by Nicola Haken
“Okay.” I snorted. “I get it. You can stop now.”
“I’m sure he’s lovely.”
“Sounds like it.”
Shrugging again, Rhys moved to walk back to the living area. “Tell the lads they can have the treehouse…”
Oh, Rhys.
“…I’m gonna order this food.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the others?”
“I know what Benny likes. David will have to get what he’s given.”
“His name’s Darren,” I corrected, watching Rhys as he walked away.
“I know.”
Staying behind in the kitchen, I ambled over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the decking nestled amidst the dense trees of the forest. Moments later, I felt strong arms snake around my waist from behind, and the familiar scent of the man I loved waltzed into my nose. “Hmm,” I breathed, leaning my head against his.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he whispered into my ear, admiring the view outside. On the wooden decking there was a large table, surrounded by eight wooden chairs. There was a bird table, a barbecue stand, and a wooden gate that led to a separate deck which housed the private hot tub. We were completely secluded. Real life didn’t exist.
It was perfect.
“Look!” I whisper-shouted, pointing to the tree that protruded through the middle of the decking. “A squirrel!”
“Marv would eat him for breakfast.”
Tutting, I angled my head to frown at him before chuckling. He was probably right. Burying dead birds had become an unexpected pastime of mine since moving in with Seb. I didn’t know what else we could do other than not feed the birds in the garden and make sure Marv had a bell on his collar. “Let’s hope he behaves while we’re away.” Mrs Wilson from next door was watching him while we were here, and she threw her cat’s victims in the wheelie bin instead of burying of them. Maybe I was ridiculous, but I liked to give them a better send-off than that.
“Did you know about Benny bringing another guy?” I asked, watching the squirrel disappear up into the bare branches of the tree.
“No idea. Last I heard he was happy being single.”
I held on to the hands he had joined together over my stomach and sighed. “He won’t say it, but Rhys is gutted. I really thought they’d end up together. Rhys deserves someone who’ll make him happy. He deserves what we have.”
Pressing his cheek to mine, I felt him smile. “We do have something special, right? I don’t know if it’s even possible for anyone else to be as happy as we are.”
There were no words to describe how much I loved him. After all this time, his skin on mine, his breath on my face, still sent tingles shimmying through my body. I never wanted to stop getting to know him, stop feeling the flutters in my chest being so close to him brought. He’d given me a family back, given me my identity back. He’d taught me how to laugh, love, hope, all over again. Not just me, but my brother too. I loved him more than I’d ever be able to express with words, but I would spend the rest of my life trying to show him.
“It’ll wear off,” I teased. “We’re only one year in. We still have another forty-nine left to go.”
“Nuh-uh. That’s against the terms of the contract.”
I snorted a quiet chuckle. “Technically there is no contract, and the only rule you stipulated is that I’m not allowed to die.”
His head moved against mine, his breath warm in my ear. “So, what if we made it official? I can’t have you backing out before the term’s up, or finding stupid loopholes about happiness.”
Seriously. He wanted to have sex with me now, with the kids here, and our friends?
“Are you flirting with me, Sebastian Day?”
He nibbled on my ear before sucking the lobe between his teeth. “No, Oliver. I’m not flirting with you. I’m asking you to marry me.”
I spun around slowly, my mouth and my eyes, wide open. “What?”
“I love you, Oliver. I always will. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate that, celebrate us, celebrate the fact you’re still here…and that you’re staying here…for at least forty-nine more years. I want the world to know we’re together. I want to wear a ring on my finger that will remind me of you every time I look down at my hand, and that people will see, and question, and then I can tell them all about you with the cheesiest smile on my face. I want us to get Mr and Mr letters in the post. I want joint bank accounts and your name on the mortgage. I want to love you, argue with you, share my whole life with you. Tell me you don’t want that, too?”
My throat tightened with emotion as he reached out to cup my neck. I leaned my cheek against the warmth of his forearm, staring into the eyes of the only man I would ever want for the rest of my life. “Would I get to wear heels to the wedding?”
My favourite smirk crept onto his face. “On one condition.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You paint your lips the same shade of purple as the night we met.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Deal.”
“Deal? Deal!” Snatching his hand away from my neck, he grabbed my hips and pulled me into him. “You can’t agree to a marriage proposal with ‘deal’! Try again.”
Laughing, I tipped my head back, and then I kissed him. “Yes.” I kissed him again. “I will marry you. Yes, yes, yes! Better?”
Grabbing my hand, he brought it between our bodies and pressed it against the crotch of his jeans, letting me feel how hard he was. “Much.”
Damn… We really needed to be alone. I wondered if we should send the others out to get food instead.
“Now are you flirting with me?”
Leaning closer, nose-to-nose, he whispered against my mouth. “Is it working?”
Sighing in perfect contentment, a bright new future waiting for me, for us, I dropped my forehead to his. “Always.”
The End.
Acknowledgements
Even though he’ll likely never read this, because reading isn’t his thing (yes, he’s one of those weird people) I need to start with my husband, Michael. I wouldn’t be here, doing this, writing, living my dream, without him. He pulls me back when I’m slipping. He listens to me rant and whine (I do that a lot) and tells me everything will be okay even when he has no idea what I’m talking about. He believes in me. Michael, I love you…even when you’re a grumpy arsehole, I love you.
Jay Aheer. Thank you for designing the beautifulness that is the cover of Who We Are. I am in awe of your talent and creativity. It was an absolute pleasure working with you.
Emma Clark. Here is your obligatory mention. You’re shit. The end.
Tracy McKay! My person, my partner in crime, my friend. I wouldn’t have made it to the end of this book without you to fall apart on! Thank you for being there to listen to me feel sorry for myself, bounce my ideas off, and for making everything better…usually with porn. I love you!
Denise Shirley Carter – the biggest bellend I know. Thank you for not being sick of me yet, even though I’m unorganised and forgetful, you still keep me around! I love you. I love your blog. I love your friendship. I even love your zucchini bread! I don’t love the kale you made me eat…I still have nightmares. #Princess4Bellend4Eva
Oor Janie. I have so much love for you! You’re one of the most genuine and caring people I know. Thank you for all the support you’ve given me, for all the conversations – the fun and the serious, for loving me even though I’m a wimp, and for being such a great friend. #WhatHappensInPmStaysInPm
Theresa Golish. You were one of the first readers to welcome me into this wonderful genre, and you’ve stuck with me! Now, I’m proud to call you my friend. Thank you for staying with me on this journey, for your support, and your friendship. Also, thanks for having superhuman typo radar and helping me make it look like I’m super clever at this writing shizzle! ;-) Fellow princess, I adore you!
Rita, thank you for joining my team of people who helped make this happen. I cannot begin to describe how much I appreciate
your insight, your skills, and your honesty. You saw things I didn’t, you encouraged me, you made me want to work harder, you taught me a few things! Oh, and thank you for suggesting the glossary. That idea was both genius, and fun! I am tremendously grateful.
As always, thank you to my beta readers who helped to make this book as good as it can be. Thank you for your beady eyes, your words of encouragement, and for easing the nerves that accompany every single book release. I love and appreciate every single one of you. Emma, Tracy, Janie, Denise, Rita, Leslie, Chloe, Theresa, Danni, Lisa, and Melanie…I couldn’t do this without you!
Bloggers. Yes, I’m a copout because I won’t name any specifically, and that’s because I just know I will forget to mention someone important. But know that I love and appreciate everything you do for me, and the book world in general. I would be nowhere without your support. Thank you for everything you do.
Thank you to the whole MM genre, and all the fantabulous people in it. I’ve never experienced a community like it. I have made some very special, lifelong friends in this genre. The support from readers, fellow authors, and bloggers is incredible and I feel insanely privileged to be a part of it.
Finally, my readers. Thanks to you, I get to live my dream, doing something I love, every single day. Thank you for reading, for supporting me, for interacting with me. I love each and every one of you.
About the Author
Nicola Haken lives in Rochdale, England, with her five kids – one of whom is a grown man who many refer to as her husband. She spends her days writing about life, love, and all the beauty and angst that comes with it, and her nights binge watching Netflix or being the household slave. She’s also not very good at referring to herself in the third person, so if you’d like to get to know her your best bet would be to follow her on social media!
Oh, and if the kids ever ask, she moonlights as the Pink Power Ranger while they’re sleeping…
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Other titles by Nicola Haken
Broken
Counting Daisies
Being Sawyer Knight (Souls of the Knight #1)
Taming Ryder (Souls of the Knight #2)
The Making of Matt (Souls of the Knight #3)