And I finally found what I want to do. I told Casey that I loved sticking roses in vases. But it turns out, I really loved the roses. I threw myself into cultivating new roses, and my father and I are working on a few hybrids that look really promising. The afternoons that I spend with him in the greenhouse working are some of my favorite.
Things with my mom are still…touchy. But we are speaking, even if she doesn’t agree with my choices. She came to the wedding, and that spoke volumes.
But the best thing about this year—and my very favorite times—are the nights with Casey, followed very closely by the days. He loves me in the way I’ve always wanted to be loved.
Each night he paints the ways he loved me on my body, proving to me over and over that there is nothing he wouldn’t do to make me happy. He never lets me hide from him, and never lets me slip away from myself.
He continues to take care of me and take care of the community with his whole heart, and at some point, my nickname of ‘The Mayor,’ stuck with more than just me. The people of Elgin started calling him that too. It tickled him pink, and he has way too much fun calling me his First Lady.
But the nickname spread so far that people outside of Elgin actually thought he was the mayor. Both of us laughed our asses off when a reporter from Knoxville called to get Casey’s opinion on a local proposition for the county.
Now, with the fireworks exploding in front of us, I lean my head on his shoulder. He smiles and kisses my hair. “How’s my First Lady this evening.”
“I’m good.”
He laughs quietly. “You don’t wish that we were out in the woods?”
I try to keep myself from smiling and fail completely. “I’m always wishing for that.”
“There’s still time.”
“You know, I appreciate the offer. But as amazing as that is, if we’re going to have sex, we have a very comfortable bed right upstairs that would be a lot faster.”
“True.”
More fireworks explode. My favorite kind, with the long trails of sparkles like a fountain in the sky.
“Hold on,” Casey says. “I almost forgot.”
He gets up and goes into the house for a moment, and when he comes back, he’s holding a mug that’s topped with whipped cream. “Merry Christmas.”
“You got me more hot chocolate? I already had one today.”
“I know you love it and you only get it once a year. Besides, the mother of my child gets anything she wants.”
I laugh. “Be careful where you say that. As soon as everyone knows, I’m going to be inundated with well-meaning advice from every person in the county and everyone is going to touch my stomach.”
“Only I get to touch the stomach,” he says, sitting back down next to me and slipping his hand under my shirt and bathing me in delicious warmth.
The chocolate is delicious. So different from the stuff that comes in packets. It’s basically melted chocolate. “Think I can bribe them to give me the recipe if I tell them that I’m pregnant?”
“Probably. But I’m willing to bet you could probably stalk the internet and find a decent recipe. You could even experiment and get a better one.”
I moan in pleasure as I drink the chocolate and lick a little bit of whipped cream. “That sounds like a fun project. I could do that.”
“You know what I was thinking about today?”
“Hmm?” I’m a little distracted by the delicious gift he’s given me.
“I was thinking about names.”
The best kind of chill runs down my spine. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I know that we don’t know yet, but I was just trying some on for size.”
I turn on the swing, sitting cross-legged in front of him with my hot chocolate. “Tell me.”
“Lily or Samantha for a girl. Nicolas or James for a boy.”
The fact that those might be the names of our child hits me. Holy shit, we’re going to have a baby. I mean, of course I knew that, but talking about names makes it so real that tears come to my eyes.
Casey looks at me, concerned. “Are they really that bad? If you don’t like them, we can choose other ones.”
“No,” I say, brushing away the tears. “It just really, really hit me.”
Leaning forward, I kiss his shoulder. It’s the only place that I can reach right now without spilling the chocolate. Of course Casey tilts my face up to his and kisses me properly. Deeply. The way that still makes me dizzy after all this time.
Life wasn’t perfect, it never is. But right now it is doing a pretty good job at pretending to be, and as Casey picks me up and carries me inside, I know that it’s good enough for me.
* * *
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Big Man’s Happily Ever After Page 48