Page 72 of Temptation On Ice

I duck my head into his shoulder, laughing. He’s so good at making me feel wanted and dispelling my fears. I slide away, taking his hand and calling for Lux as we walk down the deck stairs. Enzo chases after the dog, heading toward the path to the pond.

“Mr. Tucker, look at this leaf I found! It looks like a heart,” Enzo says, handing me an autumnally orange leaf he’s picked up off the trail.

“That’s a redbud leaf,” I tell him. “I think it looks like a heart, too.”

“You can have it. You take good care of Daddy’s heart. I know you’ll take care of this one, too.”

I bite my lip and blink hard against the damn sucker punch this kid just pulled. I twirl the stem of the leaf and watch as he skips along the path after Lux, stopping to pick up rocks.

“Amazing how innocent he is, never knowing the weight of his words and how they make you feel, right?” Sebastian asks, squeezing my hand.

“Seriously. He makes me feel seen with something as little as a leaf.” I laugh.

Enzo comes running back and hands his dad another leaf. “Now you have matching heart leaves.” He tugs on our joined hands. “Mr. Tucker, you call me Pup, and I want a special name for you. Can I call you Daddy, too? That’s the most special name I can think of.”

Sebastian bends and scoops Enzo up, bringing him level with us as I fight to keep my composure. My heart is racing, and my thoughts are all over the place. I can't possibly answer that. It’s something Sebastian has to give him permission for, since Enzo is his kid, and Dad is his role. I’m just a guy he’s known for a few months and let into his life, even as close as we are now.

I look helplessly at Sebastian, who smiles.

“I would love it if you called Tucker Daddy, also,” Sebastian says simply, pulling me in closer as the path opens out at the pond. “He takes care of us like a good dad does, and he loves you so much, which is all I want. You have to behave and respect Tucker if you’re going to call him Daddy, though, so treat him like me, got it, bud?”

Enzo nods, smiling. “I’m lucky to have two dads!” he shouts.

I burst into laughter as this absolute joy wiggles to be put down and runs to the dock. “I never thought I’d hear that about myself.”

Sebastian takes my hand again as we follow Enzo onto the dock and sit in the Adirondack chairs while he throws rocks from his pockets into the pond. The sky is a crystalline blue, the air starting to get that crisp November chill that heralds true fall in the South, while the temperatures are just starting to cool off.

“Let’s make it happen,” Sebastian announces, squeezing my hand like that settles it.

“Make what happen?” I ask, looking around to see if I missed some vital part of the conversation.

“Give Enzo the two dads he wants. I’m ready. What about you?”

“What do you want to do?” I ask slowly, watching as Sebastian gets out of the chair to kneel between my legs, taking both of my hands. Fuck. Me. He can’t be doing what I think he is.

“I’m saying I want you to be mine, forever. To be my husband. To be Enzo’s dad. I want to combine our last names in some weird hyphenate that will be way too long and amazing. I want to sit on this dock while you fish in the summers, and listen to your hunting stories because that’s not for me, but I’m all about how manly it makes you anyway. I want you to teach our boy all the things that will make him just as amazing and empathetic as you are, because there’s no one else I want him to be like when he grows up. What I want more than a Stanley Cup win, more than a long hockey career, more than all the professional highs and records in the world, is for you to be my husband. So what do you say? Tucker Covington, will you marry me?”

I think my stomach has dropped so far down it’s somewhere in the region of my ass, and my heart is trying to crawl out through my throat with how fast it’s beating. I couldn’t have expected this even if I tried. I never imagined anyone saying these words to me. I’ve never been good enough. Never thought I was worthy of that kind of love and commitment after so many people treated me like I was disposable. Sebastian has always treated me far better than anyone else has, but it’s hard to get over a lifetime of rejection even when you’ve found something healthy. I haven't quite reset my expectations to include what my future looked like, apparently, because here I am, freaking the fuck out now that it’s happening, and I had no clue it was even coming or that he could want it with me.

“Baby? Is-is this too much? Too fast? I knew I should have bought you a ring. You don't have to answer right now. I’ll do this better, I swear. I got excited and rushed ahead. I just wanted you to know how much I want you in our lives,” Sebastian stammers, his voice shaking as much as his hands as he races to explain in my prolonged silence.

I lean forward and cut him off with a kiss, my hands bracketing his face and holding him tight so he stops second-guessing himself. He finally relaxes against me and lets me deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against his and tasting his love before I pull away and rest my forehead against his.

“You’re perfect. Everything you said was exactly what I wanted to hear. Yes, I’ll marry you, even without a ring. All I need is you.”

“Oh, thank God,” he breathes against me before kissing my cheeks. “I’m still getting you a ring. We’ll have matching sets. The fanciest metal and diamonds for special occasions because I can treat my baby, and those rubber ones for everyday, too.”

“Whatever you want. I’ll just be happy with you coming home to me.”

“That I can do, because home is wherever you are.” He stands, pulling me to my feet with him. “Let’s go back to the house and figure out how to celebrate this.”

I eye Enzo, who has moved back down the dock and is drawing in the dirt around the pond with a stick as Lux lies between him and the water, intently watching his hands like she’s fascinated by the story he’s telling her. Such a nanny dog, that one. She’s not letting the little boy out of her sight, and it makes me so happy.

“If your celebration involves getting naked, we have a small problem,” I say, nodding at the pair.

“If you can be quiet, I can put a movie on for him, and we can be quick,” he promises, kissing just below my ear.

“I don’t think you know the meaning of quiet or quick,” I joke, laughing as he laces our fingers and pulls me faster. My comment doesn't discourage him in the slightest.