Someone to Love (32 page)

“That’s because I let you sell my vintage
Beetle for the damn thing.” Her marionette lines depress as she
holds back a laugh. “Honey, you sure you’re ready for this?” Her
voice shakes as she hands me the round platinum band. It holds a
simple diamond in the center and winks in the light as if my
grandmother herself approved of the situation.

“I’m more than sure.”

“You could take your time—sew your wild oats.
If she’s really the one, things will work out in the end.”

“Sewing my oats wasn’t all it was cracked up
to be.”

“I figured those bad boy shoes never really
fit you.” She runs her fingers through my hair and lifts my chin in
her direction.

My mother has aged decades these last few
years. She used to believe in love, have men in her life, and brim
with excitement each day, then the last one took off and she never
recovered.

“How about you?” I toss the ring in the air
and catch it. “Are you writing off that chapter in your life, or
are the books still open to finding that perfect someone?”

“There’s always room for someone to love,
Cruise. It’s just about finding that special person. It’s all about
time and place.”

“I thought it was about destiny and soul
mates,” I say, half-teasing.

“It’s mostly that.” She winks. “A little
magic now and again doesn’t hurt either.”

That’s the exact ingredient I’m looking for
to make this next moment with Kenny most memorable—magic.

On Valentine’s Day, I drive Kenny up north to
the Alexander estate on a crystalline afternoon that makes the snow
on the ground glitter like fallen stars.

“Is Pennington somehow involved in this
surprise?” She makes a face as she notes his sports car parked in
the circular drive.

“God, I hope not,” I mutter under my breath,
driving down another quarter mile to the barn where Jackie houses
her prized thoroughbreds. Kenny’s face lights up as she spots the
horses roaming free in the corral. They’re all regal in their own
right, but it’s the Appaloosa that’s my favorite—black and white
spots like a leopard. Kenny is going to look like an angel riding
him through the fields.

“Horses?” Her face smooths out in wonder as
we park by the stalls.

I head around to her side and take up her
hand.

The sun starts to dip in the west, washing
the landscape in gold.

“We’d better hurry before we lose light,” I
say as we make our way toward the overgrown barn.

“What are we doing? Are we going to ride?”
Her dark hair whips around her face until she shakes it out and
makes the wind sweep it back in perfect compliance. It doesn’t
surprise me that Kenny can get the elements to do her bidding.

“Nope, no riding,” I tease. “Just cleaning up
around here. I’ve been working for Jackie since I was fifteen. She
pays me fifty bucks to scour the stalls clean once a month. I
thought I’d bring along a helping hand.” I give her shoulder a
little squeeze.

“No way. We’re shoveling Jackie’s horse crap
for a lousy fifty bucks?” She gives a wry smile before dotting me
with a kiss. “Okay. I’m in.”

A gentle laugh rolls through me. “Actually,
that was yesterday—and the fifty bucks comes in handy now and
again. But for now, I have something a little better planned.” At
least I hope she thinks it’s a little better. The truth is, I’m
shaking like a virgin on prom night. My palms won’t stop sweating.
I keep wiping them down on my jeans, trying to get a grip as each
moment passes.

“I have a gift for you.” I bring her hand to
my lips and press in a kiss.

Kenny keeps her arm strapped around my waist
as I lead her to the back. We bypass stall after stall, the scent
of lemon oil clots up the air from the wash I gave the walnut doors
a month ago. Our shoes scuff through the hay, creating a hushed
whisper as I walk her over to a large box with a bow on it. It’s
light as a feather, and I gingerly hand it to her.

I decided to ditch the wrapping in the event
one of Jackie’s prized equine possessions decided to fill its
stomach with parchment. She’d undoubtedly sue my ass the second
they shit tinfoil.

“Cruise! You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to.” I press in a quick kiss and
nod for her to open it.

Kenny pulls back the ribbon. She lifts the
lid, and her eyes round out in wonder. “Boots!” Her lips
quiver.

“They’re lined with fleece, so they’ll keep
you warm.”

Kenny holds up the sable-colored leather and
admires them.

“They come with a stacked heel, so you can
propagate your vixen-like ways.” My heart thumps as she continues
to examine them. I almost opted for the homelier ones that cost
twice as much just to keep Kenny from looking so damn hot on
campus, but Kenny’s beauty is a fire I can never put out—wouldn’t
even want to try.

“Thank you.” Her eyes glitter with tears as
she buries her arms in their warmth. She looks up at me from under
her lashes and sighs. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I land my lips over hers
and linger before pulling away. “Let’s check them out.” I help her
put them on, trading her high tops for something that might
actually ward off frostbite.

“I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven.” She
moans as her feet sink into the plush reserve.

“That good, huh?”

She gives an impish grin. Her mascara is
smudged in the corners from the fresh dab of tears.

“It’s because you’re in my life.” She warms
my mouth with an exploratory kiss. For a second, I think maybe we
should lie down right here in the hay, but I’ve got a ring burning
a hole in my pocket and the sun is working against me.

“Let’s do this.” I pull
Lady Luck
Tonight
out of the stall and saddle her up. I help Kenny climb
onboard and she gives a solid yank to the reins.

“Whoa.” I jump off the stall, landing behind
her. Kenny hands me the leather straps, and I teach her how to use
them as we make our way out of the barn.

“We’re going to kill this poor thing,” she
whimpers with her body pressed against mine. Our hips move in time,
slow and circular.

“She can handle it.” I bury a kiss in Kenny’s
hair, close my eyes, and soak in the glory of the moment. “She’s
sturdy and stout. She’s got the endurance of a Mack truck. Plus,
we’re heading out less than a mile.”

We make our way past the corral, and the
chaparrals press themselves against the sky like felt. Kenny scoots
to the back of the saddle as far as she can, and I wrap my arms
around her. I pepper her with kisses as we disappear down the
bridle trail laden with bare maples. The evergreens loom, large and
daunting, like nefarious shadows that refuse to give their
secrets.

“I’ve never done anything like this.” Kenny
touches her fingers to my cheek, and I kiss them. “You really know
how to pull the magic from the air.”

And there it is. Magic. Kenny feels it, and
so do I.

Lady Luck pulls in just shy of the meadow by
the frozen pond. A spray of dappled light filters through the
centurion Oak. Plumes of ethereal sunshine rise in vapors,
transforming the snow-covered landscape into something just this
side of a fairytale.

I hop down and help Kenny slip into my arms
before leading us over to the boulders that skirt the area.

Kenny pulls me in gently by the neck and
loves me with her lingering kisses.

God, I want her right here in the frozen
tundra of the Alexander estate. I envision us laid out like
silhouette cutouts, her hair sprayed out like ebony wings.

I drop to my knees, and she follows me
down.

I pinch my lips at the oversight. “You
weren’t supposed to do that.” I can’t hide the smile anymore. Joy
has bubbled to the surface like hope unstoppable.

“Was I supposed to do this?” She unbuttons my
jeans and looks up at me with a dare.

I pull the ring from my pocket before we have
my hard-on splitting the difference between us as a lasting
matrimonial memory.

“I love you, Kenny.” I draw in a ragged
breath. “You saved me. You taught me to breathe and showed me how
to appreciate the beauty in every single moment. I never want to be
without you.” I lick my lips, and the glacial breeze bites over
them. “Kenny, I beg of you from the bottom of my heart—please, be
my wife.” I hold out the ring like an offering. My cheek slides up
on the side, and I hold my breath as her eyes widen with disbelief.
I give an apprehensive smile. “Marry me—yes, or no?”

Kendall

Perfect Love

“Cruise!” I can’t stop staring at the
beautiful ring he holds between us as we kneel in this frozen
version of heaven. Everything in me surges. An explosion of brand
new feelings go off inside me like fireworks, so potent and viral,
they put excitement and wonder to shame.

Through the eye of this ring is a portal, a
bright shiny path to a future with Cruise. It comes with a promise,
backed by love, and everything in me sighs with relief because the
very thing I decried as a fallacy, materialized in the only person
I have ever wanted. And now, he held something tangible for me to
have and to hold, from this day on.

“Yes!” It drills from my lungs, loud and
capricious—crisp as the air that sings it back to me in an
echo.

“Yes?” He looks unsure as if maybe he dreamed
it.

“Yes! Yes, yes,
yes
!” I lunge into him
with a swarm of wild kisses, salted with tears. I have never felt
so whole, so happy and overwhelmed all at the same time.

“Yes.” Cruise closes his eyes a moment. He
picks up my left hand and slips the ring on my finger. It glows
against my skin. The diamond shimmers in the reserve of light like
a star encased in a seam of moonlight. “It was my grandmother’s
ring. I hope you don’t mind.”

“God, no. It’s beautiful. I’m touched it
belonged to her.” I shiver into him. “And it fits. That’s a
miracle.”

“You could trade it in, or we could get you
something different for the wedding. I just thought it’d look
gorgeous on you, and I was right.” His gaze never dips from
mine.

“I don’t want anything different. This is
perfect. You’re perfect.”

Cruise melts a kiss over my lips and runs his
hands up the back of my sweater, warm and strong. The same arms
that will love me tomorrow and the day after that until eternity
unravels like a spool.

My coat acts like a blanket as I pull Cruise
down to the snow. His face is alarmingly attractive against the
backdrop of a sodden sky, and my stomach melts at the sight of
him—at the thought of knowing he’ll always be mine. He kneads his
hands over my body as if he were a sculptor, working my jeans down,
anxious to have me. He dusts his fingers over my belly, slips his
hand between my thighs, and his dimples dig in like twin shadows.
Cruise watches from above as I writhe from his touch—he supervises
with a heated intensity as he sets me on fire from the inside. This
erotic bliss, this inflamed burst of ecstasy is the threshold to a
new era in our lives. He relaxes over me and pushes in with his
hips, slow and sweet, meeting me right there in my fevered
delirium.

Cruise makes love to me in a bed of snow with
those tender groans that wrench from him with an aching passion. He
blesses me with a kiss, soft and careful as his tongue strokes over
mine. Cruise satiates me from the inside out with a pull of
dizzying affection. I memorize his touch, take in his scent, fill
my ears with every errant sound that emanates from his throat.
Everything about Cruise makes me greedy for more. He covers me with
his body and buries himself inside me in the most intimate way.

This is all I want.

Forever.