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The three-carat solitaire weighing down her finger made shoveling a tad cumbersome, but she refused to remove it. That ring was never coming off her finger. It was a symbol of the love between her and Barry.
Yes, they were engaged.
It had happened two months ago. Barry had planned the event right under her nose, yet she hadn’t even seen it coming. She only realized what was happening when she walked into a restaurant and saw Barry down on one knee with all her family and friends surrounding him.
Of course, she said yes. How could she not? He was her forever.
Unfortunately, the wedding date had yet to be set.
Barry and Xolani were still in the negotiation phase. Xolani wanted the wedding to happen when the weather was warmer. Barry wanted it to happen as soon as possible. But Xolani knew that she’d eventually get him to surrender to her. He always did.
The more she thought of him, the more her mood lifted. She started to hum happily as she shoveled snow.
You know what? This wasn’t so bad. She could count it as her workout for the day.
She was so intent on her task that she didn’t notice the cab that stopped on the street just in front of the house. Because her back was to the street, she didn’t even see the man who got out of the cab with a duffel bag in hand.
Only the crunching of snow behind her made her spin around.
“Barry!” she yelped in delight when she saw him.
Like her, he was dressed for winter. Cap, scarf, gloves, heavy jacket, sweater underneath, boots… and yet he still looked as yummy as ever. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. Instinctively, she dropped the shovel, and moved towards him. Given how much snow there was, running was almost impossible but she certainly tried.
“Slowly, slowly,” Barry ordered with a smile even as he moved closer to her. “You’ll fall.”
By the time he finished that sentence, she was in his arms. He dropped his bag so he could hug her with both arms.
The pleasure and delight that spread through her as she luxuriated in his warmth and smell was indescribable. Despite the numerous layers of clothing that stood between them, familiar shivers of desire chased their way up and down her spine as his body pressed against hers.
He lifted his face from the crook of her neck so they were eye-to-eye then he bent his head and kissed her lips.
After almost a week of separation, the kiss was like manna after a long period of starvation. Neither of them could get enough of the other. Their lips sought each other even as their tongues parried in a duel that was as passionate as it was thrilling.
When they finally separated to take a breath, Barry rasped, “Who made you shovel snow?”
Without even an ounce of hesitation, Xolani tattled. “Camryn.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Barry growled even as he gathered Xolani deeper into his arms.
She grinned and hugged him tight. “I missed you, honey.”
“I missed you t_” He didn’t get to finish his sentence because right then, they were interrupted.
Kwezi emerged from the garage calling out, “Xo, do you want_ Barry?” His name came from the older woman’s mouth in a happy yelp. “When did you get here?”
“Just now.” Barry said as he and Xolani stepped away from each other.
“I thought you weren’t coming in until Christmas Eve.” Kwezi trudged down the driveway to get to them. As soon as she was next to Barry, she gathered him in a warm, bear hug.
“Someone offered to cover the rest of the event for me,” Barry explained as he enthusiastically returned the hug. “So, I thought I’d come down and surprise you.”
“Well, it’s a great surprise. Come in. Come in.” Kwezi grabbed his duffel bag and led the way into the house. “Everyone will be so happy to see you.”
And indeed they were.
Stanley almost lifted Barry off his feet with the force and enthusiasm of his hug. Camryn greeted him like another sibling then promptly tried to get him to ditch everyone so they could go upstairs for a round of League of Legends. However, the older women intercepted Barry before that plan could come to fruition.
Celia immediately started complaining about how Barry was getting skinnier. She and Kwezi made him sit at the kitchen table while they stuffed him with whatever food they could find in the fridge. Of course, Stanley and Camryn got jealous and decided they were hungry too. They sat at the table with Barry, chatting about everything and nothing, while they all ate.
