“Never have I ever keyed someone’s car for being a total douchebag,” Tink says with a smirk on her face.

Lily’s jaw drops in shock as she stares across the bonfire at her best friend. “Okay, I see how it is,” she says with a laugh. “Wait till it’s my turn, bitch.” The rest of us either give Lily shit for defiling a man’s ride or encourage her heroism as she takes a long drink of her beer.

The mid-October breeze coming off the ocean makes the flames dance and crackle in the center of our circle. It also makes the woman sitting in my lap snuggle into me a bit more. As Carlos takes his turn coming up with a statement for our friendly game of Never Have I Ever, I kiss Wendy’s temple. “You cold, baby? I can give you my flannel.”

She gazes up at me with a wide smile and shakes her head. “No, I’m fine. Besides, then you’d be cold with just a T-shirt, and I don’t look nearly as good in green plaid as you do.”

What she doesn’t know is that I could jog the fifty feet behind us and grab another shirt from the beach cottage. The quaint, little two-story home I told her is owned by my friend who’s letting us have a bonfire on his stretch of sand while he’s out of town. A complete and total lie.

“Bullshit, you look good in everything.” She does, too. The cooler temps at night have forced her to cover up more, but she’s still sexy as hell in her skinny jeans, pink sweater, and knee boots. Then again, she could be wearing hockey gear, and it wouldn’t matter because I know what’s underneath. Lowering my lips to her ear, I drop my voice. “But if you want the absolute truth, I think you look the best in nothing.”

She bites her lip and gives me a non-verbal shhh with a playful shove against my chest. I love that I can still make her blush, and it’s taking every ounce of willpower I have not to toss her over my shoulder and carry her off like the selfish fucking caveman I am. But I have a plan, and that’s not part of it, not yet at least. I’ve waited this long, a few more minutes won’t kill me.

It’s been two months since the Love for Littles event, and I’ve worked hard to make good on everything I promised Wendy that night. The Bel Air made quite a splash in the London elite community, and I’ve gotten several classic rebuild jobs because of it. Silas, Tink, and I are heading up those projects, and we’ve worked out a new schedule where half of our week is spent in the shop on the normal jobs and the other half on the rebuilds. It means the shop is a bit short-handed on those days, but I’m working on fixing that, too. I plan on asking Chief if he wants some part-time work since he’s sticking around for a while, and I also placed an ad for a receptionist, which means Thomas and Carlos won’t have to take turns covering the front.

I’ve spent a lot of weekends with Wendy in Charlotte. She had fun showing me around the city and introducing me to a few of her friends, but my favorite times were when we stayed in and played games or watched movies. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a saint in any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve made a conscious effort not to keep her naked and in bed every hour we spend together. There will be plenty of time for that once we’re living together, a topic she’s tried bringing up multiple times. A topic I’ve always brushed off as something “we can discuss later,” even as I was making plans behind the scenes. Plans that are about to finally pay off.

At least I fucking hope so.

Our whole family is on the beach with us tonight: the Lost Boys, Tink, Tiger Lily, Chief, and Wendy’s brothers who’ve been hanging out with us occasionally, just like when we were all kids. Even Hook showed up, though not without making sure I knew it was out of respect for Wendy and not because he gives two shits about me, which I’m fine with. I can’t tell if his surly ass is playing the game or not by the timing of his drinks, but it doesn’t matter as long as he’s here. Good beer, great company, a full moon, and a blazing fire. All around, it’s pretty perfect.

Tiger Lily raises her beer bottle. “My turn! Never have I ever…” The Piccaninny princess stares down the feisty fairy with a smug grin. “…made out with someone younger than me.”

The guys and I drink without hesitation, meaning we have made out with someone younger. Wendy doesn’t raise her beer—I’m older than her by three months—and neither does Lily. But after a few seconds, we realize that Lily and Tink are staring each other down in some kind of mental stand-off. As our heads swivel from one girl to the other, there’s one person in the group who’s only interested in what Tink’s doing: Michael.

Wendy’s baby bro is watching Tink with all the intensity of a cop waiting for his suspect to crack under the pressure. Suddenly, I know how Michael convinced Tinker Bell she wasn’t really in love with me. And if I remember correctly, he’s about two years younger than her. Clever bastard. Chuckling to myself, I take another sip of my beer and wait for the fireworks.

Tink glances at Michael who challenges her with a raised eyebrow. One that says “either admit it by drinking or I’ll refresh your memory in front of everyone.” Since my sprite’s no dummy, she lifts her beer and takes a long pull of her Corona with everyone cheering her on, though I doubt anyone else caught on to who Tink’s younger man is, other than Lily who obviously knows.

“Your turn, Pan,” Chief says next to me. “And make it a good one, will ya? I’m not nearly drunk enough.”

The past few weeks have been about careful planning and hard work. I never second-guessed myself, never worried if I was doing the right thing, but I thought for sure that when the time came, I’d be nervous as hell. What if I misread what she wants her future to look like? What if she’s not ready to take this leap with me? What if she needs another few years to even get to the point I am? Those questions and more are what I’d assumed would plague me in the minutes leading up to this moment. But now that it’s here, I’ve never been so confident about anything in my life.

“Never have I ever,” I say with all our friends’ eyes on us, “gotten down on one knee and proposed.”

Wendy laughs. “Peter, that’s a terrible one. None of us get to drink to—”

Holding her gaze, I lift my beer and drain what’s left. Her brows knit together with confusion, and I realize my mistake. She thinks I’m referring to something in my past, not our present. Needing to fix the hurt flashing across her face, I toss my bottle to the sand and push to my feet, forcing her to get up with me.

But then I sink to one knee and hold her left hand between mine. Wendy gasps and looks around the circle as though checking if she’s the only one seeing this. She’s met with knowing smiles, thumbs up, and raised beers.

Her shock is adorable and a huge relief since I was worried I’ve been too transparent in my planning. Chuckling, I say, “Baby, eyes down here.”

Her gaze swings back to mine, shimmering with unshed tears and the reflection of my unconditional love. I drink it all in, staring up at the girl I want by my side for the rest of my life. She’s bathed in moonlight, just like that first night I saw her on the balcony, as pure as I was tarnished. The angel to my devil, my saving grace. My heart’s adventure. And it’s time she knows exactly how I feel.

“Sixteen years ago, I was in search of an adventure when I heard a woman in a brick house on Barrie Street telling stories unlike anything I’d ever heard. I returned the next night, and the next, as often as I could to bring the stories back to the rest of the Lost Boys. But no matter how great the stories were, they always rang a little hollow to me because they weren’t mine.”

Silas snorts. “Also because he sucked at telling stories, as evidenced by this proposal speech.”

Nick chuckles. “Always the critic, Si. You think you could do better?”

“There’s a stupid question,” Tobias and Tyler say in stereo.

“Boys,” Wendy scolds, her brow arched with enough sass that she doesn’t need to say anything else. She’s trying to appear stern, but the hint of a smile tugging at her lips gives her away. She adores these boys, ill manners and all.

Grinning sheepishly, they mutter their apologies, and all I can do is shake my head at their antics. I knew when I decided to involve them that the Lost Boys would be the Lost Boys, which means rowdy and unruly at best, drunk and disorderly at worst. I banned them from those last two until after Wendy and I are gone.

“Thanks, Si, now I lost my train my of thought.”

Wendy is all too happy to help me out. “The stories rang hollow because they weren’t yours.”

“Thanks, baby,” I say, kissing her hand then continuing my story. “One night I got to the house and looked up to find an angel standing on the balcony. Her voice was like music, and her beauty took my breath away. I was young and ignorant about so many things, and yet, in that moment, I knew. I knew you were meant to be mine. I knew in my heart that you were my adventure, and I was right. When I’m with you, I’m a man who has found his rightful place in this world. Without you, I’m still just a lost boy.”

“Ooh, good one, boss.”

Someone shushes Carlos—probably Thomas—and I make a mental note to slap them all upside the heads later. I pretend like I didn’t hear them and keep going.

“You are my everything, Wen, and I want to give you the fairytale you deserve. I might never be a valiant prince or a knight in shining armor, but I promise to be your responsible, career-minded hero with a fun-loving mischievous streak. Also, a rock-hard body to make all your friends jealous,” I say with a crooked grin and wink.

Wendy throws her head back and laughs through the tears as all my friends groan and throw in their two-cents. I tried keeping it serious, I swear I did. But it just wouldn’t be a genuine Pan speech without a sprinkling of my signature cockiness. Luckily, Wendy thinks it’s part of my charm. I really don’t deserve this woman. Just another reason I need to lock this down, once and for all.

With a renewed sense of urgency, I finally retrieve the ring box that’s been burning a hole in my pocket since I picked it up this afternoon. Not the one I’ve kept for a decade that holds memories of our past and promises for our future—that’s for later when I don’t have to share the moment with anyone but Wendy, like I intended ten years ago. This is something new to represent the new promises and our new life from this point on.

I open the box with the anticipation of weeks and months buzzing through me. Her eyes flare wide, and she presses her right hand over her heart with a sharp inhale as she stares at the ring I had designed for her. The star-shaped center stone is a half-karat in a gold setting with five smaller diamonds nestled into the band on either side.

“Oh, Peter,” she whispers.

“Eleven diamonds in all,” I explain. “One for each of the eleven orphans you loved and cared for when you were still just a kid yourself. We were siblings through circumstance at that school. But you showed up and made us a true family, Wen.”

Hook sits up and takes interest for the first time all night. “You put a diamond on her ring for me?”

“Yup, and Starkey and Smee.”

“Don’t you think you should’ve asked if I wanted to be a part of this, Pan?”

“Nope, didn’t care,” I say, shooting him a go fuck yourself, with love grin. “Now shut up and let me finish.”

Rolling his eyes, he leans back in his chair, cursing me under his breath. John offers him another beer, but Hook pointedly ignores him like he’s been doing since the cop sat next to him. I wonder if Hook’s issue with John is that he’s on the opposite side of the law or if there’s something more to it than that.

“Peter, focus and put the damn ring on her finger already, will ya?”

This from Tink, who’s been amazingly supportive. She and Wendy have taken baby steps in their new friendship, and the times I’ve caught them laughing together gave me feelings so soft not even the threat of a firing squad could get me to admit them out loud. I have faith they’ll continue to grow closer now that Wendy will be around a lot more. Like, always.

“Sorry, I was distracted by Captain Surly Ass over there.”

Clearing my throat, I take the ring out and pocket the box before reclaiming her left hand. As I hold the ring in front of her fourth finger, I’m suddenly overwhelmed with the weight of the moment crashing over me.

“A long time ago, right here on this beach, I told you that our happy ever after was written in the stars, and no matter what happened, that would never change. Now I’m asking for the chance to prove it to you, to show you that our love is and will always be enough. So, will you, Wendy Moira Angela Darling, do me the honor of making your already ridiculously long name even longer, and marry me?”

“Yes, Peter Pan, yes yes yes!”

Pure joy swells in my chest as I slip the ring on her finger then shoot up to swing her around and kiss the living hell out of her to the tune of our family cheering behind us. As usual, they interrupt the moment, and I’m relegated to standing by as everyone takes turns hugging and congratulating my fiancée.

Damn, that sounds good. Wife will sound even better. I wonder how fast I can make that happen. Though, I suppose the chances of an event planner wanting to elope are pretty close to nil.

After Chief puts Wendy down, he claps a hand on each of our shoulders and grins like a loon. “Congratulations, you two. Now go on up and enjoy a night of wild monkey sex in your new house. Oh, one more thing, Wendy. Your boy Pan bought you that beach house as an early wedding gift. Let me know when you need help moving your stuff in.”

“Seriously, man? You’re just going to cut my legs out from under me like that?” I’m honestly in too much of a good mood to be pissed he ruined the surprise, but I still have to give him shit for it.

“Hell, yeah, I’m doing her a favor. It took God less time to create the universe than it did for you to pop the question. She’d be too old to climb the steps by the time you got around to telling her.”

“You’re a dick.” Translation: I love you, brother.

“I know.” Translation: I know.

Wendy’s gaze bounces between the house and me, a mix of shock, excitement, and a hint of doubt on her beautiful face. “You bought that house? For us?”

Stepping closer, I pull her into my arms. “You’ve been talking about moving back this way, and I didn’t want to be like some college guy moving a girlfriend into his frat house. When I found this place for sale on our beach, I knew it was meant to be ours.”

Unshed tears shimmer in her eyes. “It’s perfect,” she says, smiling. “All of this. Everything is perfect.”

“Not yet it’s not.”

Scooping her up in my arms, I carry her up to the house. She wriggles as she laughs and protests, claiming she needs to say proper goodbyes. But I no longer give a damn about sticking around. It’s not like we won’t see them all soon enough, whenever I decide to finally let her out of our new bed to rejoin society. I nix her request for a tour, taking her straight to the master bedroom where I finally set her on the end of the mattress.

I begin undressing her, pulling her sweater up over her head and dropping it to the floor before removing her boots and socks. “The first night we met, you told me a kiss was something you share with someone you care about. And when I asked you for one, you panicked and gave me a thimble.”

Her blue eyes soften with a dreamy look, like she’s watching that moment between our younger selves. “And you gave me a gold acorn nut in return. I remember.”

I undo her jeans, and she lifts her hips to allow me to peel them down her legs, leaving her in nothing but her white lace bra and panties. As always, my mouth waters with the desire to taste every sexy inch of her, and my cock pulses with the painful need to be buried deep between her thighs. She fidgets in place, and as anxious as I am to move things along, there’s a method to my madness. So I let my hands roam, distracting her with my touch as I divest her of the last scraps of material.

“Six years later, before you moved away,” I continue, reaching under the bed for the other ring box I stashed there earlier, “I stole your kiss and made you this…”

Kneeling between her legs, I open the faded jewelry box and hold it up so she can finally see what I made her forever ago. With a trembling hand, she picks up the delicate 22” gold chain with her acorn nut dangling as a pendant at the bottom. I’d had to get creative with the power tools in the shop when no one was around to get a hole drilled through the crown for the chain to fit through, but I’d pulled it off.

“Peter…” She shakes her head as though unable to get her words out.

“Here, let me. I’ve waited ten years to see this on you.” I set the box aside and lower the necklace over her head as she sweeps her hair out of the way. The acorn nut sits just above her breasts, directly over where her heart beats for me inside her chest, exactly how I wanted it.

“I thought I lost this,” she whispers, fingering the pendant.

“I know, and I’m sorry I let you think that. I’d planned on giving it to you that last night on the beach, but when I found out you were leaving, I couldn’t do it. I thought maybe if I kept our kisses, they’d bring you back to me someday.”

She smiles. “I guess it worked. Where’s yours?”

Reaching back, I peel off my flannel and T-shirt, revealing the silver beaded chain that had originally come with a set of novelty dog tags. I’d taken those off and threaded the chain through the hole I’d made in my thimble. Now it sits over my heart, just like hers.

“Wow,” she says on a soft chuckle, trailing her fingers around where my “kiss” sits over my heart, just like hers. “I don’t think there’s another man alive who can make a Monopoly game piece look this sexy.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you and that acorn nut.”

Framing my face in her hands, she kisses me, injecting a shot of lust straight to my groin before pulling back. “Thank you, Peter. You’ve made everything perfect. The kisses, my ring, the proposal, the house—oh my God, I still can’t believe you bought us a house on our beach—it’s all just so perfect. It’s like all of my fairytale dreams plus ones I never knew I had come true. I never thought I could be so happy.”

“All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. We’re together now, and this time it’s forever. Tonight is the first night of the rest of our lives, the beginning of our happily ever after.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” she asks as her hand moves down my stomach toward my aching cock. “Let’s start things off right.”

A groan escapes my chest, and it’s all I can do not to flip her over and show her the filthy things that have been running through my mind since last weekend. I’m going to make love to this woman, so she remembers how I worshiped her and showered her with love on our engagement night. Then I’ll fuck her six ways from Sunday until she can barely walk.

She almost derails my carefully laid plans when she squeezes me over my jeans. Sucking a breath in through clenched teeth, I grab her wrist and pull her hand away before she gets any more bright ideas. “Fucking hell, Wen, you’re gonna kill me.”

“It’s only fair because if you’re not naked and inside me in the next few seconds, I’m pretty sure I’ll die.”

“Can’t have that, can we?” I get to my feet and strip, then stand before her. Blue eyes drink me in as my thick cock strains toward her. “Move up onto the bed, angel.”

Biting her lip, she holds my gaze and lays in the center of the mattress as I follow her down, settling my weight over her. She wraps herself around me, and I notch myself into the tight opening between her thighs where I belong, still thankful we moved past using condoms weeks ago, so nothing gets in the way of our connection.

“Take me,” she whispers. “Claim my body like you’ve claimed my heart and soul. Please, Peter, I need you.”

She arches her hips, enveloping the head of my cock in her slick heat, and I swear I see stars. “You have me, Wen. I’m yours. Always have been, always will be.”

And with that, I plunge home, because that’s what Wendy is. I may have always lived in Neverland, but Wendy is my home, just as I am hers.

With the moonlight streaming in from the window, I make love to the woman of my dreams. With every thrust, every invasion, I give her a small piece of myself, of my soul. I kiss her, caress her, and hold her like I’ll never let her go. And when her tight walls squeeze and flutter around me with the strength of her climax rolling through her, I hold her gaze and whisper how much I love to watch her fly for me.

“I love you more than anything, Peter,” she says, her body still quivering with aftershocks and so much emotion in her eyes that it overflows in the form of tears streaming down her temples.

I kiss the salty wetness away and then kiss her pleasure-swollen mouth. “Still love you more, Wen.”

And I do. There’s nothing in this world that could convince me that anyone loves another as much as I love her. And loving Wendy Darling for the rest of our lives is going to be an awfully big adventure.