“Jos, I’ll do whatever you wanna do. As long as I get to be yours. We’ll make it work, I promise.” And that’s a promise I intend to keep. “I’m so proud of you.”
Her face softens and her eyes glisten. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve always been proud of you.”
“I’m really proud of you too.”
We stare at each other, not filling in what we both know that means. It’s not because we don’t want to, but because we just need the silence for a moment.
She leans forward and hugs me. “I should thank your parents.”
“For what?” I nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her.
“For making you. They did a great job.”
I grimace. “Ew, no, Josie, that’s not the visual—” I stop mid-sentence as giggles burst out of her mouth.
“I could’ve said for not pul?—”
I shut her up with my lips on hers, kissing her deeply until she’s panting for air. “You can thank them by coming to the bakery. They won’t stop asking about you coming to see it, and I know they won’t until you go.”
“That’s right. I remember your dad asking me to come see it.”
That stuns me because while he’s immensely proud of it, he’s never gone out of his way to ask my friends or girlfriends to come. “This is official.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re pretty much part of the family. You really can’t leave me now. If my Dad asked you personally, that means we’re married. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”
She laughs, chest shaking against mine. “That makes no sense.”
“Humor me, baby,” I say against her cheek before I kiss it.
“I didn’t see you kneel or give me a ring. So, no.”
I sit us up and stand, heading for the bathroom. “I don’t have a ring with me, but I’ll kneel for you right now.”
“I guess I’ll take it,” she aloofly says, but I hear the glee in her voice she’s trying to hold back.
“And you’ll be a good girl while you do.”
I hear the hitch in her breath when I set her down.
62
DANIEL
“Morning.”Josie pads into the kitchen wearing nothing but my T-shirt.
I lean a hip against the counter, soaking in every inch of her. From her disheveled wavy hair, down to the rumpled shirt, and every bit of her skin that’s visible.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she bashfully says but still manages to fit a little frown on her face.
“You know I can’t.” I grin, stretching my arms and parting my legs for her to stand between them. She quickly does, snuggling against me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. “You’re wearing my shirt and you’re mine. I’m going to stare at you. Plus, you weren’t complaining last night when I was looking at you. So don’t start now.”
She scoffs. “I’m pretty sure eighty percent of the time, you were staring at my boobs.”
I gasp. “That’s not true. That was like fifty percent. I was also staring at your ass, your pussy, your face. I wish you could see yourself when you’re coming. I swear it’s an experience I’ll never get over.”
