Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
HAPPY TEARS
Beckett
“Wait, did you just say ‘no’?” Addison asked, and I cringed at her surprised and slightly annoyed tone.
To be fair, it was the first time I’d ever declined her advances, and it would probably be the last time it ever happened, too.
But I’d planned our entire evening, including our arrival, the proposal, and everything after.
And as badly as I wanted to utilize that fluffy, white bed behind her and fuck her with only that ring on her finger, we had other plans.
Too focused on making sure the day went smoothly, I’d foolishly forgotten to add an hour or two into our timeline for fiancé sex.
But I’d make up for it later.
“Unfortunately, we can’t right now. But hopefully the surprise I have downstairs will make up for it.”
She raised her brows incredulously and narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s very doubtful, but I’ll humor you for now. Only because I’m really curious.”
“That’s my girl,” I said and offered her my hand, which she begrudgingly took.
Fuck, I couldn’t believe she’d said yes. Although we’d talked about marriage and how we wanted to build a life together before, it was another thing entirely to actually ask with the intention of it happening sooner rather than later. To take the possibility and make them concrete plans.
I led her out into the hallway and across the second floor to the top of the stairs. That was when she heard the first sign of commotion below and stopped in her tracks.
A smile broke across my face, and her eyes widened.
“What—what’s happening down there?”
“Let’s see,” I said, tugging her along. She took a few cautious steps but followed me down. It wasn’t until we reached the last few steps that she gasped and let go of my hand.
“Bri?!” she exclaimed and sprinted across the entryway, tackling her best friend to the ground. They fell in a fit of laughter and tears.
“Well, hi to you, too,” Bri said around a laugh while trying to ease their fall.
Covering my smile with my hand, I leaned back against the railing and watched the two of them.
They finally stood, and Addison braced her hands on her best friend’s shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re here!” she said.
Bri glanced over at me and smiled. “Well, your new fiancé knew I had to be here if you were getting engaged. I couldn’t miss this. Now, let me see the ring.”
Addison flashed me an appreciative grin and stuck her hand out for Bri. The ring sparkled in the light, but it was my beautiful girl I was captivated by. It was hard not to stare when she exuded joy. She was the center of my world anyway.
“Come on,” Bri said. “There are a few other people here to see you…both of you.” With their hands interlocked, she began to lead Addison into the other room, where even more of our friends and family were waiting. But Addison stopped with a look back at me.
“I—one second,” she muttered, and Bri nodded as she continued around the corner. No matter how quiet they tried to be, we could still hear the hushed whispers of our friends and family in the kitchen.
In two quick strides, Addison’s arms were around my neck, and her lips were on mine. I tightened my arms around her hips and lifted her slightly off the ground. Her smile made it harder to extend the kiss, and it made it impossible for me not to do the same.
She sighed in contentment and leaned back, dropping back to the floor.
“Just wanted to say a ‘thank you,’ and give you a little taste of what to expect later. You know, after we celebrate with all our friends and family that I can hear in there.” She motioned with her head back toward the kitchen, and I dragged my thumb across her lower lip.
Every day with her felt like I was living my wildest, best dream.
Reaching for her left hand, I lifted it to my mouth and kissed her palm then the ring on her finger.
Dropping my voice so there was no chance anyone else could hear us, I looked back up at her.
“Oh, the things I’m going to do to you, baby girl.
They are indecent and so fucking dirty. And I’m going to do every single one with that ring on your finger and nothing else.
Except maybe my initial around your neck.
” I toyed with the little initial “B” she still wore every single day.
“I love the sound of that,” she whispered back, cutting her eyes toward the kitchen before they bounced back to me.
The green clouded with desire, she took a deep breath and licked her lips.
“And while we mingle and celebrate, I want you to think about how I’m going to look on my knees for you, with your ring on my finger while my hand is wrapped around your cock. ”
“Good God,” I muttered with a groan, tossing my head back.
My mind immediately flashed to the very pretty, alluring mental image she painted, and I willed my cock not to react.
But it did anyway, as did the rest of my body.
A shiver of desire whipped down my spine, and I held her hard, my fingers digging into the little bit of exposed skin where her top rode up.
She let out a sweet giggle and grabbed my hand. “Come on, Daddy.”
With a deep breath, I could do the only thing I could—and the only thing I ever wanted to do—I followed her around the corner.
We were greeted by cheers and clapping and smiling faces from our closest family and friends.
Everyone we invited made the trip out. I’d paid for many of their flights and gas and hotel stays nearby, and seeing the smile on Addison’s face, it was worth every single damn dime.
Hell, it was worth triple the amount if it elicited that reaction.
Grams was the first to step out from the crowd, and Addison immediately began to cry. While they embraced, my parents and brother joined us, and then it was a free-for-all. Everyone took turns offering their congratulations.
Caroline, along with Natalie, had done an incredible job helping me plan the entire evening.
They were both ecstatic that I planned to propose and that I’d enlisted their help.
We’d spent quite a bit of time with both Caroline and Ryder as well as Natalie and Theo over the past few months and grown closer.
Ryder and Theo were closer in age to Addison, but they were good guys, and it was nice to spend time with other couples.
Especially with Theo and Natalie planning a wedding for later in the year. Natalie and I practically grew up together at Crawford Law, and it was good to see her happy. Apparently, Caroline and Ryder had also moved in together and were living their own happily ever after as well.
But today was about us, about me and Addison. Especially about Addison.
People were eating and drinking, and the house was abuzz with conversation.
After spending hours chatting with everyone and thanking them for making the trip, I needed a little bit of a break.
Through the window, I spotted Grams on one of the rocking chairs at the end of the long deck, right where the stairs led down to the beach and ocean beyond.
Addison was occupied with Bri, my brother, and Caroline in the living room, so I took the opportunity to slip out the back door. The air was still warm, but the breeze blowing over the water was slightly cooler.
Sipping my drink, I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the salty ocean air. It was one of my favorite places in the world, so when Addison told me she’d never seen the ocean, I knew it was exactly where I would take her.
Grams heard the creak of the wood beneath my feet as I approached and looked back. Her gray hair was windblown, and she’d grabbed one of the blankets from the porch and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She cupped her glass of white wine in her hands and motioned to the chair next to her with it. I took the offered seat, and we sat in companionable silence for several minutes, letting the waves fill the quiet between us.
“I wish Helen could have been here to see this,” Grams finally said.
Taking a deep breath, I stared down at my tumbler of whiskey and smiled to myself. “I don’t know. I kind of think she is. In one way or another.”
“I tend to agree. I feel her sometimes,” she said with a sigh. “At first, it was a little unsettling, but now, it’s a comfort knowing she might still be looking out for me, for us.”
“So, you never read the letters she left?”
Grams shook her head vigorously and took a sip of her wine. “Of course not. That would’ve been an invasion of privacy, and although I like to snoop, that felt like a little too much.”
Laughing, I ran a hand through my hair and crossed my ankle over my opposite knee.
“She gave me her blessing,” I admitted. “There was a lot more than that in it, of course, but she made it clear that we had her blessing if we decided to take that step. I’m not sure why I didn’t mention it when I came to talk to you, to get your blessing, but I wanted you to know now.”
She was silent for a moment, and I looked over to see her brushing a tear away from her cheek. Fuck, I hadn’t meant to make her cry.
“I’m so—”
She waved off my apology and shook her head.
“Oh no, it’s not you. I’m just an old, emotional woman, and I appreciate you telling me.
I’m sure she explained it in her letter to you, but even though she was a hard sell at first, Helen really ended up liking you.
And better yet, she ended up liking you and Addison together.
She would hate this party, but she would’ve loved what it was celebrating. ”
Grams inhaled a shaky breath and downed the rest of her wine, setting the glass on the table between us. “The ring you chose is perfect,” she said. “It’s exactly what I always imagined Addie would want.”
Deciding to be completely honest, I took her lead and finished my drink. I set my glass next to hers on the table and leaned back in my chair.
“God, I hoped it would be perfect because I bought it in November of last year, right after we were reintroduced at Lake Hills.”
“You what?”
Grams and I both sat forward and quickly glanced behind us. Addison was standing just behind our chairs with her own wine glass in her hand. The wind whipped her pink hair around her face, and her features were marred in surprise.
“I’ll…umm…I’ll just let you two chat,” Grams said. She stood and grabbed her glass, patting me on the arm and kissing Addison’s cheek as she passed.
Addison waited until Grams was out of earshot before she came around to stand in front of me. “What did you say?”
Clearing my throat, I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I—”
“Did you really buy the ring right after we met…for the second time?”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh.
Holding up her hands, she shook her head, confusion twisting her brows. “You’re serious?”
I chuckled and peered up at her. “Do you really think I would lie about something like that, baby girl?”
“No, I’m just…why?”
Reaching forward, I gripped behind her thigh and tugged her closer to me.
She willingly came and allowed me to pull her down onto my lap.
Her arms were bare, and the cool breeze coming off the water made goose bumps appear over her skin.
She shivered, and I held her close, tucked against my chest, trying to keep the worst of the cold from hitting her.
Kissing her forehead, I brushed stray curls from her face and tucked them behind her ear. My hand rested against her cheek. “I bought it because I already knew you were it for me, Addison.”
“But we didn’t even know each other,” she argued. “We’d slept together once and I was brushing you off, refusing to go out on even a single date with you, yet you were confident enough to buy a ring that I know had to cost a very, very pretty penny?”
“I wasn’t confident. I was hopeful,” I explained, and her expression shifted.
The confusion and frustration morphed into a small smile, and her eyes softened.
“I was having something resized for Aunt Michelle, and when I went into the jewelry store to pick it up, I saw this ring.” Lifting her left hand, I held it high enough that it glinted in the moonlight.
“When I saw it, I thought of you and what you might look like wearing it. And how badly I wanted that to happen even then. I know it sounds crazy, but I hoped that daydream would come true someday. So, I bought it and kept it safe until I, hopefully, one day could give it to you.”
I looked up from where my attention was caught on the ring and saw tears gathering in her eyes. One spilled down her cheek, and I quickly brushed it away.
“Happy tears,” she whispered, likely reading the worry on my face. “I’m so glad you were so hopeful and pushy.”
She smiled, and I laughed, kissing her forehead, nose, and chin before I kissed her lips soundly.
She wiggled and managed to snake her arms around my neck, pulling herself up until she was straddling my lap, both knees planted on the chair beneath me.
I swore I could feel the heat of her pussy through her thin linen pants and groaned when she ground against me.
Fingers digging into my hair, I held her hips and urged her to keep moving.
The crash of the waves was the perfect background noise, because her love felt like the ocean.
It was raw and powerful yet utterly peaceful.
It pulled me under in a tidal wave of bliss and eased every tender, fragmented part of me with its strong embrace. It was vital and unending.
Pulling back, she was breathless as she looked down at me. “I wish I could give you something,” she said. “I mean, eventually, you’ll have a ring, too, but I don’t know…it doesn’t feel the same.”
I knew what she meant, but I shook my head. Her hands cupped my face as I shifted mine higher, coming to rest just beneath her breast, where I could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage.
“It’s not necessary, baby girl. You’re all I need. All I’ll ever need. Forever.”