Page 136 of Rum & Coke
And that was why I was going to ask her to marry me tonight. I even had Colton’s permission.
“Hey, buddy, before we head home to Mommy, we need to make a quick stop.” I looked at Colt through the rearview mirror to where he sat in his car seat in the back seat of my SUV.
He didn’t respond, but I knew he heard me, or if he didn’t, I’d deal with it when I got to the jewelry store. I needed to hurry because Tessa might worry if we weren’t home at our usual time after school. Based on Gabe’s advice, I had designed and ordered the ring online, and I just needed to run in and pick it up.
When I pulled into the parking lot, my heart rate kicked up a beat. I never thought I’d be buying an engagement ring, but I also never thought I’d ever have the desire to be with one woman for the rest of my life. But, here I was, grabbing my girlfriend’s son from the back seat and walking into a jewelry store.
After giving the sales clerk my name, I told them I had a ring to pick up. I looked around at the people looking into the glass cases. Most of the men looked as though they were going to get choked by the collars of their shirt because they were nervously tugging at the hems or cracking their necks when the women they were with would point to a ring she liked. I didn’t know what kind of ring Tessa liked, but if she didn’t like the one I’d designed, I’d buy her whichever one she wanted.
“Do you know why we’re here?” I asked, looking at Colton still in my arms. He shook his head, and I bent down, setting him on his little legs. Crouching in front of him, I gazed into his blue eyes that matched his mother’s. “I’m going to ask your mommy to marry me. How does that sound? Can I be your dad?”
His little hands started to flap excitingly, and he nodded his head. “Dad—dy.”
My heart swelled at his progress, and I was beaming because we were on the same page.
I just hoped his mother was too.
Tessa and I hadn’t known each other for even a year yet, but I knew I wanted her to be with me and only me for the rest of my life. If you were to bet me a year ago that I would be living with a woman and her son and ready to pop the question, I would have gladly taken that bet because nothing like that was even on my radar. I never saw it coming, and I never realized being in love would bring me more joy than traveling to new places and living a life of luxury. I still wanted those things, but I wanted Tessa more. I wanted to be a father, and it didn’t matter that we didn’t know if the baby she was carrying was mine orhis. What mattered was I was going to raise it as my own. Of course, there was a part of me that wanted to know, and eventually, we would, but we’d made the decision to wait until the baby was born to find out.
“Are you almost ready?” I asked, coming into the bathroom where Tessa was getting ready for Seth and Cat’s wedding. I brushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed her bare skin that smelled of cotton candy.
“Almost. Are Sophia and Valentina here?”
“Yep.”
Valentina was cleared by the FBI. When Tessa found out, she and Tessa had a heart to heart. I wasn’t sure what was said, but I knew Valentina assured Tessa she was only loyal to Sebastian because she thought she’d have to live with him forever. She feared he’d send her back to Colombia. Then Tessa introduced Valentina and Sophia. Those two ladies hit it off instantly, and since Sophia had lived in her apartment for several years and her lease was month to month, she and Valentina got a place together. Once a week they came over for dinner, and on Saturday nights they watched Colton so Tessa and I could have a date night. It really worked out for all of us.
All of us except Sebastian, who was still awaiting his trial.
I went back downstairs to the kitchen where both ladies were preparing dinner for themselves and Colton.
“Do you have the ring?” Sophia asked.
“Of course,” I replied, and patted my suit jacket.
“I’m glad my cariño is marrying the one she loves,” Valentina stated.
I chuckled. “She has to say yes first.”
“She will.” Sophia winked.
Tessa walked into the kitchen. “She who?”
All of our eyes became huge. “You,” I replied.
“Me?” Tessa questioned, her hands to her chest.
“You’re going to make us late, and Seth will kill me if we are. After last night, I’m sure he’s pissed at all of us.”
The night before, for Seth’s bachelor party, the guys and I, including Seth’s best man, Gibbs, took a limo around town and got him wasted. I only had a few rum and Cokes because I didn’t want to forget coming home to Tessa. I’d never take a day for granted again. We never knew if it would be our last night together because that was life. You just didn’t know. One minute you meet a girl you can’t get out of your head, and the next she’s being held hostage because she witnessed a murder. Or in some people’s cases, you drive to work and get into a fatal car accident. We never knew what our future held, and I wasn’t taking a second for granted. Of course, I was never letting Tessa go to a party without me or at least Joss since she was an FBI agent. The girls went out the night before too, but at the end of it, Tessa and I fell asleep in each other’s arms.
“Well, let’s go. I’m ready,” Tessa stated. She moved to Colton. “You be a good boy, and in the morning we can have waffles before school.”
He nodded and made an exaggerated “O” which we knew meant “Okay.” My heart beamed each time I heard him talk. He was amazing.
And yes, Seth and Cat got married on a school night because Seth wasn’t wasting any more time being without the one he loved and because venues booked up fast and all the weekend dates were booked solid for at least a year. That was okay because after what I had planned, I wanted it to be an early night.
Tessa and I held hands as we watched the happy couple say their vows in the primrose garden courtyard at The Wynn. For once I wasn’t in the wedding party. Both Paul and Gabe had asked me to be a groomsman, and while I didn’t mind, I loved sitting next to Tessa in the audience more.
