Page 24 of Bells and Bullets
And he does. Corrin lunges upward, flipping me onto my back, and rubs his scruff into my neck as he peppers it with kisses. “You can makeourhouse be whatever you want.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SAYLOR
What a whirlwind of a day it has been!
Today is Christmas and it has been the best day of my life so far.
Corrin and I woke up early to eat breakfast with the O’Carrolls along with Aoife and Cormac, Corrin and Cian’s parents. Fergus and Tadhg teamed up to cook us pancakes, bacon, hash browns, and toast. Remi and I cut up some fresh fruit while Cian fed little Máire. Neither Nana Máire and Nola were allowed to lift a finger, so they lounged back and were waited on hand and foot, neither complaining about the luxury one bit.
Nana Máire and Aoife were a damn hoot together, telling embarrassing childhood stories about the guys growing up back in Ireland and then here after they moved to Texas. The four of them grew up like a few peas in a pod, yet each branching out different ways to hone their skills to do what they do best.
We ate too much food, opened too many presents, drank hot cocoa, and watched movies until a few of us started dozing off.
Corrin is now walking me across the street with his hands full of gift bags even fuller of the presents everyone spoiled me with today . . . especially him. My favorite present of them all is currently clasped in my right hand.
The keys to our new house!
I don’t know how he made everything happen so damn fast, it was only a couple days ago when we talked about moving in together, but he did it. The house isours!
As soon as all the wrapping paper was cleaned up, and little Máire was down for her nap under the watchful eye of Cian and Nana, followed by our watchful, guard dog men, Nola, Remi,and I hustled as fast as we could across the street to check it out. Corrin had shown me a few pictures online, but getting to walk the spaces in person, imagining how I would decorate each room, made everything feel so much more like it was real. I can’t believe this is where I get to live and be with Corrin for the rest of my life.
We are halfway up the driveway when a six foot tall pine tree lights up just to my right. Corrin stops dead in his tracks and sets the gift bags aside.
I look around, confused and wondering where the heck this tree full of white lights came from. “What’s going on?”
“I have one more surprise for you, mo mhuirnín.”
“What is happening?”
“Good grief, woman,” Corrin chuckles out a deep laugh and drops to one knee, holding a black velvet box in his hand. “Stop asking questions and let me get to asking mine.”
“Oh, Corrin.”
I did not see this coming.
“Saylor Joelle Santini, it has been a rollercoaster of a month for you, my love. Now with this house, I want to give you a home. I want to build our family inside those doors. I want to come home every night and see your smiling face. I want to wake up to the sounds of laughter from our children and watch you be the bestmother on the planet.” He flips the box open and the green heart shaped stone in the center of a claddagh ring sparkles inside. “I will be your family here in Texas, but that doesn’t mean you have to forget everything and everyone where you came from. What you lived back in Wisconsin built you into the strong, amazing woman you are today. I can’t wait for you to show me all those places. I want to see it all. But most importantly, I want to be your safe place no matter where you are. Right here in my heart . . . this is where you will always be loved.”
His words take all the shattered pieces of my heart, the pain of losing both of my parents, the feeling of being alone in a world so full of pain, and solders every bit of it back together for the first time. I try to wipe the tears away, but they keep falling. Happy tears. This man will only ever bring me happiness and love.
“I love you, mo mhuirnín. Marry me and I promise you will never be alone again.”
I kneel in front of him and lean up for a kiss. “Are you asking or telling me, mister bossy pants?”
“Telling.” Corrin devours me. “Definitely telling.”
“I can live with that.”
He pulls us both to our feet, then lifts me with his arms wrapped around my legs, just below my butt. “So, is that a yes?”
“It’s a, hell yes.”
“I can’t wait for our future to start, mo mhuirnín.”
“I love you, Corrin Cormac Bradach.”
“And I love you more.”
THE END!
