Chapter 32 – Cole-Present #2
She looks at me then, eyes shining. “Home isn’t that house, Cole. It’s you. It’s Cohen. Sitting on the couch eating cold pizza. It’s Cohen trying to convince us he doesn’t need a bedtime. Your boots by the door and your arms around me when I fall asleep. Home is wherever you are.”
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out at first. My throat is too tight. My chest too full.
“So yeah,” she continues, voice thick with emotion now, “I’m not gonna let you call it my house anymore. It’s ours. You live there. With me. And Cohen. And if you try to back out of that now, I’ll remind you we just got legally married in front of an actual witness.”
I laugh—soft, but deep. The kind that comes from the bones.
“You threatening me, Mrs. Parker?”
She grins wide at that. “Damn right I am. You’re mine now. Legally. Emotionally. Geographically.”
I reach over and take her hand, bringing it to my lips and kissing her knuckles. “You really want to be stuck with me that bad?”
She leans in until our foreheads are touching, even with the console between us. “I’ve only ever wanted to be stuck with you.”
A few seconds pass in silence, and then she whispers, “So what do you say, Mr. Parker? You ready to move in with your wife?”
I grin. “Hell yeah, I am.”
And in that moment, driving down a quiet street with a wife beside me and a life full of promise, I know without a doubt, I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
I carry Kenna into the quiet of our home, the weight of everything we’ve been through settling around us. It feels like time has slowed, like we’re finally in the place we’ve always needed to be. Together.
Kenna’s hands are soft against my chest, and I can feel the warmth of her touch seeping into me, grounding me in this moment.
I gaze down at her, taking in the familiar softness in her eyes, the way her lips slightly part when she breathes in.
She’s here, right here with me, and I can hardly believe it after all the time apart.
Her hand slides up to my neck, her fingers tracing the edges of my jawline. I close my eyes for a moment, leaning into her touch. It’s a comfort I never knew I needed until this moment. We don’t speak; words feel unnecessary right now.
Slowly, her lips press against mine in a gentle kiss, warm and tender.
It’s not rushed, not full of desperation or need, but quiet and full of emotion.
It’s as though we’re telling each other everything we couldn’t before.
Every second we spent apart, every moment we missed. It all melts away with a simple kiss.
I pull her closer, feeling her body against mine, and I can’t help but get lost in the connection. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I finally have it. I can feel her heart beating against mine, steady and sure, and it fills me with a sense of peace that I never knew was possible.
When we pull back, we stay close, just looking at each other, and in the silence, I feel more connected to her than ever before. I gently brush a strand of hair from her face, my fingers lingering on her skin, memorizing the warmth of her touch.
“I never want to let you go,” I whisper, my voice hoarse, full of emotion I can’t quite put into words.
Kenna smiles softly, her hand resting over my heart. “You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.”
The words hit me, and I press my lips softly to her temple, feeling the pulse of her heartbeat under my touch.
She’s here, in my arms, and for the first time in a long time, the weight of everything.
All the distance, the time apart, it feels lighter.
All of it feels like a distant memory, something that doesn’t matter now. What matters is us.
Her hands find their way back to my chest, her fingers tracing the outline of my shirt, like she’s memorizing the feel of me, too. I can’t help but smile at how natural this feels, how easy it is to just be with her, without the worries and the chaos of everything else.
Kenna pulls back just slightly to look at me, her eyes shining with an emotion I can’t quite place. It’s love, yes, but it’s also relief, hope. Maybe even a bit of disbelief, because we’re here, we’ve made it through all the hard stuff, and now we have a chance at the life we’ve always wanted.
“Do you ever feel like we’re in a dream?” She murmurs, her voice soft and unsure, like she’s afraid to jinx it.
I smile, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “Every day,” I admit. “But I think it’s real. And it’s ours.”
She leans in again, just a little, and presses her forehead to mine. “I never want to wake up,” she whispers.
I close my eyes, taking in the sweet sound of her words, of the way she makes everything feel like I’m living in paradise.
I set her down and we climb the stairs, her hand in mine as I guide her to the bedroom.
I set her down on the bed, and she gasps as my lips find her neck. She tastes so fucking sweet. And the sounds she is making? These little moans. It’s almost enough to make me come before we’ve even begun.
“More,” she begs. “Cap. More.”
I nip at her neck, and her body arches beneath me. My tongue trails along her collarbone and up her throat to find its way back to hers.
“You sound beautiful when you beg, Mrs. Parker,” I whisper into her mouth.
She moans in response, her teeth clamping down on my bottom lip.
I tug at her dress before I realize what I’m doing, groaning when I can’t unbutton it. “Why the fuck is it so hard to get you out of this?”
“Because you want me so bad you won’t be patient with the buttons,” she replies with a giggle, reaching back and unbuttoning the dress herself.
She’s right, and all the words I may have had in response escape from my mouth as soon as I discover she didn’t have a bra on. And now the woman of all my fantasies since I was fifteen years old is lying in our bed, bare breasts pointing up toward me, her nipples hardening under my stare.
“Fuck, Sunshine.” I wipe my hands down my face, heart beating wildly in my chest. “Look at you.”
Her eyes fixate on my chest. Her gaze roams my pecks then to each row of my abs. When she reaches the V that leads to below my suit pants, her bottom lip disappears between her teeth. For a long moment, her eyes stay there before looking back up at me beneath her long lashes.
She’s a goddamn vision.
“Open your legs, Kenna.”
She smiles as if she is up to something before responding. “I will when I’m ready.”
I smirk, eliminating the space between us. I stand up, giving myself a moment to take in her perfection before lowering myself to her breast and sucking her nipple into my mouth.
I’m not gentle. Not soft.
I watch her lips part, but no sound comes out. A silent scream that I take as a yes. So I kiss her once hard before moving to her neck and the sweet curve of it, breathing in the scent of her. I am so utterly obsessed with her.
“My pretty little wife,” I mutter, pulling her hips closer. “I love you so much Sunshine.”
“I love you too, Cap.”
After we celebrate our marriage, just the two of us in our home, surrounded by flickering candlelight, shared glances, and quiet laughter, a stillness settles between us.
It’s warm and full, the quiet that doesn’t need words.
Everything that needed to be said has already been spoken in our vows, in our touches, and in the silence between each breath.
Kenna and I drive to her parents’ house, hand in hand.
Beneath us, the road hums. The sun shines gold, painting her skin in a light I want to preserve.
Everything feels different now, as if a profound change has occurred, not just a passing of time, but a shift in reality.
The trees seem greener. The sky is impossibly blue.
Even the wind feels like it’s whispering something sacred.
Everything is suddenly brighter, lighter. It’s like the weight of the day, the weight of everything leading up to this moment, has vanished.
I glance over at Kenna and see her watching me out of the corner of her eye, her expression half-curious, half-awestruck, like she’s studying something precious that doesn’t quite feel real yet.
Kenna keeps sneaking glances at me, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips, like she’s still trying to absorb the magnitude of what we’ve just done. I squeeze her hand tighter, taking in the peace in her expression.
“We really did it,” Kenna murmurs, almost as if she’s saying it to herself. Her voice is soft, reverent. Like speaking louder might shatter the spell.
I nod, my voice thick with emotion. “We did, baby. And you’re stuck with me now.”
She laughs, a soft, musical sound that makes my heart feel lighter. “I think I can manage that.”
I love the way she says it with no hesitation, no teasing. Just certainty. Quiet, unshakeable certainty. It makes something inside me settle. Like an anchor has dropped deep inside my chest.
When we pull up at her parents’ house, I can already hear the noise. The voices, the laughter, and the faint hum of music coming from inside. The warm, familiar sound of family. It’s chaotic in the best way, the chaos I’ve always dreamed of being a part of.
The kind that feels like home. Even though it’s not the house I grew up in, it’s the house where I finally feel like I truly belong.
Kenna looks over at me, the tiniest hint of nervousness in her eyes. “You ready?”
I catch the way she bites the corner of her lip—not out of fear, but out of hope. There’s a vulnerability in her gaze. Like she’s still asking, even after the ceremony, ‘Are you sure you want all of this?’ Not just her. But the life that comes with her. The past. The future. The messy middle.
I grin, squeezing her hand one more time. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
We step out of the car together, and before we even reach the door, Cohen’s voice cuts through the air. “Mom! Dad!”