into each other, he told me he was here to find a wife. Which I told him was preposterous. And then… then we made a bet that if I couldn’t help him find a woman to marry that… that I’d do it.”
It was extremely rare to see Sadie at a loss for words, but here they were. Brooke, Moira, Quinn, and Britt were all looking at her with their mouths dropped open too.
“For realsies?” Sadie finally squeaked.
“I don’t know!” Which was part of the problem. Here Nova had been taking this bet as gospel, but it may have just been something silly Linc said. It wasn’t like it was legally binding either way but it sure did make a mess of her head.
“So should I start planning the bridal shower? It’s not a lot of time,” Sadie said in a disapproving tone that Nova couldn’t tell was real or not.
“You don’t even know that he’s going to ask me. He could ask anyone. I’ve had fun, but I have no idea if he’s enjoyed himself as much. Or if we’d actually be a good fit in the real world.”
“I don’t think a DDlg/ageplay private island really counts as the real world,” Quinn told her, and then took another sip of her hot chocolate.
“You know what I mean,” she told Quinn before bringing the candy cane she’d dipped in the hot cocoa to her lips. “He won’t be on vacation anymore. Maybe he’ll realize how much work having a fulltime Little is and change his mind. Then what? Alaska is really far from everyone and everything I know. Plus I have zero experience with hunting or fishing or fixing anything except computers, and they’re all up there raising their own crops and chopping down their own firewood and what the fuck am I thinking? I don’t belong someplace like that.”
Just then Master Derek came through from the kitchen, hands full with the food he and Sadie had been bringing out at a regular clip for the past couple hours. “Daddy, tell Nova it’s okay for her to go to Alaska.”
“It’s fine for you to go to Alaska,” Master Derek said as he set yet another pile of waffles on the table, and then looked up with a furrowed brow. “Why are you going to Alaska?”
Nova groaned and face-palmed.
“It’s boy trouble, Daddy,” Sadie told him before grabbing a waffle. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh, I think I know quite a bit about boys and the trouble they cause. Not as much as bratty Littles and their shenanigans, of course, but they’re close. And I believe I know the boy—man—in question. Is he really causing trouble? Do I need to have a talk with him?”
“No, Master Derek,” Nova said with a sigh. “But thank you for offering.”
“And if it doesn’t work out—which it will—Nova can always come back to the Ranch right?” Sadie pressed as she slathered butter and syrup on her waffle.
Master Derek looked at her then with his kind blue eyes and smiled gently. “All joking aside, Nova. If you’ve got a real chance at happiness, you should reach out and grab it with both hands. I’ve seen how Linc looks at you and know how much he cares for you. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can’t let that stop you from trying. You’ll always have a place here, and we’d love to have you anytime.”
After brunch,Nova had done a few hours of work and then it had been time to get ready for the concert tonight with her friends. She wasn’t exactly avoiding Linc, but she wasn’t seeking him out either. And he hadn’t pressed her to spend the afternoon with him. Maybe because he was with Callie or someone else he’d met this week. Probably not April, at least.
Nova had heard that last year Kyra Kicks had performed at a holiday party at the Ranch. This concert was going to be big but not Kyra Kicks big, which was fine with Nova. Plus she loved singing along with Camryn Quick’s music. There were bound to be some VIPs here, but the only person she searched the crowd for was Linc.
It had been fun to get ready with the girls, and some of them had showed off their marks from being spanked for their shenanigans earlier. It was indescribably wonderful to have people she could share that kind of thing with, and she cherished her friendships here so much.
As she made her way through the crowd, she stopped and said hello to people she knew, complimented their outfits, and wished them a Happy New Year. It was hard to believe that the end of the year—and the end of the week Linc would be here—were coming to an end so soon.
At last she saw Linc, and her heart did that swan-wing flapping thing, especially because he grinned and his face seemed to light up. Or maybe that was just the flashlight of her obsession shining on him. Awkward.
He gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek and she didn’t notice until he released her that Callie was standing right there. Oh. They exchanged greetings, and Nova wasn’t sure what to make of it when Linc said, “I missed you today. What did you get up to?”
They’d been together for much of the morning so he obviously knew about all that—if he’d forgotten about the panty-raid tree and the spanking and the sex she would be so insulted and depressed—but she told him what she’d been working on and getting ready with her friends.
Linc smiled at her again and looked her up and down, taking her in. It was warm with all the people here for the concert and she hadn’t had to go outside at all so she was wearing one of her favorite dresses. It was a bright pinky coral with lots of ruffles.
“I’m glad you had fun. You sure are a sight to see,” he told her and then leaned in close, making her whole body tingle when she could feel the heat of his breath on her ear. “Hope your bottom’s not as bright as your dress. You doing okay after this morning?”
Her face was probably now the color of her dress, but she nodded and hummed her agreement. She loved the way he wrapped an arm around her waist and draped his hand across her hip and squeezed. Still slightly tender from her spanking earlier, it brought the sensations back and made her want to climb him like a tree right here. Or maybe ask him what the hell was he thinking so she could be put out of her uncertain misery.
Instead, they watched the show for about an hour and then the whole audience was getting ready for this year to be over and the next one to begin. All around them people were preparing their champagne and sparkling cider or sparkling grape juice toasts and making sure they were standing close to the person they intended to kiss. Was it cruelty or happenstance that Linc was standing between her and Callie?
Her nerves were so frazzled Nova felt as though her brain had been plugged into an electrical socket. The sixty-second countdown started, and all the people chanting in unison didn’t help any. And then she nearly passed out when Linc got down on one knee and procured a velvet box from his pocket which he cracked open to reveal a small, perfect solitaire diamond ring.
“Novalie Emmanuelle Marchand, will you marry me?”
It was a moment she’d been thinking about since Linc had told her what he was here for. A moment she’d been dreaming about for almost as long. Now that it was here, though, she couldn’t feel any excitement or joy. Only anxiety and fear and doubt.
