“Right,” he mutters, and then continues, “but let her know that next time, she’s out of the running for my best woman.”

“I’ll let her know,” I agree before hanging up and pulling Kim’s mouth back down toward mine. Then I stand with her wrapped around me as I hold onto her ass.

“What did he say?” she asks, kissing and licking my neck as I toss her phone to the bed behind me.

“He said next time, you’re out of the running to be his best woman.”

“I’m so sure,” she hisses, lifting her mouth from my skin. “No one else would be able to deal with him.”

“You two can sort that out when you get back.” I nip her bottom lip then set her on the vanity in the bathroom.

“You’re right.” Her eyes darken and her hands push my shirt up my chest then over my head. “When are we going back?”

“I leave tomorrow.”

“You have to leave tomorrow?” She frowns, looking up at me, and I rest my hand around the side of her neck and lower my face toward hers.

“I have to get back to work, so I need to catch a flight tomorrow evening. I know it’s not a long visit, but this trip wasn’t planned, baby.”

“Right.” She nods, tightening her legs around my hips. “I’ll change my fight and go back with you.” Studying her for a long moment, I wonder how selfish I should be. Part of me wants to take her back with me, but I know her parents miss her and they don’t get to see her often enough.

“You should stay and finish your visit.”

“I’m ready to go home.” Her hands on the back of my neck pull my face down toward hers.

“Home,” I murmur. Liking the sound of that, I brush my lips over hers, seeing her face soften. “When we get back, I’ll talk to the guys and we’ll get you moved out of your place and into the lake house.”

“But—”

“No buts, baby.” I give her neck a squeeze and use my other hand to pull her hips tighter against mine. “We’re starting our life together. I don’t want to hear you think it’s too soon for you to move in with me.”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” she grumbles, dropping her head back.

I smile. “Yeah? Then what were you going to say?”

“I don’t know,” she lies, and my smile turns into a grin.

Running my thumb under her chin, I touch my mouth to hers then pull back, keeping our eyes locked. “I’m willing to wait for you to take my last name. But I won’t wait on this. I want you with me, in my bed, under my roof, and in my life in every way possible.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

“Okay,” I state, and I kiss her forehead then take her mouth before I force her to release me so she can get ready.

Kim

“CHRIST,” SAGE RUMBLES as I pull my dress off over my head and drop it to the sand at my feet, leaving me in nothing but my bikini.

Moving my eyes over his shirtless torso, I feel my mouth go dry. He’s always beautiful, but with the warm Florida sun shining down on him and the ocean behind him, making his eyes stand out even more, he’s gorgeous.

He told me when we were having breakfast with my parents that he had never been to the beach, so I made a decision to rectify that. I told my parents I was sorry for cutting my trip short but that Sage and I were going to head to Miami to spend the day at the beach before catching our flight back to Tennessee tomorrow afternoon. My mom was bummed, but she promised she would talk Dad into coming to Tennessee in a few weeks, and my dad was surprisingly okay with the new change of plans.

“Do you really expect me to keep my hands off you?” Sage asks, breaking into my thoughts, and I realize then that he’s no longer a few feet away. He’s in front of me, with his fingers curved possessively around my hip and his eyes burning into every inch of my exposed skin.

“There are a lot of people here,” I point out, and his fingers dig in as his eyes move to look around us before coming back to mine. “So you don’t have to keep your hands off me. You just have to keep things PG.” His eyes narrow like he’s not happy about that idea. Knowing that if I’m not careful, things will get out of hand between us, I take his hand. “Come on.” I lead him down to the water and smile as the ocean skims across my feet, only to shriek a moment later when he scoops me up in his arms and carries me out into the waves until he’s waist-deep. “Sage!”

“What?” He grins, sliding me down his chest, and my legs wrap around his hips as my arms lock around his shoulders. “I don’t need everyone seeing my hard-on, so you’re going to help me hide it.”

“I’m not sure me being wrapped around you is going to help with that,” I tell him truthfully as my core pulses at the feel of his erection against my clit. I’ve been on edge since the moment he showed up at my parents’, and every second with him is making my need for him grow.

“Then I guess we’ll be out here a while.” He kisses me, and my head tips to the side to deepen it. I press closer against him, as close as I can get, as his tongue tangles with mine. He tastes like the ocean, sun, and Sage, and I realize instantly it’s a taste I don’t just like. It’s something I love and want much, much more of. Feeling him pull back, I blink my eyes open. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I whisper, moving my fingers up the column of his throat to the underside of his jaw, watching his face go softer than I’ve ever seen it. “What?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer. He takes my hand in his, and then my whole world stops and tears fill my eyes as he slides the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen onto my finger.

“Baby,” he whispers, pulling me closer, and a sob I can’t control climbs up my throat. Dropping my head to his shoulder, I hold on to him with every part of me.

“H… how?” I finally get out, and his hand moves to wrap around the back of my neck, holding me tight.

“Your dad gave it to me.”

Leaning back, I take hold of his face then look at my hand resting against his jaw and the ring sitting on my finger. A ring that was, at one time, my MeMe’s ring. She used to tell me stories about the ring when I was little, but my favorite one was always how she and my papa got together and ended up married.

They only went out two times before they got engaged, and not long after that, he left to go fight in World War II. She promised him before he left that she would wait for him to return and would never take the ring off. Even after friends and family told her that he would probably never come home, she kept her promises. She told me she knew that as long as she was wearing his ring that he would find his way back to her. Thankfully, she had been right. A year and a half after he left, he showed up on her doorstep and they got married right away. They stayed married and happy until they passed away within a few weeks of each other. They loved each other from the moment they met, and I knew even as a little girl how very special and rare that was.

“Tell me you’re happy, baby.”

My eyes meet his and I shake my head, trying to fight back the tears burning up the back of my throat. “I’m happy.” I rest my forehead to his and run my fingers along his cheek. “Thank you for giving this to me. Thank you for giving me everything.”

“If I could give you the world, I would.”

“I don’t need the world. All I need is you.” I kiss him, but he takes over, making it deeper and wetter, only to pull back smiling a moment later when someone yells “Get a room!” in our direction, making me laugh.

“Maybe we should get out of the water,” he suggests, carrying me back to the sand, where we sprawl out on the blanket I brought. Pulling my sunglasses out of my hair, I put them on then grab my bottle of water. I take a drink as Sage grabs his bag and pulls out his phone that’s ringing.

“It’s my mom,” he mutters, kissing my shoulder, and I watch him put the cell to his ear then feel my eyes widen when the first words out of his mouth are, “It’s all good, Mom. Swear. She even agreed to marry me.”

“Oh my God! You did not just tell her like that,” I hiss as I hear Sophie shout out in glee.