Chapter 7
seven
. . .
CADE
The storm hadn’t let up by morning. If anything, it had gotten worse overnight, ice coating every surface, causing the branches from the trees directly out her window to snap.
The world outside Stella’s loft had been transformed into something that looked like a snow globe.
It was beautiful, but it was definitely going to cause major chaos around town.
Stella was still asleep, her face pressed into my chest, one leg thrown over mine like she was afraid I’d escape if she didn’t keep me pinned down.
Her dark hair fanned out behind her across the pillow in a tangled mess, and there was a faint bruise blooming on her collarbone where I’d gotten a little too enthusiastic last night.
I traced the mark lightly with my fingertip, remembering exactly how it had gotten there.
The way she’d gasped when I bit down on that spot.
The way her nails had dug into my shoulders.
“Stop watching me sleep,” she mumbled without opening her eyes. “It’s creepy.”
“Can’t help it. You’re cute when you’re unconscious.”
“Seriously, man? Extra creepy. Also, I’m never cute.” She cracked one eye open and glared at me with as much menace as someone could manage while still half-asleep and fully naked. “I’m terrifying and badass.”
“You’re cute and terrifying.”
She made a noncommittal sound and burrowed closer, her hand sliding across my stomach in a way that was definitely going to lead somewhere if I didn’t redirect this conversation.
I caught her wandering hand before it could reach its intended destination, my dick giving a half-hearted protest at being denied more fun.
“Hey. I need to talk to you about something.”
She opened both of her eyes and pushed herself up on one elbow to look at me, suddenly wide awake. “That’s never a good opening line.”
“It’s not bad. I just …” I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous in a way I hadn’t been since I’d first kissed her last New Year’s Eve. “My dad texted. He invited us to Christmas dinner tomorrow.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Us? As in, you and me?”
“Yeah.”
“He knows we’re …?” She gestured vaguely between us.
“Together? Yeah. Colin told him, apparently.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Look, I know it’s a lot to ask. My old man’s not exactly warm and fuzzy. He doesn’t do feelings or heart-to-hearts. But he’s been trying lately to be better. And it would mean something if you came.”
Stella studied my face for a long moment, and I could practically see the wheels in her head turning.
I knew what she was thinking. She’d grown up knowing my dad as the guy who showed up drunk to Little League games, the one who frequently forgot to pick me up—from school, from their house.
From everywhere, really. The man who’d let his grief turn him into someone angry and unrecognizable.
But he’d been sober for three years now. Went to his meetings, worked his program, showed up when he said he would. He’d never be the dad I needed when I was a kid, but he was trying to be something now. It didn’t undo all the damage he’d caused along the way, but it was something.
“Okay,” she said finally.
“Okay? That easy?”
“Yeah. I’ll come.” She poked me in the chest, her nail digging into my sternum. “But you owe me.”
“Name it.”
“I’ll think of something.” She started to lie back down, but I caught her wrist.
She gave me a look that was half curiosity, half suspicion.
“Wait,” I told her. “There’s something else.”
“Jesus, Cade.” She sat up fully now, the duvet slipping down to her waist. “How many bombs are you dropping this morning?”
“Just one more. I promise.” I wiped my suddenly-damp palms on the blanket. “I have a Christmas gift for you.”
Her expression softened immediately, her shoulders relaxing. “Cade, you didn’t have to—”
“I know that, but I wanted to. Only, you can’t open it in front of anyone tomorrow. It’s …personal.”
A slow, wicked smile spread across her face, and I knew exactly where her mind had gone. “Did you buy me a sex toy, Murphy?”
I felt my face go hot, heat crawling up my neck. “What? No. I mean—” Fuck. “That’s not the gift I’m talking about.”
Her eyes went wide with delight at what I’d inadvertently just revealed, and she actually clapped her hands together like a kid on Christmas morning. “Oh my god, you did! You bought me a vibrator or something, didn’t you?”
“Stella—”
“What is it? A rabbit? One of those app-controlled ones where you can operate it from anywhere?” She was practically bouncing now, and I had to force myself to focus on her face. “Oh my god, is it a butt plug? Please tell me it’s a butt plug.”
My brain short-circuited, and I had to force myself to swallow. “You’d want that?”
“Yeah.” She leaned in, her voice dropping to that low, sultry register that always undid me. “I’d be really into that. Into a lot of things, actually, if you wanted to try them.”
Images flooded my mind—Stella on her hands and knees with a plug in her ass while I fucked her. Her hands tied to the headboard, completely at my mercy. And then, surprisingly: Stella with a strap-on, asking if I was ready.
That last image surprised me. I’d never really thought about doing anything like that before, but the idea of letting Stella take control, of being that vulnerable with her, of finally finding out what all that prostate fuss was about—
My dick, already half-hard, responded enthusiastically to that mental image.
“We can definitely talk about that later,” I managed, my voice coming out rough as I shifted to hide my growing erection. “All of it. But that’s … um, not the gift I meant. The other one is … it’s downstairs in my truck. Can I go get it?”
“Now?”
“Yeah. If that’s okay.” I was going to freeze my balls off out there, but if I didn’t do this now, I didn’t know if I’d work up the nerve again anytime soon.
She studied me for a second, the expression on her face telling me she thought I’d lost my mind. But then she nodded and said, “Yeah, okay. Go get your mystery gift.”
I kissed her quickly, then rolled out of bed and pulled on my jeans. They were stiff and cold from sitting on the floor all night, and I had to hop around on one foot to get them on. “I’ll be right back,” I said, grabbing my thermal and pulling it on over my head.
“I’ll be here. Naked and waiting."
I groaned. “You’re trying to kill me, woman.”
“Maybe a little.”
Ice crunched under my boots as I made my way down the street to where my truck was parked. Everything around me was eerily quiet, muffled by the layer of ice as far as the eye could see. Even the usually busy street was empty, folks smart enough to stay inside on Christmas Eve.
I had to chip away at the frozen door handle with my keys before I could get the truck open. My fingers were already going numb, and I cursed myself for not grabbing gloves on my way out.
The small wrapped box was in the glove compartment where I’d stashed it a couple of days ago.
I’d been carrying it around with me since I was twenty-three, waiting for the right moment.
Waiting for Stella to see me the way I’d always seen her.
Waiting for a sign that maybe she could feel the same way.
And now that she finally had, I was terrified that she’d think it was too much, too soon. Terrified she’d see it as pressure or an ultimatum.
But it wasn’t an engagement ring. Not yet. It was a promise. A piece of my history—my family—that I wanted her to have.
I tucked the box into my pocket and headed back inside, my teeth chattering by the time I reached the warmth of the stairwell.
Stella was sitting up in bed when I returned, the blanket pooled around her waist, leaving her bare from the hips up. She’d arranged her hair into something somewhat orderly. “That was fast,” she said.
“It’s fucking freezing out there. I think my balls actually retreated into my body.” I shrugged out of my jacket and pulled the box from my pocket, my fingers still clumsy from the cold. “Here.”
Her eyes dropped to the small square box in my hand—unmistakably jewelry-sized—and all the color drained from her face.
“Um, Cade.”
“It’s not what you think,” I rushed to assure her, plopping down on the edge of her bed, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat. “Obviously it’s a ring, but it’s not …I’m not proposing, Stella. Not yet, anyway.”
Her shoulders, which had climbed up around her ears, dropped half an inch—then tensed right back up. “Not yet?”
“Look, I fully intend to marry you someday,” I said, meaning every word. “But I know we’re not there right now. This—” I dipped my chin toward my hand “— is something else.”
She stared at the box like it was a ticking time bomb, her throat working as she swallowed. She pulled one long breath in, then pushed it out again, over and over, like she was trying to steady herself.
“You can open it.”
Stella’s hands were shaking as she carefully took the box from me and peeled away the plain red-and-green striped wrapping paper. She took her time unwrapping it, like she was trying to delay the inevitable, and I had to resist the urge to just rip it open for her.
When she finally lifted the lid, she inhaled sharply, her eyes flying up to meet mine before dropping back down.
Inside, nestled in black velvet, was a delicate gold filigree ring with a deep red ruby at its center. It wasn’t flashy or large—just simple and beautiful and timeless, like the woman in front of me.
“Cade,” she whispered, her voice cracking as she reached out and brushed the pad of her finger over the stone, like she wasn’t sure it was real.
I gently took the box from her and lifted the ring free, holding it up to the light. The ruby caught the pale winter sun and glowed like fire.
“It was my grandmother’s,” I said, the words coming out in a rush.
“My mom’s mom. She gave it to me before she died—I was twenty-one, just a kid, really—telling me to hold onto it.
She said I’d know when I met someone special enough to deserve it.
Someone who made me happy. Someone who made me want to be a better man. ”
Stella reached out without seeming to realize she was moving, her fingertips brushing the back of my hand. That touch steadied me in a way nothing else could.
“I’ve been carrying it around for years. I almost gave it to you for your twenty-fifth birthday, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it without making it weird. How do you give your best friend’s older sister a family heirloom when she doesn’t know you’re in love with her?”
“You’ve had this for ten years?”
“Yeah, give or take.”
“I almost gave it to you the night you won that blind taste test, and I watched you accept that trophy with tears streaming down your face.” I smiled at the memory. “You were so fucking beautiful, and I knew. I just knew it was meant for you.”
Her chin trembled, and she pressed her lips together like she was trying to hold it together. But a tear escaped anyway, sliding down her cheek.
“Hey,” I said softly, cupping her face and wiping the tear away with my thumb. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She looked up at me, her eyes shining. “I just—what did I ever do to deserve you?”
“You were just you,” I said simply. Honestly. “What choice did I have but to fall for you?”
Stella let out a watery laugh and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "You knowI hate crying, Murphy.”
“I know. But you’re cute when you cry.”
“Shut up,” she said, smiling through the tears.
I took her left hand, then paused. “I’m putting this on your middle finger, okay? When I put a ring on the other one, I’m going to do it properly.”
She nodded, a tiny, wet sniff escaping her as she held her hand out to me. I slid the ring onto her middle finger. It fit perfectly, like it had been made for her all along.
She stared down at it for a long moment, turning her hand this way and that to watch the ruby catch the light. Then she looked up at me, her eyes searching mine like she was trying to determine if this was really happening.
“Do you really mean it?”
“Mean what?”
“That you actually want to marry me someday?” Her voice broke slightly on the last word.
“With my whole fucking heart,” I answered without hesitation. “I’ve known since I was fifteen years old that you were it for me, Stella. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”
She stared at me for another beat, and then—to my complete shock—she pulled the ring off her middle finger and held it out to me.
My stomach dropped. “Stella—”
“I’m not saying we get married tomorrow,” she said quickly, cutting off whatever spiral I was about to fall into. “But I know what I want, and that’s you. Forever. So if you’re serious about this, then put this ring where it belongs.”
Time stopped, and the world narrowed down to just the two of us.
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I am of anything.”
My hands were shaking as I took the ring from her outstretched fingers. “Stella McKinley, I—” I started to move off the bed.
“Don’t you dare get down on one knee,” she scolded, smiling and crying at the same time. “I’ve never been a traditional girl a single day of my life, and I won’t have you messing that up now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I laughed and slid the ring onto her left ring finger. It looked even better there than it had on the middle on. “I love you, Stella McKinley,” I said, my voice thick with emotion.
“I love you, too, Cade Murphy,” she whispered back, and then she was kissing me, her hands in my hair, her body pressed against mine.
When we finally broke apart, she looked down at the ring on her finger and the smile I felt like was reserved for only me.
“Merry Christmas, Cade.”
“Merry Christmas, baby.”
Outside, the ice storm raged on. But in Stella’s loft, wrapped in her arms with my grandmother’s ring on her finger, I had everything I’d ever wanted.
And for the first time in my life, I believed I deserved it. That I deserved her.