Page 138 of Nice Guys Don't Kiss Like That At Christmas
“With the whole family,” Dad adds, as Dorothy spots us and starts doing her excited spin-dance.
I take in the scene.Our loved ones.The sound of waves crashing against the shore, and Christmas lights twinkling on boats in the distance.It’s perfect.So perfect I should be suspicious, but I’m too busy feeling everything all at once.
I kneel to greet our furry family, and they swarm around me.
“Did you guys know about this?”I whisper to Blanche, who gives me a look that clearly says, “Of course we did.”
When I stand up, Adam isn’t beside me anymore.
He’s on one knee in the sand.
And somehow, our entire dog pack sits perfectly still while Mama Bear meows in approval, like they’ve been in on this the whole time.
I freeze.
Not because I’m shocked.Not because I need to think.
But because every part of me already knows.
Adam looks up at me, blue eyes steady, certain, and smiles that crooked, just-for-me smile.
“Eve Foster.”His voice is rough, thick with emotion, but steady as ever.“I love you.I love the student who fell asleep on our video calls and the nurse who fights for her patients and every version of you I haven’t even met yet.I love how you feel everything so deeply, even when you try to explain it away with medical terms.I love how you taught me that being strong doesn’t mean being alone.That I can just...be.”
He clears his throat.“I love how fucking funny you are and that you cry at romance novels but call it‘an emotional regulation mechanism.’That you show up at my clinic at dawn not because you have to, but because you want to.That you understand why I check on anxious kittens at midnight and instead of telling me to stop, you bring me coffee and help me make their charts.”
Tears I once thought were weakness roll down my cheeks but I don’t even bother wiping them away as the man I love continues to warm me from the inside out with his words, his love, his care.Adam rasps out, “You make me real, Foster.You let me be uncertain and tired and completely in love with you.You see all of me and somehow love me more for it.I love the person you are, the one you were, the one you will be.And I loveus.Together.”
His thumb traces patterns on my palm, like he’s memorizing me, like he already knows the answer.
“I’m so fucking glad I went online to talk aboutiZombieand we decided to try that new app after,” he says softly.“I want to spend the rest of my life being that safe place for you, where you don’t have to choose between being professional and being passionate, between caring for others and letting yourself be cared for.Where three-word sentences and romance novel references are all perfectly okay.”
Dorothy wags her tail, probably wondering if she gets a treat for sitting through this, and Blanche leans against me like she knows I need grounding.
Adam’s voice drops to that register that still makes me shiver.
“Marry me, Foster.”His thumb brushes my lip, gaze locked on mine, steady as ever.“And maybe we can finally convince Blanche that the vacuum cleaner isn’t actually evil?And adopt one more pet we’ll name Rose to complete ourGolden Girlfamily.”
His eyes hold love and lust and kindness, and I don’t hesitate.Not for a second.
I throw myself into his arms, tears streaming, laughing as I sob out “yes, yes, yes,” and when he kisses me, deeply, hungrily, I whisper, “I’m so lucky kind guys do kiss like that.”
“Oh, Foster.”His voice drops lower, rough with everything we both know is coming later tonight.“This kind guy knows exactly how to make you come apart.”
His thumb brushes my lip, his breath hot against my ear.“And I really want to reenact page thirty-five of that new romance novel...”
My whole body burns, heat pooling low in my belly as I remember exactly what’s on page thirty-five.A moment involving a beach, a sunset, and creative use of hands that Adam has already proven he’s mastered.
I laugh, breathless, tugging him closer.“And page thirty-six?”
“Oh, love,” he growls, lifting me right off my feet, “We’re about to write our own fucking novel.”
Behind us, I hear my mother’s delighted gasp, my father’s embarrassed cough, and my grandparents’ knowing chuckles.Claire whoops with all the subtlety of a cardiac alarm, “That’s my girl!Get your vet with the magic hands!”while Mike pretends to cover Jamie’s ears.
Julie is scribbling furiously in her notebook, muttering as Landon looks on with that expression of amused adoration he reserves just for her.
Harper elbows her husband, Jack.“Remember our proposal?Less public, more naked.”She smirks when Julie groans, “That’sstillmy brother you’re talking about!”
Kellan stands with his arm around Zoe.Poppy pretends not to tear up while Tristan tries to act like he’s not watching her every reaction, and Wes is lifting Megan onto his shoulders as Noelle snaps pictures.
