“What are you doing?” I asked as I watched him slowly walk towards me. My husband was definitely up to something. I mean, I had been almost positive that today of all days, he’d show up at some point, but I never figured he’d close the hardware store at ten in the morning and lock the world away behind him.
Husband.I still couldn’t believe we were married.
Not that the band on my finger I never took off would ever let me forget it. I ran my fingers through my curls and smiled.We hadfinally, according to him, saidI dothree months ago. If it had been up to Onyx, we would have gotten married the day after our first official date. But I had wanted to wait.
Not that I hadn’t trusted how he felt for me. It was impossible not to believe in him and what we had when every touch and kiss was sealed with love and respect. Even when we got dirty behind closed doors, and we did that a lot, he never loved and treated me in any other way. He was the man I’d known he was. Probably even better.
I’d just wanted to take our time.
And thankfully, Onyx understood. So, we had dated for two years and engaged for one before I walked down the aisle on my mom and Uncle Rusty’s arm before I reached him.
In the last four years, I had taken over at the hardware store. Yup, right before New Year’s, Uncle Rusty stopped at Pine and Grind and told me to quit while I was on shift. When I wouldn’t just do what he said because, um, I was me, and that wasn’t enough, he explained it all.
From dating Pearl and getting her to retire and even booking his first Alaskan cruise for them to take that spring. That, plus a really heartfelt apology, was enough for me to say goodbye to my barista days. I’d been sad to let it go but excited to start a new, yet old, adventure running the shop on my own.
To my surprise, Uncle Rusty had been true to his word. The moment he signed everything over, he was done. I’d still see him, but it was almost a whole year before he even came back into the store to say hi.
As two business owners, finding time hadn’t been easy at the beginning for Onyx and me. The first four months had been hard. Until one night, Onyx convinced me to move in with him. I might have been tied to the bed and sexually coerced into giving in, since he had edged me and not let me come until I agreed, but I had never been happier to live with someone.
Life was good.Great, actually.Busy and a little chaotic but more beautiful than I could have imagined.
“What’s with the hat, Santa?” I asked even though I had an inkling of why he was here.
“Hmm…” He rounded the counter, something he hardly ever did during the day, and cornered me at the end of it. “Do you know what today is?” I pretended to think, but his arms reached and snatched me up, lifting me and setting me on the counter before he moved his body between my legs.
I loved how we fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle coming together after being lost in a box with others that didn’t quite match up with anyone else.
“Snowflake,” he warned, but it was his eyes and the way he looked at me that made me smile.
“Happy anniversary, Onyx,” I whispered before leaning forward and kissing him. A kiss he didn’t let me control for too long before he deepened it, his tongue licking the seam of my lips for them to part so he could plunder my mouth. It wasn’t until our lungs burned from the need for oxygen that he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.
“Four years,” he said before moving to kiss my cheek then the other. “How can it feel like I blinked? It feels like it went so fast yet I don’t remember anything before you?”
“Because we’re lucky,” I whispered, believing it completely. How couldn’t I when it felt like I had somehow found not just the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with but one of my bestest friends ever.
“You had hot chocolate,” he murmured, stealing little kisses here and there. I smiled against his lips.
“I knew you would stop by, and I know they’re your favorite.”
“Hmm,” he groaned with appreciation, pressing something very hard and long against me. “Delicious.”
“I wanted to sweeten you up before I addressed something.” He stilled in my arms and pulled away. Concern flashed in his eyes for a moment before he caught my smile. “I was wondering what you would think about changing one of the guest rooms.”
“To what? An office?” His brows bunched together. “I thought you didn’t want us to work at home.”
“I don’t,” I confirmed, grabbing his hand and tangling his fingers with mine, then bringing them up to my lips. Pressing a kiss to each knuckle while I looked up at him, I could see his wheels spinning in overdrive. And being me, I let him get a smidge spun out until I slowly guided his hand lower until it rested on my belly. His eyes flared with understanding before they turned glassy, and I lost them as his hands wrapped tightly around me, his face in the crook of my neck.
“I really hope you’re not playing some kind of joke on me right now, Candy.”
“I would never,” I answered, just as softly and gruffly as he had. “Not about this,” I added. His breathing changed against my neck, turned heavier. I felt him press a kiss against my pulse point before he pulled back and looked at me, his hands cupping mine.
“Are we?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Looks like your swimmers were stronger than we thought they would be when we were on our honeymoon.” I’d still been on the pill at that time.
“Honeymoon?” He looked confused as he tried to do the math. All I could do was nod.
“Yeah…” Emotion clogged my throat. I’d waited to tell him today because it was our anniversary, but now I was getting worried I’d made the wrong call.
