She doesn’t argue further, and we enjoy the rest of the meal without either of us saying much. To me, the silence is comfortable. I think she feels the same, too. It’s as if we’ve been together for years instead of hours. This precious woman on my lap is my wife. Mine forever.
I can’t wait to take this dress off her and show her what it means to be loved by me. That might only happen with my mouth and my fingers tonight, but she will learn.
Eventually, I hold up a bite, and she shakes her head. “I’m full, Adam.”
“Good girl.” I kiss her temple and finish eating before shoving the plate away.
“I think you tricked me,” she says, giggling.
“It would seem that way. Did it work?”
“Probably. I’m stuffed.” She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me close.
God, I love the feeling of her soft skin against mine. “Have you ever had champagne?” I ask her, knowing that’s incredibly unlikely.
Easing her grip, she says, “No.”
“Shall we try it? It’s a celebration. I promise I will take you on a proper honeymoon soon, but for tonight, we have flowers, candles, strawberries, and champagne.”
“Those are the prettiest strawberries I’ve ever seen.”
“They do look delicious, don’t they? We’ve been working on getting a garden started next to the barn. Hopefully by next summer, we’ll be producing most of our own produce.”
“A garden?” She sits taller. “My mother always had a garden. I loved helping her. Everything died after she passed. Hannah and I were too distraught to remember to take care of it. My father didn’t pay any attention to anything. And then Hannah left. I kicked myself for months because it meant we didn’t have as much food that winter.”
“You like gardening, sweetheart?”
“I love it. I know a lot about fruits and vegetables, and when they need to be planted. Maybe I could help.”
“You can definitely help. Hell, you can be in charge if you want. Our parents always had a garden when we were growing up, too. We recognize the importance of it, but we all have jobs, so it’s hard to give the land the attention it needs.”
“You all have jobs?” Her face scrunches up.
I chuckle as I reach around her with both arms to pull the bucket of champagne and the bowl of strawberries closer to us. “Yep. We have offices in the main house. I’ll give you a tour and tell you what I do when we feel like venturing out.”
“So you don’t go somewhere off the property to work?”
“Nope. We all work from here, just like our parents did.” I carefully remove the foil from the top of the bottle. “I’m going to push this cork with my thumbs, and it’s going to be loud when it pops out. It will also fly across the room. Are you ready?”
She grabs the edge of the table and braces herself. “I guess.”
When the cork pops free, she nearly jumps off my lap, but I wrap an arm around her and steady her. “Told you it would be loud.”
“That’s so weird.”
I pull one of the two flutes forward and pour the effervescent champagne into it. First, I hold it to my nose and inhale to make sure it smells right. I hold it up between us. “A toast. To us. To a long life of love.”
She smiles broadly.
I take a tiny sip. “Oh yeah.” And then hold it up to her lips. “Try it.”
God, I love how she leans slightly forward to accept my offering. With my other hand, I hold both of hers against her thighs. After initially trapping her fingers before, I hadn’t let go. I like the feel of her small hands in mine. I also like the hitch in her breath when I give a slight squeeze.
I know I’m subtly dominating her. I can’t help it. It’s my nature. I want to take care of her in every way she’ll let me. It’s one of the ways I’ll show her how much I love her.
Her brows scrunch as she takes her first taste.
“What do you think?”
