by Fall, Lucy
When I finally get at the building, pulling into a parking spot, I’m relieved to see the brothers standing outside, talking to their dad. I wasn’t sure he was going to come, so it makes me feel glad to see him present. I’m sure this has been hard for him to some degree, watching the bar he bought years ago being changed from his vision.
I head over to the small group, smiling. Cole sees me and his eyes warm, and my heart flutters. Three months since we first said we loved each other. It’s been amazing. We spend almost all our free time together, and he even moved in to my house a couple of months ago. Waking up in his arms…there’s nothing else that can compare to that feeling.
Contrary to all my fears, our relationship has organically flowed into what it is now. We still laugh and joke and hang out the way we did when we were just friends. Only we touch and kiss and share more romantic affection, too. It’s the best of both worlds, one I couldn’t have had with anyone else.
This man gets me, knows me, loves me. I might not understand why, but I’m not letting it go.
“You look gorgeous,” Cole says, kissing me right on the lips.
I kiss him back for a moment, then lean away and laugh. Swat at his chest. “I’m here in official work capacity. We have to keep it business for now.”
Cole leans toward me, his muscles compelling me to reach up and stroke his upper arms. God, he’s so damn sexy. “Business now. Pleasure later.”
“I promise,” I whisper back.
He steps away, in professional mode as well, and follows me to his brother and father. They’re both beaming, sliding glances at the covered sign above the entryway.
“Do we get to see what’s under that?” Xander says.
I nod. “You ready?” When I tug the sheet off the sign, all of them exhale hard. I swallow and spin around, and my fears are assuaged when I see approval clear on their faces. “So it’s okay?”
The sign is simple, crafted from wood glossed and carved to look like some of the ornate woodwork inside. It was done by hand, a surprise for them, which I paid for out of pocket.
“Kitten. This is gorgeous.” Cole shakes his head in disbelief.
His dad’s eyes well with tears and he sniffles. The emotion on his face humbles me. It’s clear this is difficult for him, but he’s also pleased so far. I hope that emotion carries along when we go inside.
“Follow me,” I tell them, opening the front door. While we worked on the final stages earlier this week, I forbade them from entering. The bar has been closed for me to do all the last-minute touches to make this place shine.
They’re quiet as we walk into the entryway. I point out the changes in the wood’s color, which they’d seen before, then explain other modifications and updates I made. Sunshine pours in from the new windows, and the whole place glows with ambient overhead light.
We move through the main bar, then to the kitchen, and Xander does a lot of excited nodding as I show off the state-of-the-art kitchen we installed. It’s ready for an expanded menu. When we move to the patio, Cole’s dad draws in a sharp breath.
I turn to him. “Is this okay?” I’m aware he’s not going to be owning this bar for much longer, since he and Xander found a potential investor to buy out his portion of the business. But his approval still is important to me.
“It’s wonderful. Lila would have loved it.” The words are simple, and we stand outside in silence, the sun beating down on our skin, the breeze blowing across the leaves of the young trees planted in the far back of the property. Everything is clean, all set for customers.
Last, we go to the basement. I can’t help but smile as I think about how scary this place used to be. We did a lot of cleanup to make it much less frightening, took out that god-awful bathroom, added more storage space. The room is freshly painted and stocked full, ready for use.
Cole’s hand brushes my lower back, and I lean into his touch. When his fingers stroke me through my thin shirt, I know he’s thinking about what first happened here between us. The truth-or-dare night, where our world was flipped on its head.
My lips quirk, and I give a subtle nod toward the corner. The blanket we used the first time we were together is folded on the bottom shelf. He barks out a laugh and shakes his head at me, and I laugh too.
“What’s so funny?” Xander asks.
“Nothing, just a goofy inside joke,” I tell him. “You guys ready to go upstairs and finalize everything? It’s almost time to open your doors, right?” The employees would be arriving within a half hour, and I knew they’d want time to explore the changes, familiarize themselves with the new layout before customers came in.
We head toward the basement stairs, me and Cole in the back. When I step onto the first step, his hand holds me in place. We let the two other men proceed up, and I turn and give in to the kiss I’ve been wanting to give Cole since we came inside.
Cole sighs against me, his body scorching, and I savor the intensity building between us. My lower belly throbs in anticipation. Clearly my body remembers every moment of what happened in here too and would love a repeat performance. With a groan, I make myself pull back.
He shoots me a crooked grin. “I can tell exactly what you’re thinking right now.”
The flush on my cheeks is a dead giveaway. “It’s hard being fair-skinned,” I bemoan.
“Come here.” He tugs me toward the middle of the room, still holding my hand. His eyes are suddenly intense on mine, and I feel another surge of love for him, this man who sees everything in me and loves me anyway.
“You’re amazing,” I tell him.
“You are,” he counters. “Look what you’ve done to this place. It’s going to be a huge success because of your hard work.”
I shrug. “The contractors did most of the work.”
“Don’t be modest.” He takes a step toward me, gripping my hand harder. “Lauren, I love you so much.”
I feel myself melting. Man, I wish we were alone right now. I would love to feel him inside me, to christen this room. It’s insane how much I crave him. “I love you too, Cole.”
“You’re my best friend,” he continues. I feel my pulse skitter in my wrists when his thumbs stroke me there. “My best friend and the woman I love more than my own life. Being away from you for so many years was a special kind of torture, but I have to be glad that things went the way they did, if only because it brought us to where we are today.”
My heart throbs hard. “You’re my best friend too.” I can barely speak past a tightening throat. “Thank you for being by my side and trusting in me. And for taking a chance and daring me to kiss you.”
Cole stays quiet for a long moment, and I find myself starting to feel weird. Why is he just staring at me like that?
Then he lowers himself on one knee.
My chest gives a painful squeeze. I can’t say a word, just watch in silence when he digs into his pocket and pulls out a ring box. Oh God, oh God…
He flicks it open, and there’s a diamond solitaire nestled in black velvet. It’s stunning.
“I know this seems fast, given we just started dating a few months ago, but to me it isn’t. Lauren, I’ve been in love with you for so many years, and nothing in my life has ever felt so right. I can’t imagine living without you, and I don’t ever want to. We complement each other, bring out the best in each other. You make me laugh, you frustrate me, you drive me crazy. But I will never regret stepping off the ledge in the hope of being with you. It was worth the risk. I want you to marry me, be my wife. Will you?”
It takes me a moment to find my voice. “I love you, too.” I don’t realize I’m crying until tears streak down my cheeks, leaving wet trails on my skin. My heart is so full it might explode. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes.”
There’s the tiniest hint of a tremble in his fingers when he takes the ring out of the box, slides it onto my finger, and it isn’t until then I understand that he’s nervous. Did he really think I’d say no? My sweet, beautiful man. All mine, for the re
st of my life.
I cup Cole’s smooth-shaven face and tug him to my mouth, and I show him without words exactly how I feel.
THE END OF CRASH AND BURN
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