by M. J. Duncan
“That is true,” Mallory agreed. “Will you throw my bathing suit on the bed? I’m going to grab a robe out of the bathroom and then stick my head out the door to let them know we’ve heard them and will be downstairs by the time our original thirty-minute window will have ended.”
“Or you could just leave them out there.” Addison tossed Mallory’s blue bikini onto the bed and stepped into the bottom half of her own. “You know, for a little mood music while we get dressed.”
“Yes, because there is nothing sexier than the bleating of a tuba,” Mallory drawled as she watched Addison work the scrap of red fabric up her legs.
“It’s more a matter of making them stick it out,” Addison countered as she reached for her top. “You know, they wanted to be annoying so…let them put in the work for it.”
Mallory chuckled and shook her head as she crossed the room to where Addison was standing. “Whatever you want, darling.”
Addison stopped fiddling with the straps on her bikini top and smiled as she grabbed Mallory’s waist to pull her close. She laughed at the sound of Todd letting rip a particularly awful attempt at a high C—though Mallory was willing to bet that he messed it up on purpose, just to be even more annoying—and Addison’s eyes sparkled with laughter softly as she pushed herself up onto the balls of her feet to kiss Mallory softly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Addy,” Mallory breathed as she ignored the noise designed to smoke them out and she cradled Addison’s face in her hands and dipped her head to capture Addison’s lips in a searing kiss that said better than words ever could just how very much she loved her.
“How long do you think they’ll keep going?” Addison murmured between kisses.
Mallory smiled and threaded her fingers in Addison’s hair. They could stand out there playing all bloody day long for all she cared—she was quite content to stay right where she was. “Does it matter?”
“No. I just…” Addison’s voice trailed off into a laugh as the music faded to silence for one glorious moment before Will and his merry band of music makers began a new song. “Wow. The wedding march? Really?”
Mallory sighed and pursed her lips as she turned to glare at the door. “I have no doubt that one was Will’s idea. He’s probably laughing his arse off out there right now.”
Addison made a small sound of agreement as she hooked a finger under Mallory’s chin and gently guided her attention back to her. “He probably is,” she agreed softly. “Because he loves you just as much as he loves teasing you.”
“I’m sorry,” Mallory apologized.
“For what?”
Mallory shrugged. “All of that? I mean, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. We haven’t even properly moved-in together yet, and—”
Addison shook her head as she interrupted Mallory’s rambling with a gentle finger to her lips. “I’m not uncomfortable. I think it’s funny.” She smiled at the way Mallory arched a brow at her in disbelief. “I know we’re not there yet, sweetie, but we will be.” She let her hand drop to cradle Mallory’s neck as she leaned in to whisper against her lips, “And when we are, I will buy a ring and get down on one knee to ask you to be mine forever. And you will make me the happiest woman in the universe if you choose to say yes.”
Mallory’s heart fluttered with joy as she touched their foreheads together. “I will say yes. I can’t imagine a future that doesn’t have you by my side.”
“Me either.” Addison’s eyes crinkled with happiness as she lifted her chin to brush the lightest, most adoring of kisses over Mallory’s lips. “I love you.”
Mallory couldn’t contain her smile as she chased Addison lips to claim them in a sweet, lingering kiss. “I love you, darling. So, so much.”
As always, I must thank all of you, my readers, for continuing to take the time to actually sit down and read something that I wrote. Being able to do what I love every day is a gift that I cherish, and I can’t thank you all enough for your support.
Thanks also go to my amazing, incredible, wonderful betas. To Lou, whose insightful notes and observations kept the finer details of the story grounded in reality when I spiraled too far into the land of make-believe—as always, I could not have done this without you. Thanks also go to Jade for the idea of how to fit a Veritas reference into this story and for going through embarrassingly rough drafts looking for typos and missing words, and to Sarah for taking the first-draft of this thing for a test drive and letting me know how I could make it better.