“Oh, I assure you, we can.” He winked, and I sensed there was a story there.
“Well, lucky for you, I cook a lot. And I also have a fantastic sugar cookie recipe. It’s my mom’s. Maybe I can teach you.”
“I’ve had those before. So you teach me to bake, and I’ll teach you to decorate?”
I grinned. “That sounds like perfection.”
We finished decorating the rest of the cookies together, his perfectionism balanced by my enthusiasm. When we were done, Alice came back with a special box for us to take them home.
“These turned out wonderfully,” she said, beaming at our creations. She was being exceptionally kind considering I’d peeked at her Instagram while I was waiting for my mate to finish his work. She had the real talent in making her cookies look gorgeous and delicious at the same time. She was kind enough not to comment on my lack of talent.
As we left the tent, Braxton carried the box carefully, like it held precious cargo.
I slipped my hand into his free one. “Thank you for this, mate. It was a lot of fun.”
“I’m glad. Are you up for one more activity? Or would you like to head back to the lodge?”
“Well, I would love to go back to our room and get naked with you. I am also very curious what other amazing plans you have.”
He kissed my cheek. “Just a little longer and we can go back to the room and do all those wicked things I want to do to you. I do have one more thing I’d like to do for our date.”
“Lead the way,” I said. At that moment, and for the rest of our lives, I’d follow my mate anywhere.
Braxton led me through the town square. We followed the crowd as they all seemed to migrate to the town’s edge.
“Where are we going?”
Braxton chuckled. “Well, that didn’t take long. What happened to letting it be a surprise?”
“Impatience.”
He leaned over and kissed my cheek, all the while keeping us moving forward. “Almost there.”
Within a few minutes, we came to a park where everyone seemed to be settling and staring up at the sky.
“Fireworks?” I asked.
Braxton nodded. “They should start any moment.”
Just then a loud boom sounded, and the sky erupted in glowing reds and greens. A cheer rang out among the crowd.
We found a bench that was free, and I sat down next to Brax. He pulled me close to him. His lips found my cheek, and the delicious scent of him washed over me. I melted into his arms. “Thank you, Brax.”
“Thank you, mate. This is probably the best vacation ever.”
“So far,” I said. “We’ve got a lifetime of vacations together.”
“Indeed we do. It will be tough to top this one.”
“It will,” I agreed.
Chapter 12
Braxton
Sleeping next to my mate every night was pure delight. Never before had I thought I would find such comfort in another’s arms. Yet here I was, surrounded by my mate’s scent, with a blanket covering us. My arm wrapped around his middle, my leg looped over his, our hips flush against one another with his back to my front.
Perfection.
