The following summer…

“Hurry!” Chloe pinwheels her arm, eyes wide and impatient. “We’re going to miss the sunset if we don’t hurry!”

“You run ahead and find us a spot,” I say. “Just stay back from the edge until Laura and I get there.”

“And make sure you pull your kite in and hold on tight before you climb up,” Laura adds. “The wind is stronger up there.”

“Got it!” Chloe gives Laura a thumbs-up before dashing down the beach, pulling her mermaid kite behind her, her braids bouncing as her bare feet smack the damp sand.

Beside me, my other favorite redhead is looking ridiculously sexy in a green swimsuit cover-up that barely conceals her ass, granting me peekaboo glimpses of the black bikini underneath as the wind whips along the coast. I’m already counting the hours until it’s time to tuck Chloe in with the rest of the kids spending the night at the beach home Justin rented for his birthday. Then we can retreat to our private room where I will demonstrate my continued commitment to making Laura come again and again until she’s so exhausted I’ll have to carry her to the shower to clean up before bed.

“Stop it,” she whispers, a grin stretching across her face.

“Stop what?” I reach over to cup her ass as we walk, unable to resist the lure of her fine as hell backside.

She puts her hand to my chest, playfully pushing me away. “That. You’re going to gross Chloe out again.”

“Chloe is going to have to get over it.” I wrap my arm around Laura’s waist, pulling her close. “I can’t be expected to keep my hands to myself when you walk around looking like that.”

She laughs. “So it’s my fault that you have zero self-control?”

“Completely your fault.” I pat her ass affectionately, pleased when she doesn’t pull away. “But I do have some self-control. I’m not dragging you into that cave over there and having my way with you, for example.”

“Well, that’s good.” She leans into me. “Then we would miss the sunset for sure, and Chloe would be really mad.”

“What would we do without her to keep us in line?” I smile as Chloe turns, as if on cue, and pinwheels her arm again, clearly displeased with the speed of our progress down the beach.

“Fall to ruin,” Laura says seriously. “Fall to ruin and miss sunsets and not be the first people in line for brunch at the Farm on Sundays.”

I grunt softly. “Remind me to set her clock back an hour after she’s asleep next Saturday. I would really like to sleep in once or twice before practice starts up again.”

“Next Saturday she’ll be at Steve and Angie’s for her summer visit,” Laura says, a sly note in her voice. “And I was thinking maybe we could slip away for a trip, too.”

“Sounds good. A trip where?”

“You’ll see,” she says mysteriously as she sets off at a trot after Chloe. “Come on! The view’s supposed to be gorgeous from the lookout point.”

I hesitate a moment, watching the two people I love most running away down the sand, their red hair lit up with gold in the fading light, my heart twisting in my chest. Even now, six months into living and loving together full-time, there are still moments when this kind of happiness is a shock to my system.

When I can’t believe that both of those beautiful girls are mine.

That they’re my family, and they love me, and more importantly, they let me love them. No holding back. No hiding. No keeping it toned down or tamed, or pretending I’m not a sappy bastard who gets tears in his eyes at weird moments when it hits me all over again how lucky I am.

I know someday things will get hard again. Someday that little girl I love will grow and change the way she’s changed before, becoming someone different than the sweet, snuffly baby who slept on my chest, or the toddler who squealed with delight when I launched her into the air above my head so she could fly. This version of Chloe will pass away, gone forever. It hurts to know how short my time with each incarnation of her will be, but it’s also part of what makes every second so precious.

Someday Laura and I will change, too—slower than the lightning flash of a baby growing into a wild, silly, wonderful girl, but we’ll still be different.

But we’ll be different together, our relationship growing deeper, closer, finer with time. I know this the way I know the sea is salty and the sun will slip below the horizon when the day is through. It’s a truth settled deep in my bones, easing the need to hurry to the next step.

We’ll get there.

There’s no need to rush. No need at all.

The thought is fresh in my mind as I jog up the rocky trail to the cliff, reaching the top as the sun is kissing the waves but finding the lookout area oddly deserted. There’s no one here, in fact, except Chloe, Laura, and a table set for three, a white tablecloth secured to its legs with brown twine, plates covered with silver domes, and a vase of flowers fluttering in the breeze.

“Surprise!” Chloe shouts, jumping up and down, waving her kite overhead. “We tricked you!”

“We didn’t trick him,” Laura says, laughing as she tugs Chloe’s braid. “It’s only a trick if there’s something bad at the end of the surprise.”

Chloe grins. “But it’s still fun. You should see your face, Dad. You’re totally surprised. You had no idea we had a secret!”

“I didn’t,” I confess, moving to help Laura secure Chloe’s kite beneath the legs of one of the chairs. “So, what’s the celebration for, ladies?”

“Just for fun,” Chloe says, patting my arm. “Because we like you.”

My heart twists again. “Well, thank you. I like you an awful lot, too.”

“Actually, that’s not completely true.” Laura moves to stand on the opposite side of the table, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs. “I have a confession to make, Chloe. Part of this surprise is for you.”

“You double-crossed me?” Chloe climbs into the chair beside me, sitting on her knees, clearly excited.

“Sorry, but it’s for a good reason.” Laura smiles as her fingers play nervously back and forth across the wood. “I have an important question I need to ask you and your dad, and I wanted it to be something special we would always remember.”

This time, my heart doesn’t twist. It leaps and dives, then stops for a long, breathless beat, making time slow to a crawl as Laura plucks a slim white jewelry box that I didn’t notice before from the table.

A voice in my head warns that this might not be what I think it is, but I ignore it. That voice is the old voice, the fearful voice, the one that’s too clenched and cautious to realize this is the real thing, the kind of love that comes around once in a lifetime. Maybe twice if you’re very brave and very lucky and meet someone as wonderful as the woman standing in front of me holding a ring in one hand and a delicate silver necklace in the other.

Laura looks up, our eyes meet over the table, and we smile—and it’s suddenly all I can do not to swoop her up in my arms and kiss her until there’s no doubt about my answer.

But instead, I force myself to wait for the question, the one I can’t wait to hear.

His smile…

His ridiculously beautiful smile…

It tells me everything I need to know, but there’s still so much to say, so many things I want these two people who have become my world to know. They are my family, my home, my safe place, no matter how rough a day I’ve had at work, or how many scary things are going on in the world.

Now, if I can manage to keep from bursting into tears before I get all my words out.

“Brendan and Chloe,” I begin, willing my throat to relax. “I love you both so much. Sometimes I still can’t believe that I get to live with two such kind, silly, wonderfully weird people who make me laugh and think and are always there when I need a hug.”

“Or a kiss.” Chloe nudges Brendan with an elbow, but her dancing eyes stay trained on me, clearly intrigued by my “double cross” and what my speech might be leading up to.

I nod. “Yes, or a kiss. What I’m trying to say is that I feel lucky. So very lucky. And that I’m hoping we can make this official.” I shift from one foot to the other, nervous, though I’m sure at least one of the people I love is going to say yes.

With a deep breath, I hold up the simple platinum ring I bought last month and have been saving for the right moment. “Brendan, you make me happier than I thought I could be. Every day, in a hundred different ways, you remind me that I am loved, special, and appreciated. I wake up excited to see the sun rise in a way I’ve never been before because it means I get to share another day with you and our girl.”

His eyes start to shine, which makes my nose burn, and before I know it, tears are slipping down my cheeks. But I’m smiling, too, because Brendan is already nodding yes, even before I add, “The only way life could get any better is if maybe you would agree to be my husband? Maybe?”

“Yes, yes, and hell yes.” He snatches me up in a hug, squeezing me so tight I start to laugh with relief and a bone-deep gratitude that helps banish the last of my nerves as Brendan sets me back on my feet.

“My next question is for you, Chloe.” I turn to her, holding up the necklace with the two hearts entwined—one little and one big—that I hope will always make her think of us and how much I love her. “Would you do me the very great honor of being my stepdaughter?”

“Forever?” she asks, eyes wide as she blinks up at me.

“Yes,” I promise. “Or as close to it as we can get. I know you’ll be in my heart forever. Do you think that will be good enough?”

She nods slowly, her chin dimpling as she reaches for the necklace only to pull her hands away at the last second. “Will you put it on for me?” There’s a shy note in her voice I’m not used to, that makes it even harder to keep from snotting all over myself.

“Yes, I will. It would be my pleasure.” I brush her braids out of the way and guide the necklace around her neck. I’m still bleary-eyed, so it takes a couple of tries, but finally I get the clasp to catch, and Chloe smiles, beaming up at Brendan.

“Look Dad.” She brings her hand to the necklace, touching it gently.

“I see.” Brendan sniffs as he swipes a thumb under his eye. “It’s beautiful, baby.”

“You’re crying,” Chloe says accusingly, brows furrowing.

“I’m just really happy,” he says, laugh-sniffing as he loops his arms around me from behind. “Very, very happy.” He kisses the top of my head. “Now we only need one more thing, and we’ll be ready to go.”

“What’s that?” Chloe asks as she spins the charm between her fingers. “Dinner and extra dessert?”

Brendan and I both laugh-sniff at that one.

“Yes, dinner and dessert,” he agrees. “And a ring for Laura. Luckily, I happen to have one of those back at the house.”

“Or it might be in your luggage.” I turn in his arms. “Where I put it in case you didn’t want to be the only one sporting an engagement ring at breakfast tomorrow.”

Brendan smiles, clearly pleased and happy and in love with me, which is still a miraculous turn of events I’m thankful for every day. “Sexy and smart. And beautiful. And thoughtful. And good to me and my baby. How did I get so lucky, Freckles?”

“I’m not a baby!” Chloe announces firmly, making Brendan and I smile again.

“Absolutely not.” I wink at Brendan before adding in a softer voice, “Diana will be here in about forty-five minutes to get Chloe, so we should probably eat. I thought we might want to stay and watch the stars come out over a bottle of champagne I happen to have stored in a cooler beneath the table.”

“You are so sexy right now,” he says with a soft growl.

“Ew, stop,” Chloe says, but she’s grinning as she climbs back into her seat at the table. “I’m getting ready to eat, for goodness sake.”

“I can’t help it.” Brendan pats my ass one last time before he pulls out my chair. “I’m crazy in love with your future stepmom.”

“Do I get to be the flower girl?” Chloe’s eyes light up like she just spotted a mermaid unicorn swimming in the waves behind us. “At the wedding? I do, right? Who else would you pick?”

The next thirty minutes we spend watching the sun set and eating grilled shrimp salad with mango dressing—Chloe’s favorite—while discussing the flower girl dress, which is clearly a much more pressing concern than what the bride will be wearing to the wedding, and whether or not crowns of flowers will be mandatory attire for anyone wishing to attend this celebration. We end the meal with giant blueberry muffins with sugar baked into the top, another of Chloe’s favorites, and a treat that qualifies as “double dessert,” and are finishing up just as Diana appears on the path leading up to the lookout point.

“Looks like congratulations are in order,” she says, holding one arm out to Brendan while the other reaches my way. “Bring it in here, you two. I’m so happy for you! It couldn’t happen to two more wonderful people.”

“And me, too,” Chloe adds. “I got a necklace!”

Diana makes some appropriately impressed sounds over Chloe’s new necklace, and then, after some very sweet kisses and hugs from our favorite nearly-eight-year-old, Brendan and I are finally alone.

“Thank you.” His fingers glide into my hair as I step into his arms. “For including her. It made it so special. She’s never going to forget that she was a part of this, of the day we promised to be a family.”

I sniff, pressing my lips together as my eyes start to fill again. “You’re welcome, but you have to stop or I’m going to cry again.”

“That’s okay. You’re sexy when you cry,” he says, making me laugh. I’m still smiling when his lips meet mine, but soon laughter is the last thing on my mind as Brendan’s tongue strokes into my mouth and his fingers tease along the place where my bikini bottom meets my skin.

“We can’t,” I mumble against his lips. “Someone might see.”

“No, they won’t.” His fingers slip beneath my suit, teasing closer to where I ache for him. “It’s almost dark.”

“But it’s not dark yet.” I lean back, placing a hand on his chest. “And I haven’t had a single glass of champagne.”

“But if I give you champagne, you’ll agree to anything, Freckles.”

“Exactly,” I whisper, smiling up at him as I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

His eyes glitter, and his lips curve into a wicked grin. “As long as you won’t accuse me of taking advantage when you’re sober tomorrow morning.”

“The only thing I’ll accuse you of is being a coward if you refuse to get me tipsy and do naughty things to me under the stars.”

“Consider it done, baby,” he promises.

After two glasses of champagne shared on a large flat rock with a killer view of the waves going dark as the stars wink on in the sky and fires flicker to life on the beach, Brendan pulls me onto his lap, guiding my knees to either side of his hips. And then his hands are everywhere.

He unbuttons my cover-up and pulls my bikini top down, baring my breasts, teasing my nipples as his lips devour mine. The waves crash, and my head spins because I am drunk on love and desire and this beautiful man who will one day soon be my husband.

“Let’s elope,” I say as he pulls the ties at either side of my bottoms and quickly draws the fabric from between my legs. “Next week. You, me, and Las Vegas. Or Mexico. Wherever we can get it done the fastest.”

“No, we’re going to do it right.” His breath rushes out over my lips as he frees his cocks and guides me down onto his hot length. “I’m going to marry you in front of our friends and family and a photographer I know who takes incredible pictures of my beautiful wife.”

“I can’t wait.” I sigh into him as he fills me perfectly, completely, and my body welcomes him in like the dear friend he is. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“How about Christmas?” he asks as we begin to move. “On top of a mountain, with snow in your hair like a Viking princess? And then I’ll take you to the honeymoon suite and start working on getting you knocked up.”

“Yes.” I moan, the thought of babies no longer scary.

It’s simply beautiful. Exciting. And weirdly…sexy.

So sexy that it isn’t long before I’m at the edge, clinging to Brendan’s shoulders as I ride him harder, faster, the magic surging between us the way it always does.

My head falls back, the stars spinning as I come in thick, dizzy waves. Brendan joins me a second later, calling out my name as he pulls me close, closer, closest, until our hearts are beating in time and our blood hums in tune beneath our sweat-slick skin.

And even though I nearly fall and twist my ankle later, stumbling down the trail to the beach in the dark while tipsy on champagne and love, it is the best night ever. The very best.

Sure to be followed by many even better nights to come.