BONUS CHAPTER—WEDDING
Greg
“Hey, Beauty?” I ask, propping my head up on my hand and looking down at her. Her face is still flushed and her eyes still have that faraway look that I love putting there.
“Yeah?” She shifts, turning her body so that she’s facing me.
“Let’s go up to Tennessee this weekend. Take Cohen up there and visit Gatlinburg. There’s a bunch of tourist-type stuff we could find to do.”
She looks at me, slightly confused at how I can go from taking her hard on the living room floor to chatting away about vacation plans.
Real smooth, Greg. Real fucking smooth.
“You just want to take off to the mountains? That’s a little last-minute, don’t you think, stud?” She laughs but quickly stops when she notices the lack of humor on my face.
Jesus, I never thought I would be so nervous for this.
“Be right back.” I jump up from the floor and walk over to where I threw my jacket when we got home earlier, snagging the box out of the inside pocket before walking back over to her.
“So, I took Cohen to the store last week. Remember, it was when you were out with the girls and I told you not to worry about us? Right . . . The point. I had a talk with Cohen. We went down to that god-awful kid bouncy place that he likes and had a man-to-man over pizza and apple juice. I get that our situation is different. It’s not just you and me but you, me, and our son. We’ve been through some heavy stuff that most couples could never imagine. Bottom line, we’re forever. I want to be the kind of man Cohen can look up to. Be proud of. The kind of man who deserves this happiness. So I asked the other man in your life if I could marry you. Asked his permission to make this ‘the Cage’ family. It’s not easy to explain to a three-year-old why you love his aunt, but baby, I do. I love you more than you could ever imagine and I love our boy just as much. I want more than anything to make you mine. Officially. Melissa Larson, what do you say? Run away with us—me and Cohen—and let’s get married.”
I pull her left hand from her lap and place the ring on her finger, admiring the way the large diamond looks on her hand. I didn’t even notice that she has gone completely silent until her breath hitches.
“Beauty?” Holy shit, maybe she isn’t ready for this.
I’m getting ready to open my mouth, but before I can speak, she pushes herself into my arms, burying her face in my neck. Her tears roll silently down my naked back.
“Melissa, babe, I might be reading the signals wrong here, but is this a yes?”
She pulls back, a beautiful scowl on her face, and laughs, “Seriously? Of course it’s a yes!”
That night, lying in our bed with her asleep across my chest, I finally fall asleep with one big cheesy-ass grin on my face.
Melissa
“Melwee! Melwee! Why can’t I wear my cape? What if someone comes and tries to hurt you?” Cohen is in rare form today.
Greg made quick work of the hotel reservations, and before I knew what was happening, we were packed up and on the way to Tennessee. Cohen has been going nonstop since we pulled onto the interstate about all the things we planned on doing. And Greg . . . Greg hasn’t stopped smiling since he asked me to marry him. The only nagging thought in the back of my mind is that he isn’t including the others. Hell, there hasn’t even really been time to let everyone know what we have planned. We just said that we were taking some time off and would be back in a few days. With everything that’s happened the last few months, I know they didn’t question it.
“C-Man, we already talked about this, remember?” Greg says with a smile, looking over at me and taking my hand in his. The same tingles I get every time this man touches me shoot up my arm and cause me to shiver.
“What if someone hurts my Melwee?” he asks, his little chin wobbling slightly.
“Hey, baby, no one is going to hurt me. I’ve got the two strongest men in the world to protect me. You know those bad guys would be silly to try and take you on.” I reach back, give his small hand a squeeze, and smile at his adorable face. He looks so much like Fia when he is pouting that I can’t help but laugh a little at his expression. She would be so proud of the little man he is becoming.
“Hey, what about me?” Greg jokes. “Wouldn’t the bad guys be scared of me too?”
I give Cohen a wink before returning my attention to Greg’s strong profile. “Oh, well . . . I guess they might be a little scared of you, but Cohen is just so strong, Greg. Not only that, but look at him. Hate to break it to you, babe, but there is just no competition between you and my hero, C-Man.”