Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (49 page)

Resting my head on her shoulder, I wiped at my eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Rafe appeared then, Mom and Nat right behind him; both had bright eyes and were looking at me like their brains had dripped from their ears again. Rafe was carrying a plate with a chocolate cupcake on it, the white icing swirling up about two inches from the cake. It looked delicious.

“That looks amazing. You made that?”

He didn’t say anything just approached and hunched down, holding the plate out in front of him. He looked adorable, flour and chocolate on his tee and jeans. I wanted to eat him, almost said as much but not with my mom looking on. So I shifted my focus to the cupcake and I immediately forgot how to breathe as my eyes landed on the diamond ring settled in the icing. And scrolled in raspberry sauce around the cupcake were the words. “Marry me.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks, his eyes looked a little bright too. There were so many things I wanted to say and yet when I opened my mouth only one word came out. “Yes.”

He took the ring from the cupcake and handed the plate to Jessica and then he put my ring in his mouth; yes, he licked off the icing before slipping the ring on my finger. Lacing his fingers through my hair, he lowered his head and touched his lips to mine—a light brushing before he took the kiss deeper, his tongue stroking my own; the sweetness of the icing still on his tongue.

Lying in bed, I studied the brilliant cut stone Rafe had placed on my finger. It was exquisite, three carats at least. I couldn’t stop looking at it because I couldn’t quite believe I was engaged to Rafe. He entered the room, wearing only his jeans—a sight I had dreamed about seeing—Loki at his side. He’d been locking up the house. In his hand he held the cupcake that I never ate because I had been too excited.

“Thought you might want this now.”

“We can share.”

He handed me the cupcake before he stripped from his jeans. The cupcake was completely forgotten having all of that magnificence in my sights. Climbing into the bed he took the cupcake from me, dipped his finger into the icing and held it up to my mouth. Eating all the sugary goodness from Rafe’s finger was decadent, hell, being with Rafe felt decadent—indulgent and addictive.

Swiping a dollop of icing, I held my finger to his lips; he sucked it into his mouth, his tongue swirling around the tip.

“Avery McKenzie, I like the sound of that.” I said, my eyes on his mouth.

He moved, forcing me to my back as he settled between my legs. “Not as much I do.” He took the cupcake and pressed it, icing side down, on my clavicle, running it lower to between my breasts, leaving a sweet, sugary trail in its wake. Then he held it to my mouth and I took a bite.

“We’ll eat this cupcake.” He said, holding the cupcake to my lips again. “And then I’ll eat you.”

“This is a good plan.”

A softness came into his expression, a sort of reverence. Love looked back at me as did tenderness and awe. “Mine.”

My heart really should have split it was so full.

And then he kissed me, so sweetly. Yep, being with Rafe was decadent so beautifully decadent.

The far back of my property twinkled in white fairy lights; that’s what Avery called them when she had strung them up last week. She’d used a ladder; one I had built for her that was sturdy but lightweight so she had no excuse to risk broken limbs to hang anything. Of course she’d have me now and just the thought of her being mine settled very comfortably in my chest.

“You ready?” Trace asked as he, Dad, Lucien and I stood near the carriage house, also lit in fairy lights. It was my wedding day. Six weeks from the day I had asked her to marry me. The woman didn’t want to wait. I was happy for that because I didn’t want to wait either. I wanted my other ring on her finger, wanted her last name to be my last name. I would have had guilt depriving her of a big wedding, but I would have, so it was lucky all the way around that she was as eager as me to make it official.

“I think I was ready for this moment the second I stepped out of the barn and saw Avery hugging my dog.”

Trace placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”

“Is she taking it easy at work?”

She had gotten the all clear from the docs to return to work. I wanted her home, wanted her to rest some more, but she was itchy and I got that. I don’t think I’d have handled being unable to work for almost three months as well as she had. Even so, I didn’t want her to overdo it.

“You know Avery. She goes all in, but Lee and Tina are handling it well, doing more of the work because she does get tired more easily these days.”

“I’ve noticed that.”

Trace grinned. Lucien said, “You know there is a reason why women get tired, sleep more, eat more.”

It hit me like a sledgehammer, more the reality that I really wanted
that
to be the reason she was tired all the time. “She would have told me.”

“She might not know. Avery’s adorable, you know I love her, son, but she’s a bit spacey.”

A grin pulled at my mouth because my sweet Avery was spacey. “I call it goofy.”

“That works too.”

“Pregnant. I’ll have to sneak out later for one of those tests.”

Trace added, “If she is, once you’ve done your celebrating, Ember and Darcy are going to be all over that. Anna is going to have her hands full with everyone jumping in to help.”

Dad laughed, “And she’ll love every second.”

The thought that Avery was carrying my child, I almost wanted the day over so we could do our own celebrating. But thinking of the parade of women that had made my home theirs in the past few months continuing for the next several would likely turn me batshit crazy. “I’ve already had every female relation in this house. Just when I think I’m going to have Avery all to myself, they descend to talk about flowers, gowns even wedding colors. I never knew a wedding actually had official colors. And the cake, they had to sample the cake…all of them. My head’s spinning.” But the cake was a work of art. Avery had outdone herself with the five-tiered confection, draped in gum paste flowers and the cake itself was lemon chiffon with a whipped lemon curd filling. Fucking delicious.

“Ember could have worn sweats, as long as she said I do, I didn’t give a damn. But remembering her on our wedding day, yeah it was worth the time apart.”

“He’s right. Darcy and my wedding was simple like this, but trust me, brother, when you see her coming toward you, all of that shit will have been worth it.”

Standing there I appreciated the irony of a man who had grown up as a quasi-orphan and had learned to prefer solitude and now I couldn’t imagine a day passing where I didn’t hear Avery laughing or complaining about the plight of the short person. Or seeing my dad, a man who I’d lost for so long and now he lived in the carriage house and worked alongside me crafting memories through wood. Or the parade of women that came through my home, led by Nat and Anna. I wouldn’t change one thing.

The music started, the small procession came from the house, Ember and Faith, Darcy and Emily, Jessica, Nat and Loki, with a pillow on his back holding the rings. And then Avery appeared with Harold and Anna and my breath stilled. She literally took my breath away. Her white gown looked like one of her confections, full with a hint of sparkle. Her hair, which had grown part of the way back, was pulled back from her face with flowers tucked in it. In her hands were white roses, with pink tips. But it was the smile; the serene smile directed only at me, that had my chest growing tight as love and possession filled me. She reached my side; the urge to pull her to me almost had me doing so.

Harold lifted her veil and kissed her cheek, her mom kissed the other, before he placed Avery’s hand in mine. The magnitude of the moment, the significance of that act I’d seen done at countless weddings, was staggering. They were giving her into my care, but I knew as I stood there with her small hand in mine, that it was I being given into her care. She had stolen my heart. Her fingers curled around my hand and I did pull her close, right up against me.

“You look exquisite.” I whispered.

“So do you.”

“Are you ready?”

“So ready.”

They were the last words I remembered, the rest of the night went by in a blur, a really fucking fantastic blur.

That night, I leaned up against the wall while Avery was in the bathroom. She called through the closed door. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think of that.”

As soon as everyone left, I ran out for a pregnancy test. When I had mentioned it to Avery earlier, her expression was priceless and goofy. She hadn’t a clue.

“I just assumed it was a side effect of the brain surgery.”

I hated when she mentioned that, hated thinking about how close we had come; I supposed in a sense it was good to remember so I’d never take her for granted. Not that I ever would.

“So?” She had been in there longer than the three minutes.

“I can’t pee with an audience.”

Lowering my head, I grinned. Adorable.

Another minute or two past, before the door opened. She looked disappointed and the disappointment I felt at the false alarm actually had my eyes burning a bit. I didn’t realize how much I had wanted to see her growing with my child, but now I intended to exhaust countless hours making that wish a reality.

“We’ll just have to work really hard to get you pregnant. Long hours, late nights, and early mornings. We can do this, Avery, but you’re going to have to go all in.”

She laughed, the sound just washing over me. She held up the stick. “I am pregnant, goof.”

It took me a minute to process those words and when I had, I lifted her over my shoulder and tossed her on the bed. Before she could catch her breath, I pounced.

“You tease.”

Her smile softened, as her palm cupped my cheek. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“I hope it’s a girl.”

“I hope it’s a boy.”

“Thank you.”

Her brow furrowed. “For what?”

“Finding me. Showing me I was going through the motions but I wasn’t living. Thank you for turning my house into a home.”

Her eyes grew soft, a tear slid down her cheek that I wiped away with my thumb. “How’d I do that?” she asked.

“By just being you.”

She was trying really hard not to cry. Her breath hitched before she whispered, “You’re my home too.”

“One kid is great, but I want more than one so we should practice so we’re ready for when it counts.”

“And you call me the goof.”

“I wasn’t kidding, long hours Avery, day and night.”

“Stop talking and get on with it.”

And so I did, I made love to my pregnant wife—all night and well into the morning.

Nine months later Rafe and Avery both got their wish when Natalie Ann and Cael Liam McKenzie entered the world.