Tracy and Toby back to L.A.—he has school tomorrow.
Angus, Ryleigh, and the rest of the band are heading home to Minneapolis to decompress for a week or so until they have to come back to Vegas to meet up with Nobody’s Fool and rehearse for the tour.
But the day isn’t over for me.
Because we’re back in our hotel room and my new husband has just handed me an envelope.
“What is it?” I ask in confusion.
“Your wedding present.”
“I didn’t get you anything!” I protest, horrified that it never occurred to me.
“It’s okay. You’ll understand why this is different when you open it.”
I feel terrible but push down the wave of guilt as I open the envelope.
Inside is an itinerary.
For a trip?
I glance at the information and then look up at him. “I don’t…understand.”
“You’re booked on a first class flight to meet me in London in mid-October,” he says patiently, a smile tugging at his lips.
“But…” I start to protest but can’t think of a valid reason not to go.
“Already talked to Dolly. She and Sylvie will take turns visiting your mom and Dolly’s even going to take over baking your peanut butter pies for the restaurant, so you don’t lose them as a client.”
“Oh, my gosh. Tate!” I drop the envelope and throw myself in his arms. “Thank you. This is amazing.”
“I wanted today to be special,” he whispers against my hair, arms wrapped around me tightly.
“Every day with you is special,” I say. And I mean it.
He’s been everything I could have wanted and more, despite his initial reaction when I told him I was pregnant.
And now this.
“I’m crazy about you, Summer,” he whispers as I lift my lips to his.
The moment we touch I’m lost in him. It never gets old, the physical intimacy between us. I want to say that there has to be more to a relationship than sex, and there does, but with us it’s a conduit. The physical somehow helps us connect in other ways—ways that are hard to explain. I just know that when we’re together like this I feel things I didn’t expect to feel so soon in the relationship.
“I want to undress you,” he whispers, pulling away slightly.
“Why?” I ask curiously.
“Because you’ve been so self-conscious about your body lately, and I want to explore every inch—and show you how beautiful I think you are.”
I sigh.
What else can I do? He’s romantic and sexy and…so fucking thoughtful. It’s no wonder I’m falling hard for my new husband.
So I just stand there as he turns me around and unzips my dress. It falls forward a bit but instead of taking it off, he starts kissing the area between my shoulder blades. He traces his fingers along the bumps of my spine, pressing more kisses in random places.
I adore the way it feels when he touches me.
Even in the most passionate moments, he’s always gentle, kind, cognizant of my needs. And tonight is no different. It’s like he knows exactly what I need before I’m even fully aware of it.
