Page 64 of A Cowboy's Twinkling Lights Lasso
She smiles as she wraps the string of lights around her back. “I trust you, Thorn. I’m sorry I didn’t always.”
Her truthful words have my body automatically leaning forward so she can wrap the lights around me.
“I will never fall for the mistake of not talking with you about whatever is bothering me.” She wraps the light around her backside and then reaches back around me, tying us together. “And right now, leaving you is bothering me.”
My arms catch hers. “You have to go.”
She nods. “I know. I do, but I don’t leave until the new year.”
My heart palpitates with the idea of spending Christmas with her or any time besides tonight.
“And I don’t want to leave without marrying you.”
Her words take a second to register—a long, confused second.
“Are you askin’ me to marry you, Flora Rowe?”
Her big smile warms my heart. “I’m asking you to marry before I leave.”
I want to joke and tease her before I reply, but my racing heart has other intentions. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you before you leave. I’ll marry you right fucking now. Let’s go find a minister and seal the deal tonight.” My hands cup her face, as best I can, all tangled in these lights like were caught in a lasso. I drag her face to mine, and our kiss is the perfect blend of passion and love.
She leans back. “I was thinking of a small wedding at The Fox Lodge.”
“Done.”
“Maybe in a few weeks, right before Christmas.”
“Done.”
She giggles. “You could wear a top hat.”
I shrug. “If you’re m marrying me, I’ll walk down the aisle naked.”
She laughs now. “Your Stetson will do just fine. I’ve always liked how it looks on you.”
I laugh now.
“I was also thinking I could spend the next couple weeks packing my condo and moving into your ranch, so when I return from my job, I will come home to you.”
My heart swells hard, and I think it might burst through my chest. The pads of my thumbs rub the sides of her face. “Flora, you’ve made me the happiest man alive.”
“You’ve made me the happiest woman. I can’t wait to wake up wrapped in your arms, sleeping in your bed on Christmas morning.”
“Our bed,” I say. “Our house. Our life.”
“I love that. I love you, Thorn.”
“I love you, Flora. Now and for always.”
The moment our mouths connect, everything else ceases to exist. It’s just her and me, caught in a whirlwind of unrestrained passion. Each kiss ignited a fire within me, a primal urge that overshadowed all rational thought. I lose myself in her taste, the intoxicating sensation of her body pressing and grinding against me. Santa’s chair shifts, and I hear a crack in the distance. Then the chair crashes, and we slam against the floor. Shock echoes before laughter pours out of us.
“I think we broke it,” she laughs. “Thomas is going to kill is. I promised we would be careful.”
“Thomas is the last thing you have to worry about. Getting out of these tangled twinkle lights is nearly impossible.”
She kisses me. “Then we’ll stay here forever. As long as we’re together.”
I kiss her back. “Freak Frame Flora, you are the woman of my dreams.”
