Chapter 29
Laney
On the Fourth of July, we all gathered at Skye and Rob’s house to celebrate.
And by everyone, I meant all Winchester siblings and their better halves plus kids, Hunter and Josie, and Amelia and her husband.
God, I loved this huge family. Just watching them bicker and tease each other brought a huge smile on my face.
It was an amazing day, sunny and hot, and everyone was in a celebratory mood. The air was thick with joy.
I’d just come off a shift this morning and had only slept five hours before we headed here. I’d drunk so many coffees on the way that I had a light caffeine buzz.
I was supremely happy that I didn’t have to work on the Fourth and got to enjoy the day with these amazing people. Cole and I had FaceTimed with my parents on our way here, and they too were celebrating in style back home.
We were in Skye’s backyard, and I sat on the comfy swing they had, just watching the Winchester clan doing what they did best: laugh and have a good time, while also sneakily checking if everyone was okay.
Some were better at being sneaky, such as Tess, who did the job merely by observing her family.
She caught me watching her, and we exchanged a conspiratorial smile.
I patted the empty spot next to me, and Tess joined me on the swing.
She was holding a plate with cheesecake.
Rob had had the party catered by Dumont Foods.
“Enlighten me,” I whispered.
“About what?”
“When do you just observe everyone quietly, and when do you go in detective mode?”
“Cole told you about that?”
“Yes. In vivid detail.”
She frowned, tapping her chin. “I can’t tell, actually. I guess I just adapt to whatever the situation requires.”
“That makes sense.”
“It’s a family trade, you know.”
“I sort of put that together. But between you and me, your skill range is by far the most impressive.”
“Why, thanks!”
Ryker and Cole also tried to be subtle, it just didn’t always work out. Balls to the wall was the way to go as far as they were concerned. I felt so damn lucky to have met them and be part of their lives.
I was delighted that Skye was doing so well. She was full of energy as she moved around the yard to chat with everyone. From time to time she paused to look around for baby Jonas. He was by far the happiest today, as everyone was practically lining up to cuddle him. I was still waiting for my turn.
“I can’t even tell you how amazing it is to see my toes again,” Skye exclaimed, standing in front of the swing. “And also be able to apply nail polish on them myself.”
“I’m always happy to spoil you by doing that,” Rob said, affectionately mussing his wife’s hair.
When Cole took baby Jonas from Rob, I couldn’t help but sigh loudly. Next to me, Tess chuckled.
“Uh, he looks mighty hot with his nephew,” I declared, watching Cole until Amelia took Jonas from him, and my sexy man went inside the house.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen the way you look at him. Just saying, the more, the merrier, so if you get down to business, I volunteer to babysit.”
I threw my head back, laughing. “Oh, Tess.”
The truth was, I hadn’t felt this longing to be a family in years, but now, things had changed. And it was all the doing of this wonderful man.
“I don’t want to sing my own praises, but I think I’m an excellent aunt. Right?” she asked Avery. She was playing next to the swing.
“You’re the best, Tess,” Avery exclaimed.
“Ha!” Tess exclaimed cheerfully. “See? The best. Not that we’re in a competition,” Tess said cheerfully. In a lower voice, she whispered to me, “But if we were, I’m sure baby Jonas would back that up.”
Truth be told, Jonas had seemed exceptionally happy when Tess held him a while ago.
“How are you doing?” I asked her. “Cole told me that it’s a super busy time for you with the business.”
“That’s an understatement. Things are really taking off in a way that I hadn’t imagined, and we’re looking for the best way to sustain this expansion. It’s crazy busy, but in a good way.”
My stomach began to rumble as I watched Tess devour her cheesecake.
“Okay, time to dig into the buffet,” I said, rubbing my stomach.
“I highly recommend the cheesecake,” Tess declared. “And the cheeseburger.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The buffet was so vast that the catering team had laid bowls, platters, and chafing dishes in the kitchen, the corridor leading to the back, and the yard itself.
Cole was inside the house, surrounded by Hunter, Josie, Ryker and his wife, Heather, and Rob.
I decided to sneakily surprise him with a smooch. I tiptoed toward the group. Hunter noticed me and said in a whisper I clearly wasn’t meant to hear, “Laney’s coming.”
They all fell silent at once. Hmm… that was suspicious.
“What’s going on?” I asked, wrapping my arms around Cole’s waist from behind.
Everyone remained quiet. I swept my gaze from one to the other. Hunter was looking with suspicious interest at his bottle of beer. Josie was inspecting her nails. Heather flashed me a guilty smile. Rob excused himself, saying he needed to go outside. Ryker was simply grinning.
“Any of you want to fess up?” I asked.
Ryker shook his head. “No, I’m good. I think I’ll leave that honor to Cole.”
Cole glared at him. Ryker clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder, grinning devilishly.
“Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone,” Ryker said. The group broke up in a matter of seconds, heading outside. Yeah, that wasn’t suspicious or anything.
Cole turned around slowly, eyes full of mischief and heat.
“So,” I said.
“So,” he replied, lips curling into a smile.
“I have no clue how meddling works, but I’m a fast learner. I can tell lots of things just by observing people.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the fact that you were plotting with the group. Don’t think you can distract me from that.”
“Didn’t dream of it, my very observant, hot-as-hell doc.”
Laughing, I pushed him toward the armchair on the other side of the kitchen island. After he sat down, I climbed in his lap.
“And now you’re trying to make me forget by complimenting me.”
“Is it working?”
I laced my arms around his neck. “I’m willing to let this slide.”
“Very generous of you.”
“I do want something in return for my generosity though. A kiss. A super-hot one.”
His lips were on mine the next second, and wow, the kiss was so hot and dirty that I squirmed in his lap.
His lips were feverish, his tongue wild.
Oh, lord. Life with this man wouldn’t have one dull moment.
I just knew it. I clenched my thighs, rocking into him, tugging at his hair.
At the back of my mind, I knew we couldn’t kiss like this when anyone could walk in on us, but oh well.
Serves me right for asking for a super-hot kiss. My whole body thrummed when we pulled apart to catch our breath.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked. His eyes were happy. There was plenty of heat in them too, but I was fairly certain he’d never looked at me this way.
“I just like this… That we’re so close to each other. That our lives are so intertwined.” He swallowed hard, kissing one of my hands. “We should go back out before anyone walks in, especially Avery.”
I laughed, climbing out of his lap. I found it incredibly endearing that he worried about Avery. I grabbed a plate and filled it with Caesar salad and pizza bread as well as a cheeseburger before returning to the yard.
Once outside, I split from Cole under the pretense of wanting to catch up with everyone.
The reason I’d let it slide was simple: I just planned to lure the information out of someone else from the group. They were together again outside, and Cole wasn’t with them. He’d gone back inside with Tess.
Hmm… deciding on my victim wasn’t easy though. Tess or Skye would have been my first choice, because I was closest to them. Neither of them had been there, though.
I studied the rest of the group… and zeroed in on Ryker. I obviously couldn’t ask him in front of everyone, but maybe I could find a reason to pull him away. I tiptoed toward the group again and froze when I distinctly heard the words “Cole’s proposal.”
My breath caught. Ryker groaned, dropping his chin to his chest.
“Laney is right behind you, Hunter.”
Hunter turned so quickly that he sent some of his beer flying away. “Oh, shit. Umm… don’t tell Cole.”
I looked from him to the rest, my heart beating so wildly that I couldn’t form words at all. It thumped in my chest, and my throat was closing up. I clasped my hands behind my back, breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth.
Okay, silly heart! Behave .
Smiling brightly, I asked, “Don’t tell him what?”
Hunter nodded, relief obvious on his face.
Ryker grinned. “That’s our girl. Thanks for saving our asses.”
I smiled, ready to take a leaf out of Tess’s detective book and prod them with questions, but I didn’t get the chance because Cole came up to me.
Our gazes locked, and my breath caught as my heart seemed to be in my throat again. I could keep my cool even under extreme conditions during surgery, or generally during emergencies. But pretending that I didn’t know Cole wanted to propose was my biggest test yet.
For the rest of the afternoon, my expression was permanently between a smile and a grin—mostly the latter, especially when I looked his way. I decided not to ask the group for any more intel, because I was having enough trouble playing it cool as it was.
I’d thought about this, for sure. Knew I wanted it, knew I was ready—mentioned the possibility of it all to my mom and dad during a call. But still, knowing it was about to happen made me want to do a happy dance.
Toward the end of the party, we split into groups to help clean up. The caterers were in charge of the food containers, but there were still plenty of decorations and furniture to be taken inside.
I was just unfastening the balloons tied to the top of the swing when Cole slung his hands around my waist from behind. I startled.
“Laney, you’re jumpy. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“But something’s up.”
“Just an exciting day.”
“Turn around.”
“But the balloon?—”
“Doc. Turn. Around.”
I turned, slowly, licking my lips. His gaze was searching me, intense and unrelenting. His grip on my waist was tight.
The smell of his cologne was intoxicating.
“Now… I’m glad it’s just the two of us out here.”
Everyone else was busy inside the house. Oh my God. This was it. He was going to ask.
I couldn’t pretend for longer. I just couldn’t.
“YES! I’ll marry you,” I exclaimed, a little breathless.
Cole’s eyes bulged. Frowning, he opened his mouth.
“How did you find out?”
Licking my lips, I bounced up my toes, then back on my heels. “Overheard the group talking earlier.”
Cole skimmed one hand up to my neck, holding the side of my face. “What exactly did you hear?”
“No details, just the words ‘Cole’s proposal.’”
Oh my God. My heart stopped as a thought just slammed into me.
What if they’d meant something else? A proposal for a property or something.
Holy shit, what if I’d just jumped to conclusions?
My entire face was on fire, and so was my neck.
And now I’d put him on the spot. I dropped my gaze to my hands.
My stomach constricted almost painfully.
I bit my lip, plucking the courage to ask, “Oh, did they mean something else?”
“No, silly. You got it right. Just right.” His voice was a little shaky now. “Except, you caught me off guard now. I had this whole plan, and… right now I don’t even have a ring.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s on hold at Tiffany’s. I didn’t want to buy it already so you wouldn’t find it by accident. I’d planned this so well, damn… Now I have no ring. And I’d ask you, but you already said yes.”
“Ask me anyway,” I whispered.
Cole took both my hands in his and kissed them, squeezing them as we locked gazes.
“Will—” His voice caught. He cleared his throat, and my whole body warmed up.
“Will you be my wife, Laney? I want… I promise to be there for you every single day. I promise to build our life together, every way there is. I promise to fulfill every dream you have. The cute house and big family. All of them.”
“Yes to all that. That’s a beautiful promise, Cole,” I whispered.
Excitement was bubbling up inside me, at being a married woman, wanting a family, imagining my life with Cole.
Before I met him, I was only seeing my future in broad strokes, and only on the professional side.
But now I was seeing everything in vivid detail, and I was looking forward to every second.
“I’ve been thinking about the best way to do this for weeks. I wanted to be sure it was a happy moment, that it was perfect for you.”
“I feel nothing but pure joy,” I assured him. I placed one palm at either side of his face, locking our gazes. I wanted him to know I meant every word.
“I love you. And it’ll be my honor to be your wife, to love and respect you every day. You’re my world, Cole Winchester.”
He kissed my forehead, holding me against him with both hands.
“What exactly did you hear the group say?”
“Nothing else, honestly.”
“Can’t believe they gave me away.”
“Don’t give them a hard time.” I pulled back a little, looking up at him expectantly.
“Course not.” He took a step back, pointing with his head toward the house. “Come on, let’s carry the decorations that are already in boxes inside.”
“Okay.”
Cole lifted one of the heavy ones, and I took a moment to admire all those gorgeous muscles flex. I grabbed a lighter one, walking right in front of him, smiling broadly. The second we entered the living room, all eyes were on us.
“So… which one of you let it slip that I planned to propose?” Cole asked loudly.