by Ciara Shayee
Laker crooned the lyrics to the song currently playing into Indie’s ear, his hot breath tickling her. It was freezing outside, so they were bundled up in coats, hats, and scarves to stave off the cold, but both of them cursed the layers between them as they huddled as close together as possible.
Indie sighed, resting her cheek against his chest. It was cold, but this moment was perfect. Her eyes were once again drawn to the sparkling new ring on her finger. It really was utterly beautiful.
And likely far more expensive than she could ever imagine; Indie was trying not to think about the price tag.
Laker’s kisses along her hairline between words sure helped distract her.
As they swayed together in the moonlight, Indie couldn’t help but try to picture what their life together would look like from now on. They’d discussed moving out and planned to broach the subject with Reagan in the new year. The thought of moving into their own home, newly engaged and ready to take that next big leap together, filled her with nervous but excited anticipation. She wondered if she was strong enough to handle it, but with Laker at her side, she felt stronger than ever.
All at once, she felt as though she was just ready.
Ready to move on from the past and welcome the future; to run head-first into her new life as mother to Marley and Bodhi and future wife to Laker. Her past defined her outlook on the future in a way, but she didn’t want to let it lead her decisions. That part of her life, that part of her story, was over now. One day, she would have to share it with Marley and Bodhi, but not yet. For now, it was time to live this wonderful new life they’d been given.
It was time to turn a new page and pen the next part of their story.
“I love you,” she said quietly—suddenly just…needing to say it.
Laker sighed, squeezing her tight. “I love you, too. More than the sun and the moon and all of the stars.”
“I’m so glad you were brave enough to tell me how you felt.”
Laker pulled back to smile down at her. His face was shadowed but glowed in the dim moonlight, his eyes startlingly beautiful so close to her own. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Indie smiled.
With a sigh and a quick spin of Indie under his arm, Laker shook his head. “One way or another, you’d have realised. You’re more clever than you think and I was rubbish at hiding how I felt, even back then.”
“Marley helped. She was a big push in the right direction.”
They both let their minds run back to Grace and Ryan’s wedding. Hearing Marley call him ‘Daddy’ for the first time had been a magical experience for them both. It had also shown Indie just how much she trusted Laker—how much she truly loved him.
“Shall we go in?”
“One more dance,” Laker said, tugging her back against his body as a new song begun. Indie didn’t recognise it, but he obviously did as he began singing the words in time.
She snuggled into him, allowing his soft but somehow, still slightly rough voice to caress her. Her lips curled up. “You like this song. You requested it at Grace and Ryan’s wedding, didn’t you?”
Laker nodded against the crown of her head, continuing to sing.
A quiet tapping on the French doors eventually caught their attention. Sammy was tapping on the glass with his paw, Faith whining insistently at his side.
“Oops. Looks like the spots are cold,” Laker mumbled. He peered down at Indie. “You ready to go in, too? Your cheeks are all pink.”
She grinned and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go in. We’d better try to wind the kids down, anyway. They’ve had far too much sugar, and they’ll be hell to get to bed with Carl-Roman and Chase here, too.”
“You’re probably right,” Laker agreed. He stared down into her eyes for a moment, sighing heavily. It was a relieved, content sound and filled her with a sense of rightness and belonging. She was content, too. And overwhelmingly happy. “I can’t wait to make you my wife and be a real family with Little Sweet and Tesoro.”
Indie’s heart pounded. “I can’t wait, either.”
He leaned down, pulling the breath from her body with a bone-melting kiss before abruptly stepping back with a grin. “If I don’t stop now, I won’t stop, and we’ve got company.”
Indie turned toward his pointed glance; Marley, Carl-Roman, Chase, and Bodhi were pressing their faces to the doors and covering the glass in sticky fingerprints and lip marks. As they laughed and made their way in to re-join the craziness of their family, the puppies more than happy to be back in the warmth with their little humans, Indie and Laker shared a glance.
It was happiness, relief, and ‘I love you’s’ all rolled into one look as they took a seat together in the bay window and settled in to watch Reagan and Peter learn the Macarena, as taught by Carl-Roman and Marley.
Indie gazed around at her loved ones, her heart fuller than it ever had been before, her left hand significantly heavier than it had been before Laker’s surprise proposal.
One thought ran on a continuous loop through her head as she leaned back into Laker and kissed his five ‘o clock-shadowed jaw.
Life just doesn’t get any better than this.
COMING SOON…
PROMISES TO KEEP
“Happily ever after; it’s a lovely concept.
Indie is ready to embrace it after twelve years in captivity. Finally home with her family, she wants to live a quiet life with the ones she loves most. But they’re not alone looking for happy endings in the wake of her captor’s demise—big questions still go unanswered.
The past may be behind them, but that doesn’t mean it can’t catch up.”
~ oOo ~
You can continue following Indie, Laker, Marley, Bodhi, and the rest of the gang in the second instalment of the Promises Series.
Pinky Promises
Promises to Keep
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ciara Shayee is a twenty-two-year-old romance addict with a habit of turning even the sappiest stories into an angst-fest. When she isn’t writing, she’s usually doing one of three things—reading fanfiction, exploring with her Dalmatian, Dakota, or binge-watching CSI shows.
This is the first of her many novels and the first book in the Promises Series.
You can find her on Facebook at Ciara Shayee or in her reader group—Ciara Shayee’s Subconscious.