As the trauma had faded, Caleb and I had settled into a new normal. We’d found a house that was near Mav and Eli’s that gave us some room to grow into. It was also close to the university where Caleb had enrolled for the fall semester after getting his GED. Willahad become the light of our lives and we reveled in every milestone she hit. We were eagerly awaiting her first words, which each of us were equally sure would be our respective titles.
Dadafor Caleb andPapafor me.
The only checkbox I had left to tick off was getting my ring on Caleb’s finger – something that would be a lot easier now that I’d finally found the perfect one.
And fortunately, I’d had the sense to grab it from my dresser drawer right before Caleb had dragged me out the door. Even now, I could feel the weight of it in my pocket.
“Okay, this way,” Caleb said as he took my hand. The car he ushered me into was nice and warm, but when I made a move to take off the blindfold, Caleb stopped me. “Not yet.”
“You do realize I’m going to get even with you for this… and your punishment will likely include this blindfold?”
I heard someone chuckle and realized it wasn’t Caleb. I could feel my cheeks heating. “Caleb, baby, are we in a cab?”
“Um, maybe.” He dropped his voice, presumably so only I could hear him. “And as for your other question, I’m counting on it.”
With that, I stopped complaining because he’d just given me the perfect way to propose. I’d make love to him until he was begging me for release and that’s when I’d slip my ring onto his finger.
At the same time that I slipped the blindfold off.
I sighed and leaned back against the seat.
“What?” Caleb asked.
“Whatwhat?” I responded.
I could practically feel Caleb’s curious eyes on me. But before he could say anything, the cab pulled to a stop. Caleb helped me out. I expected him to lead me somewhere, but instead, he whispered in my ear, “Are you ready to see your surprise?”
“Does it include you naked?” I asked, hoping like hell the cab driver was gone. From the two distinct chuckles I heard, the answer to that was no. I listened as Caleb thanked the driver and sent him on his way. Then his fingers went to the blindfold.
“Just remember that I love you and this trip is just for you.”
“Okay,” I said somewhat nervously.
He pulled the blindfold off. It took my eyes a second to adjust, but when they did, my stomach dropped out.
“No way,” I said. “You’ve got to fucking be kidding me,” I said as I took in the huge snow-covered mountains. There were skiers everywhere, both on and off the massive ski runs, and the ski lift was jam-packed with people.
Oh God, he was taking me skiing.
I’d be making a fool out of myself in front of him and a million other people.
What the hell had he been thinking?
“What do you think?”
“I think you should probably make sure you’re up to date on your health insurance,” I said as I looked at him.
“Exactly what kind of punishment is it that you’re planning?” he asked with a grin.
“Caleb,” I said as I looked at the ski slopes again. “I love you, but there’s just no way in hell you’re going to be able to teach me to ski.”
“Oh, we’re not skiing,” Caleb said.
“We’re not?”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not your surprise,” he said as he pointed at the mountains. He used his fingers on my chin to turn my head slightly to the left. “That’s your surprise.”
It took me a moment to zero in on what he was trying to show me. My eyes went wide when I saw a woman waving at us from the opposite side of the lodge’s driveway.
