I think I’d rather enjoy married life for a while before bringing someone else into the mix. Then again, I’m not trying to fill a castle or create heirs to Willowhaven’s throne.
Kerris orders a glass of water with lime, which strikes me as an odd combination, but I’ve heard pregnant women suffer from strange cravings.
Good luck to her.
Condensation gathers along my fingers as I raise my glass to my lips for a sip of fizzy, refreshing cider. “Does anyone else know?”
“Just me, Everett, Gryffin, and Maddox, of course.”
Hearing his name sends a thrill zinging down my spine. “Speaking of Maddox... Where is he?”
Her lips lift into a knowing smile. “Turn around.”
Maddox stands in the doorway, his onyx hair tied back from his face, gloriously bare chest on full display, and a small goat tucked under his arm.
It’s a good thing he’s handsome. Otherwise, I’d probably throw him out on his arse for bringing his pet.
Biting back a smile of my own, I meet him before he can reach the bar. “It’s nice of you to show your face. For a bit there, I thought you weren’t coming.”
His smile brightens. “I could be dead, and I would drag myself from beneath the dirt to celebrate the anniversary of your birth.”
Good to know.
“I apologize for arriving late. My Biscuits discovered a new love for muddy puddles and needed a bath.”
Who needs a child when you have a mate obsessed with his pet goat? “Well, I’m glad you’re both here. I brought you something.”
He sets Biscuits down, and the tiny goat stamps his little foot as he protests loudly about the leather lead attached to his collar. “This is the anniversary of your birth. Should I not be the one giving you a gift?”
On any other birthday, perhaps. But this is my twenty-fifth birthday, and I’ve chosen a husband.
I squeeze between Kerris and the guards to the bar and ask the bartender to retrieve the box I asked to be dropped here earlier this afternoon.
A hush falls over the crowd, all eyes on us as Maddox opens the lid, his sharp teeth on full display behind his wide grin. Dark eyes find mine, twinkling with mischief. “A blueberry pie?”
“What other kind would it be? Althoughthispie comes with a question.” One I’ve been waiting a quarter of a century to ask. “Maddox Finch, will you do me the honor of letting me love you in all ways? The little and big ones? The easy and hard ones?”
From his pocket, he withdraws a small box. “Nia Quill, I accept your proposal.”
A wail interrupts the silence, followed by the sound of my mother’s body hitting the floor. Father kneels down beside her, shaking his head as he fans her with one hand and drinks from his glass of cider with the other.
“Your mother has died again,” Maddox says, his voice laced with concern.
“She’ll be fine.” She always is.
Maddox hands me the box.
I’m not sure what to think as I open it and withdraw a spool of ribbon.
“You told me a blue ribbon was once stolen from you,” he says. “Now you have one of your own.”
Heavens above, do I love this man.
“I love you, Maddox.” More than words can express.
Biscuits nuzzles into my skirt. I swear, if he takes a bite out of this dress, I’ll throw him into The Divide. I pull my skirts away and pat the goat on its wiry white head. “Biscuits? You’re not the worst goat I’ve ever met.”
When I stand once more, Maddox’s arms come around my back, pulling me close. “I love you, Nia Quill. In all ways.”
