PIERCE
One year later
“Can we make a quick stop on the way home? I just remembered a few things we need.”
“Sure.” Rian looks up from her phone, head tipped a little to the side. “Everything okay?”
“Yup. Yes. Everything’s fine.”
Her eyes narrow the tiniest bit. I suck at keeping secrets. Especially from Rian.
“Are you sure? Because you’ve been all kinds of sketch today.”
“I haven’t been sketch today.” I most definitely have.
I’ve been trying to get Rian home all afternoon, but it’s been stop after stop in little antiques shops to pick up whatever decorative thing she falls in love with. Rian sometimes likes to take a hundred dollars with her and see how far she can make it go. Today the trunk of the Tesla is full of her kitschy, fun treasures for the Mission Mansion, which we converted into a bed-and-breakfast as planned. We also live on the property, in one of the newly renovated outbuildings. The past year has been incredible, and I’m hoping to make the rest of the ones ahead of us just as amazing.
“You’re all…” She gestures at me. “Sketch.”
“You’re imagining things.” I keep my eyes on the road because if I look directly at her, there’s a good chance I’m going to give myself away and then my whole plan will go up in flames.
“I don’t think I am, but if you’re committed to pretending you’re not being all weird today, then have at it.”
I grin, despite the way my stomach is all knotted up and how sweaty my palms are. I turn right into the parking lot.
Rian frowns as she takes in our location. “What are we doing here?”
“I need a few things.” I pull into an empty spot by the front doors.
“From here? Why not stop somewhere closer to home?”
“Because here has what I need and it’s on the way.” I open the driver’s side door, expecting her to do the same, except she just sits there. “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I figured I could wait in the car.”
She sure isn’t making this easy for me. “I could use your help.”
I get another arched brow, but she unbuckles her seat belt. I pat my jacket pocket, making sure I have my wallet and the other important and necessary item. When we get inside the store, I grab a cart and hand Rian a basket. As expected, she heads directly for the cereal aisle, as if drawn to it by some invisible, magnetic force.
“Hey, I thought I’d make cinnamon roll French toast tomorrow morning. Can you head over to the bakery aisle and get what we need for that?”
Rian hesitates, glancing first at me, and then at the cereal aisle with the same kind of longing I often experience when I’m teasing her in the bedroom and refusing to give her what she wants. “But—”
“You always pick the best buns. Oh, and can you grab some eggs while you’re at it? I think we’re almost out.” I lean down and kiss her softly. “When we get home, I have plans for you.” I give her ass a little squeeze, so she knows what kind of plans I’m talking about. Although, if my current plan doesn’t go the way I want, then neither will my naked plans later. “I’ll meet you in the fun food aisle.”
“Okay.” She glances over her shoulder, looking a little skeptical as she nabs a store flyer and heads in the direction of the bakery aisle.
As soon as she turns the corner, I rush for the cereal aisle, tossing a few things in my cart so it looks like I’m actually shopping. I come to a stop in front of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, throw five boxes in the cart, and hastily slide my finger under the flap of one. God, my palms are ridiculously sweaty, even with the air conditioning pumping through the store.
I wipe them on my pants so my fingers aren’t slippery. I quickly tear open the bag, then slip my hand inside my pocket and find what I’m looking for. I manage to get it into the box of cereal and withdraw a handful of the sugary, cinnamon squares when Rian comes around the corner, basket tucked into her side.
Her brows knit together and her perfect, pouty lips turn down when I stuff the handful of cereal into my mouth. “What’re you doing?” she asks, incredulous.
“I got hungry.”
She drops the basket with the eggs and the cinnamon rolls into the cart and snatches the box from me. “You haven’t even paid for that yet!”
“What do you think is going to happen, the grocery police are going to take me away in handcuffs? It’s not like I can’t afford to buy it.” I try to stick my hand back in the box, but she shifts it out of my reach. “Besides, there’s a prize in that box, I wanted to see if it was any good.”
She inspects the box, looking for the advertising that indicates there’s something special contained within. “There’s no prize in here.”
“Yeah, there is, look inside.”
Her eyes narrow, but she reaches in and pulls out the tiny box, now covered in a dusting of cinnamon and sugar. “What is this?”
I pluck it from her fingers, take a deep breath, and hope like hell she’s ready for this.
I flip open the small box, revealing the contents as I drop to one knee. Her eyes go wide and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch slips from her grasp, landing on the linoleum and scattering across the floor around us.
“Rian Mission Sutter, a little over a year ago you came crashing into my life, and every single day since then has been better than the last. I love you, I love everything about you, even your obsession with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and I plan to spend the rest of forever loving you. Will you marry me?”
Her fingers flutter to her mouth, a tremulous smile turning up the corners. “You’re proposing?”
“I am.”
“Here?” She motions to our surroundings, including the mess of cereal at our feet and the sudden crowd gathering at the ends of the aisle.
“I figured we might as well go back to the scene of the crime.” I really hope she plans to say yes soon, considering this isn’t the private moment it started out as.
“I love you. Of course I’ll marry you.” Tears make her eyes glassy as I push to a stand, cereal crunching under my feet.
“She said yes!” I shout to our audience, including a teenage employee armed with a broom, looking less than impressed.
A few cheers and whistles of approval follow as I slip the ring on her finger, my hands almost as unsteady as hers.
“It’s beautiful, perfect.”
“Just like you.” I cup her face and tilt her head up, brushing a kiss over her lips. “You had me worried there for a second.”
She arches a brow. “You thought I’d say no?”
“I was banking on a yes. I mean, we’ve been living in sin for a year already, and we co-own a business together. I know chemistry is a big deal, but with the whole two of ten on the compatibility scale, I was a bit worried, yeah.”
She laughs. “God, I love you.”
“Just remember that when you find the empty boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the cupboard.” I kiss her through her laughter.
She tastes like love. She feels like my future. Rian is the beginning and the end. She’s the fight I won’t give up. She’s the forever I won’t let go.