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Much as I want to kiss her and tease her for hours, I can’t take waiting. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to bury myself inside her again, and now that she said yes, I want forever to start right now.
She inhales sharply when I push inside her, so I stop, waiting to make sure she’s okay. She pushes her hips up, taking more of me.
Slowly, I sink all the way in, her tightness making me groan with satisfaction. Our bodies fit together perfectly, her curves molding to my hard ridges of muscle.
With every stroke, I claim her as mine, moving faster and harder. No fantasy could ever compare to the reality of putting myself out there and hearing her say yes.
With a whimper, she wraps her leg around my hip. I follow her cue, pushing her leg up so I can sink deeper inside her. She cries out and sinks her nails into my back, her frenzy making me groan and move faster.
Fuck, it’s perfect. For me, it’s Stella or nothing, and now the whole world will know that. Her pussy clenches my cock as she cries out my name, coming so hard I immediately follow, her bliss sending me over the edge.
“So...hi,” she says, laughing lightly. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Yeah, same.” I grin and move off of her. “I’m hoping you’re up for Christmas Eve dinner with my family.”
Her gaze flies to mine in the near darkness. “Your family. Benjamin Patrick Hogan, I love you a lot, but really?”
“I’m sorry, but yeah. I can’t just not show up. My mom knows my flight was diverted and I’m driving, but I didn’t tell her I was coming here first.”
She laughs, this time sound half-crazed. “They have no idea about this, do they?”
“Why would they? I’m a grown man, I don’t ask my parents’ permission to make decisions.”
She sighs heavily. “And I love that about you, but...ugh. Owen.”
“I know, baby. He’s not my favorite person, either. But he’s my brother.”
“I’ll go, but I’m bringing wine.”
“That’s fine, and you know my mom will have plenty more.”
She gets out of bed and I admire her silhouetted form. “I do love her spiked eggnog.”
“Atta girl. You can even sleep in my room with me if you want.”
Another laugh. “Oh, Ben. Owen’s going to flip his shit. You might want to stay with me.”
“I don’t care where we stay, as long as we’re together. Where you go, I go.”
“Okay, but right now I’m going to the bathroom and I’m going alone.”
I step into my boxer briefs. “You’ve got the jokes. Hold on to that sense of humor when we walk into my parents’ house.”
She laughs. “Oh, it’ll be something, Ben. I don’t think it’ll be funny, but it’ll be something.”
She picks up her clothes and slips off to the bathroom. I finish dressing, hoping Owen has moved on and will accept our engagement without commentary.
I doubt he will, but I can still hope.
Chapter Twenty-One
Stella
* * *
“Are you nervous?” I ask Ben twenty minutes later, clutching his hand as we take the sidewalk from his parents’ driveway to their front door.
“Not really. It’ll be fine.”
“Hold on.” I stop walking and he turns to look at me.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“My mom knew. I know this is the weirdest time to tell you, but...when we got back from Maui, the first time I was alone with my mom, she asked me why I married you and tried to keep it a secret.”
“No shit?”
I grin, my breath making a cloud in front of my face. “She said she knew something was up when we kissed at the wedding ceremony because of the look on my face. I looked like I was kissing you for the first time, because...I was.”
He lets out a single note of laughter, looking as stunned as I felt when she told me.
“She said she looked for the mole Owen has below his left ear at the reception, and when it wasn’t there, she knew it was you.”
“Wow. And she didn’t say a word?”
“She said she knew there had to be a reason. When I explained everything to her and told her about my feelings for you, she said you and I were meant to be. That nothing else mattered and we shouldn’t worry about what makes sense or what anyone says or thinks.”
He smiles down at me. “I’m glad you told me.”
I squeeze his hand. “No matter what happens when we walk in there, I’m going to remember my mom saying that to me. We’re meant to be.”
“We are. And fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.”
He squeezes my hand and leads me in through the side entrance to the garage, and then into the door from the garage to Jack and Alice’s kitchen. When we walk in, we hear laughter coming from another room.
