Page 13 of Get Me (The Keatyn Chronicles 6)
Okay, well, not really. I just wish I had some powers of my own.
Maybe I do. Maybe I can distract him.
I give him a good long kiss, then kiss down his neck. Suck on it a little.
"If you're trying to distract me, it's not going to work."
Well, shit.
"Do you remember that day in French when I was writing out Will you marry me?"
"Yeah, you were doodling words in French and English."
"Maybe I was brainstorming."
It takes a second for that to sink in.
"Are you telling me that Tommy is going to propose today? And this is really an engagement party?"
"Uh, not exactly."
I can see the wheels turning in his brain. Finally, he says, "She thinks she's planning a party, but really she's planning her own wedding and he's going to propose and they will get married all in the same day?"
"You are one smart cookie."
"Why are they doing it so fast? All in one day?"
"For a few reasons, one being that we're all together."
Aiden's beautiful mouth forms a little frown.
I don't want to think about Vincent at all today, so I add, "And because they're Abby Johnston and Tommy Stevens. If anyone had even an inkling of an idea that this is more than a party, then, trust me, somehow the paparazzi would have helicopters flying above it, trying to get photos. It's a party. That's it. Do you understand?"
He smiles. "Yeah, I think I do. Really, it's kind of romantic."
"Tommy is amazing to Mom. And, yeah, this party should be very romantic."
"When's it going to happen?"
"Tommy asked everyone to meet for lunch on the patio for a reason."
"Would you want to do something like that?"
"Would I want to get engaged and married on the same day? Would I want someone else to plan it. Hell, no. Definitely not. I've been dreaming of my wedding since I was old enough to hold a Barbie bride in my hands. Of course, back then, I wanted to marry Ken."
Aiden laughs. "Will your mom be disappointed?"
"I don't think so. She had the big wedding when she married my dad. She and Tommy have four kids. This is the perfect thing to do."
"You're right, as usual."
"Oh, gosh. You've been talking to Grandpa."
"What makes you say that?"
"He says that to Grandma when he's letting her have her way."
Aiden laughs. "He told me it's the phrase that keeps a woman happy."
I laugh too. "He cracks me up."
"He's funny. Very straightforward. Asked me a lot of questions."
"Like what?"
"How you've been doing with all this."
"What did you tell him?"
"That you're amazing."
"So, you lied to my grandpa?"
He tickles me, but the tickling turns to kissing, which turns to him pushing me up onto the vanity, the room quickly heating up. It doesn't take much, a gentle touch and my body does the rest.
Sometimes I feel like if we don't do it, I might freaking explode.
"All right, I've got the flower girl dresses to show you," Kym says, walking into the bathroom and totally ruining what I had hoped might happen next. "Oh, sorry," she says, then she looks at Aiden and goes, "Um . . . Shit."
"It's okay," I say, as Aiden backs up, letting me slide off the counter. "He figured it out."
"He what?! How?! Do you think your mom knows?"
"He guessed. Tommy added more flowers?"
"That's how you figured it out?" she asks Aiden, looking a little scary. I hope he tells her the truth.
"I just thought there were a lot of flowers for a party, you know?" he says.
"Then he was asking me questions. And he had seen something I wrote when I was thinking up proposal ideas for Tommy."
Her eyes get big again. "Do you know how he's going to ask?"
"Um, yeah. Don't you?"
"No. Asshole wouldn't tell me."
"Everything will be set up by one, right? Before lunch."
"Yes."
"So relax and enjoy a quiet afternoon before things get crazy."
"Things are already crazy. The butterflies on the gazebo look like they belong at a child's birthday party. Hair and makeup will be here at two, but Tommy says he can't say exactly what time the proposal will be, so they will be twiddling their thumbs, wondering what's going on. The barrels of wine that Tommy ordered haven't arrived. And the band's singer has laryngitis."
"I'll go look at the butterflies. There is plenty of wine in the cellar. And, hello, Damian is here."
"That's true." She takes a deep breath.
"Can we see the girls' dresses?" Aiden asks, the question seemingly having a calming effect on Kym.
"Oh, yes. And, here, you will love this." She hands me a box.
I take the lid off to find a pair of boots. They are distressed brown leather with pale pink flowers embroidered up the sides.
"With the way the front of the dress is short, I thought the boots would be perfect. And I know how you love your boots."
I give her a hug. "I do!"
"Me too," Aiden says with big grin. "Me too."
Anything is possible.
Noon.
Aiden and I walk down to the gazebo to check out the butterfly crisis. The girls are out in the yard, playing, so they follow us down to the pond.
"Where you going, Aye-den?" Gracie asks.
"For a walk
. Where are you going, Gracie?"
"With you!" she screams, running ahead of us.
Avery and Ivery grab ahold of my hands, and Emery takes one of Aiden's.
He glances at me and gives me a wink.
I close my eyes and tuck away the memory. The perfect crisp weather that feels more like fall than winter. The bright sun shining on my head. My sisters being silly. Aiden sliding his free arm around my shoulder.
Perfect blissful happiness.
"Watch!" Gracie demands as she drops to the ground and does an off-balance somersault.
"We can do cartwheels and backbends!" Avery tells me.
All the girl rush ahead of us to show off their gymnastic skills.
"You do a cartwheel, too, Kiki!" Ivery says.
I smile, run across the field, do a cartwheel, and then a round off. The girls screech and clap like I just did an Olympic-medal-worthy routine.
"Aye-den, you too!"
"I can't do a cartwheel," he says. "But I can do this."
He does a perfect handstand, shows off by doing a couple of handstand pushups, then walks on his hands, before falling over in the grass.
"Get him!" I yell, picking Gracie up and running to where Aiden is lying. We both leap on him and start tickling him, the triplets quickly joining in.
Aiden laughs and almost screams, which makes us tickle him more.
He playfully tosses the girls off him.
They take off, skipping, doing cartwheels, and laughing.
He rolls on top of me, pushes the hair off my face, and looks deeply into my eyes.
We stare at each other for a few moments, his soul speaking to mine in a language I finally understand.
"I love you, Keatyn Elizabeth Douglas," he says.
"I love you too, Aiden I-dont-know-your-middle-name Arrington."
"It's Asher," he says as our lips touch in a very G-rated kiss.
Just like the very first time he kissed me on the Ferris wheel.
It's a slow, perfect, time-stood-still, fireworks-in-my-eyes kind of kiss.
No open mouths, no tongues; just a kiss.
A little teeny kiss.
That means so much more.
Everything with Aiden has always been so much more.
Avery yells, "Look! They're kissing!"
The girls giggle as he slips his hand into mine and pulls me to my feet.
I have the same reaction I did back then.
My hand belongs in his.
Forever.
It's a scary thought. Forever.
But being here with my family, sharing them with Aiden, makes it seem not as scary.
