The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (121 page)

“
House? What house?
”
I giggle as I pull away from him, just enough to look into his eyes.
“
Oh, yeah, that warm place you dragged me out of this morning?
”

“
That
’
s the one. Would you rather we have stayed?
”

“
No,
”
I reply as I shake my head enthusiastically.
“
But I have no objections to going back. I
’
ll still be your fianc
é
e when we get to the house. In fact, I
’
ll be your
warm
fianc
é
e, which will be even better.
”

“
Mm, I like the sound of that,
”
he murmurs, slipping my mitten back onto my hand.

We practically sprint back to Logan
’
s parent
’
s mansion
—
or, rather,
I
sprint, and he keeps up with me with little to no effort
—
and when we burst into the warm interior, my elation goes up a notch. It
’
s still pretty quiet, which makes me think everyone is likely asleep.

I plan on changing that
very
soon.

“
You
owe me coffee,
”
I remind Sonny as I grab a fistful of his jacket and pull him down to my level. Before he can respond, I press my lips against his. In an instant, his arms are wrapped around me and he crushes me against him as he delivers a proper post-engagement kiss.
Post engagement! Am I dreaming? Dear Jesus, please don
’
t let me be dreaming
. When he teases my mouth open with his tongue and my stomach starts doing cartwheels, I free the softest moan, content to know that I
’
m not dreaming.

I gasp when he lifts me off my feet and guides my legs around his waist. He props me up against the front door, freeing him of his obligation to support me with his arms. He rubs one hand up and down my thigh as he uses the other to tug away the scarf around my neck. I
’
m out of breath when he drags his lips from mine and leaves a trail of warm, wet kisses down my recently exposed skin. I go to run my fingers through his hair, but my mittens prevent me from enjoying the act. I
’
m quick to discard them and as I bury my hands in his dark auburn mane, his mouth claims mine once more.

Just when I
’
m afraid I can
’
t get enough of him, I remember that I get to keep him
forever
.

It takes a few minutes before either of us is willing to pull away from the other. In fact, it might be
more
than a few minutes
—
but who
’
s counting? By the time we separate from one another, there isn
’
t a cold cell in my body.

“
I love you,
”
he rasps, pressing his forehead against mine.
“
And I can
’
t wait to make you forever mine.
”

“
Me neither,
”
I admit with a blush.
“
I
’
m excited to tell everyone. I
’
m going to go wake Addie. Then I
’
m going to call my parents and
—”

“
Oh, your parents know.
”

“
They
do?
”

“
Well, they knew it was coming,
”
he starts to say, reaching up to rub the back of his fingers against my cheek.
“
So you don
’
t have to wake them. You can call them a little later, if you want.
”

“
Wait
—
when
—”
All at once, I remember. The green sweater, the navy slacks, my favorite pair of brown dress shoes.
“
You drove down to see them,
”
I state, matter-of-factly. I feel like I might cry again. The fact that he knows how much it means to me to have my parents
’
blessing, and to receive it before he even asked me, it
’
s just confirmation that he
’
s it. Simple as that.
“
I love you, Sonny. So much! And I would kiss you some more if I thought I might be able to stop, but I can
’
t make that promise. So I
’
m just going to go upstairs and wake Addie, okay?
”

“
Okay,
”
he says with a nod and a chuckle, helping me down to my feet.

Reluctantly, I pull away from him and kick off my shoes.
“
Don
’
t forget about that coffee you promised,
”
I whisper as I hurry my way toward the stairs that will take me to my other half.

When I open their door, I find both Addie and Sarah fast asleep. For about two seconds, I think about waking them both gently. Then I realize, I
’
m way too excited to contain myself just now. I run toward the bed and start
jumping
.
“
Wake up, wake up, wake up!
”

“
Whoa, Twinkles
—
you need to take it down a notch,
”
grumbles Sarah.

“
Yeah,
”
Addie agrees with a yawn.
“
What time is it? Why are you jumping?
”

“
Because I
’
m ENGAGED!
”

“
What?
”
they both gasp in unison. Sarah, who
’
s now sitting up on my left, wraps her hand around my wrist and tugs until I
’
m sitting in between them.
“
Holy shit
—
you
’
re getting
married?
”

“
Yup,
”
I sigh. Addison throws herself across my lap so she can admire the evidence with Sarah. For a second, they
’
re both silent
—
and then Addie screams. I
’
m talking
full on, ear piercing scream
. The next thing I know, she
’
s hurling herself at me.

“
What the hell?
”
grumbles Claire as she appears in the doorway, dressed in Jackson
’
s shirt and little else. It
’
s obvious that she just rolled out of bed, and yet she still looks like someone should be taking her picture. I
’
m not jealous, though. I
’
m far too happy and content to do anything but admire God
’
s handiwork.
“
Are you trying to wake the dead, or what?
”

I
’
m buried in a Sarah-Addie dog pile, my head being the only part of me that
’
s not covered, but I manage to lift my left hand and wiggle my ring finger. She gasps almost instantly
—
as if her ability to spot the difference is heightened due to her fiancee status
—
and then she
’
s squealing as she joins us in bed.

“
Um, hello?
”
I hear Hammy and can
’
t contain my giggle, as I
’
m sure all of us piled on top of each other is quite a sight.
“
Is everything okay in here?
”

I push myself up, managing to get as far as propped up on my elbows, and notice that while Beckham is the one who spoke, we
’
ve got a little crowd which includes him, Daphne, Logan, and Jack.
“
Everything is fine,
”
I reply with a grin.
“
Oh, by the way, you
’
re looking at the future Mrs. Grayson O
’
Conner.
”

In celebration of Gray and Ave
’
s engagement
—
holy cow, that
’
s so weird to say
—
Sarah and Daphne tag-team it in the kitchen and make a
huge
breakfast. They manage to find ingredients to whip up eggs, bacon, french toast, fruit salad, blueberry muffins, and mimosas. Logan
’
s mom seemed to think of everything when she stocked the fridge and pantry for our weekend.

Spoiled much?

I
’
m not jealous. Not at all.

Honestly, though, I love it that we
’
re here and that it worked out in Gray
’
s favor, in terms of planning the proposal, and that all of us are together to revel with the two of them. In fact, for most of the morning, I
’
m able to bask in the excitement of my sister
’
s news without thinking about my own relational problems. It isn
’
t until we finally decide to get up from the table and clean up the kitchen that I start to wish my situation was more like hers.

Grayson and Avery are excused from dish duty, so that they can go call our parents; Daphne and Sarah are excused because they made the food. Somehow Trevor gets out of it, because he
’
s basically an extension of Daphne
—
even though they
’
re still not a couple
—
which leaves Logan, Beck, Roman, Jack, Claire, and me. Logan sits on top of the counter and dries dishes as Beckham hands them to her. I get to watch from afar as they chat and he makes her giggle. Every time she throws her head back in amusement, I cringe.

Beckham isn't
that
funny. Her shameless flirting is astounding.

Jack and Claire take the lead on clearing the dining room table while Roman and I wrap up the leftovers. Every time he catches me giving Logan the evil eye, he pinches my side; since
that
tickles, it brings an involuntary smile to my face each time
—
I shake my head at him and he winks at me. His wink makes me feel better and worse
—
partly because flirting with him makes me no better than Logan; partly because it
’
s simply a reminder that I have to figure out who it is that I want, and I still don
’
t know! Unfortunately, by the time the kitchen is clean, I resent Avery and her relationship status. So, not only is my heart a two-timing slut, it
’
s also a selfish little witch.