CHRISTMAS IN HAWAII. That was my gift from Kyle. We had flown down for Gabby and Pax’s wedding—which was amazingly beautiful—and on the day we were supposed to leave, he surprised me with an added two week vacation. Not only that, but he’d invited Zane and Nic to stay with us as well, so I didn’t have to be away from Nic on Christmas.
We were in a private house right on the beach with our own heated pool. It was a slice of heaven. The ocean water was so clear you could see through it. It made swimming much more enjoyable.
I knew Kyle had other plans when he’d invited Zane and Nic to tag along. Every day while Nic and I sat out on the beach, Kyle and Zane trained. Zane also made it a point to make sure Nic noticed him when he’d run past us on the beach. At first, they slept in separate bedrooms, but that ended after a few days into the trip. I loved teasing her about it.
Once Christmas rolled around, everything was perfect—except the fact that I left Kyle’s present at home. I hadn’t been expecting to be in Hawaii for Christmas. Now we were cuddling on the couch, with our colorful Christmas tree across the room. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was on the television, and I was in heaven.
“One of these days, I’m going to see snow,” I said, popping another Samoa cookie into my mouth.
“You’ve never seen snow?”
I glanced up at him and shook my head. “Nope. I’ve always wanted to have a snowball fight with someone.”
He chuckled. “I’d dominate you. My parents used to take Kacey and me skiing in Aspen when we were younger.”
“Aspen would be nice, but I’ve always wanted to visit the Swiss Alps. It’s one of the top places on my bucket list.”
Kyle held me close and kissed the back of my ear. “How about we go there next Christmas?”
Squealing, I sat up and faced him. “Really? We can do that?”
He twirled a tendril of my hair between his fingers. “We can do anything you want, love. But for now, would you do me a favor and go for a walk with me?”
I grabbed another cookie and popped it into my mouth. “Are you trying to say I need to work off these cookies?” I teased.
“Oh, I have other ideas on how we’re going to do that. Right now, I just want to take a walk.”
“All right,” I agreed, reluctantly leaving the warmth of his lap. “Let me get some water and I’ll be ready to go.” We both got off the couch and I went to the kitchen to get my water while he went into the bedroom and came out with a T-shirt on. “I’m sorry I don’t have your Christmas present here,” I murmured. “I promise as soon as we’re back at home, I’ll give it to you.”
Draping his arm around my shoulders, he squeezed me tight. “I’m not worried about it. You’ll have yours to open up when we get home too.”
“You give me enough by just being with me. I don’t need presents to be happy.”
“I know, but it’s something I want to do.”
When we got down to the beach, the only light we had was from the moon above, casting a sensual glow over the water. There was something up ahead lying on the sand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. “What is that?” I looked up at Kyle and he smiled.
“You’ll see.”
The closer we got, I realized it was a large, red blanket and a bucket of ice with a bottle of wine. “We’re not spoiling Zane and Nic’s romantic evening are we?”
He chuckled. “Nope, this is all for you. I wanted it to be special. Look,” he said, turning us to face the palm trees. As if on cue, the trees lit up with bright, sparkling lights.
“Oh my goodness, this is awesome. Is this all your doing?”
“Zane helped me put up the lights while you and Nic were in town the other day. Do you like it?”
I kissed him and laughed. “I love it. This is perfect.”
“I’m not quite done.” Taking a deep breath, he reached into his back pocket and cupped something in his hand. My heart started to pound when he got down on one knee and reached for my shaking hand.
“Kyle, what are you doing?” I whispered.
Sliding the diamond on my finger, he peered up at me, smirking. “I’m asking you to marry me, what does it look like?”
I cupped a hand over my mouth and immediately felt the burn behind my eyes. “Oh my God.”
He chuckled. “Megan West, I love you and can honestly say you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. I want you to be the first and last. If you’ll have me, I’d be honored if you’d consider being my wife.”
With tears falling down my cheeks, I dropped to my knees and tackled him in the sand. “I don’t have to consider anything. The answer’s yes.” I kissed him hard and he rolled me over onto the blanket. “Now, I’m certain. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
He closed his lips over mine and trailed them down to the tops of my breasts. “It’s not over yet, love. It’ll only get better from here.”
Lifting his head, I held onto his face and looked into his eyes, crying. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” he replied, brushing his fingers over my cheek. “And I’m going to make sure I show you every single day, starting now.”