“Silly man, I had a Braxton Hicks.” She waved dismissively and walked across the room. She plucked her water from the nightstand, took a sip, and nearly finished the whole bottle. “I’m fine.”
Gavin shoved a nervous hand through his hair. Yeah, he was pretty damn sure his girl was losing it. “How do you know you’re fine?”
“Well, let’s see. It’s my body, and I’ve come to know it quite well over the last twenty-five years.” She padded back over to him, a smile on her face as she once again slid her arms around his neck. “Want to know two things I bet you didn’t know?”
Gavin released a sigh, attempting to go with the flow. “Sure.”
Emily wiggled her brows. “One: you’re very, very shmexy when you’re worried.”
Gavin chuckled. “Am I?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“I’ve said it before”—Gavin smirked, loving her playfulness—”and I’ll say it ‘til the day they bury me. You’re pretty shmexy yourself.”
“Why thank you, sir.” She pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Two: While losing yourself in all my dirty, kinky, Braxton Hicks-filled shmexyness, you failed to notice I’m wearing the sweatshirt you lent me one year ago tonight.”
Gavin flicked his eyes down to the gray Zenga Sport sweatshirt he’d sworn disappeared into thin air. “No shit. Look at that.” Grinning, he flipped the hood over Emily’s head. “It definitely fits you better this year.”
Emily’s mouth dropped open, and Gavin laughed. Giggling, she swatted his arm. “You take that back right now.”
“You know I’m kidding.” Gavin kissed her pouting lips. “Do I need to make it up to you?”
“As a matter of fact, you do.”
“Name it, sweets.”
“Bottle caps.”
Gavin popped a brow. “Bottle caps?”
Emily nodded. “Yep. A friendly game of toss the bottle caps.”
“Is this some kind of wager for your forgiveness?” Gavin’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “And when you lose, what happens then? Am I cast into one of the guest bedrooms for the night?”
Emily scoffed, heading for the French doors. “Why would you assume I’m going to lose, wiseass? And yes, you sleep solo if you don’t let me win.”
Chuckling, Gavin watched her stick out her tongue in true Emily fashion as she disappeared onto the balcony. In true Gavin fashion, he was about to test his girl’s memory. Grabbing a remote and flicking on the surround sound, he hit repeat on one particular song. He tossed on a long-sleeved T-shirt and started for the doors. With the freezer bag filled with caps in hand, Gavin breathed in the salty smell of the ocean. Emily was leaning against the railing when he emerged into the cool night air. She smiled, sinking his heart the same way she’d sunk it a year ago. Hell, if there ever came a time she couldn’t steal his breath, he’d know the world around him had gone crazy.
Dropping the bag of memories onto an Adirondack chair, he reached for her hand and gently pulled her to his body. “May I have this dance before we play our little game?”
“Looks like you’ve already decided that for me,” she teased, resting her head against his chest as they swayed.
Gavin kissed the top of her hair. “Would you’ve been able to say no?”
“Never,” she whispered.
“That’s what I figured.”
“You push your luck every chance you get, don’t you?”
He chuckled lightly. “Always.” With one hand splayed along the small of her back, he took the other, intertwined with her fingers, and pinned it to his chest. Staring at her, he smiled. “Do you know what song this is?”
“I do,” she breathed, her gaze transfixed on his lips. Her muscles warmed as the memory of the first night they’d made love spilled through her. “Louis Armstrong’s La Vie en Rose. I also remember the first time we danced to it.”
“Very good, Miss Cooper. You continue to impress me.”
He stopped moving, and Emily’s heart sputtered as he bent his head, brushing his lips against hers. A tease of a kiss. Never enough. But Emily knew from the moment he’d first kissed her, she’d never get her fill of him.
“You know I’m going to dance with you to this song at our wedding one day. That is, if you’d have me?”
Emily swallowed, her breathing increasing. As her hair whipped around in the light summer breeze, a tear slipped down her cheek. One year. One full circle had been drawn around their lives, and although they’d been tested in every way possible, they were still together. “I could never not have you, Gavin. Never,” she whispered, falling more in love with him than she’d ever thought possible.
As Louis Armstrong belted out soulful melodies about casting magic spells, Gavin cast his on Emily, as he always did. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her slowly, deeply. Emily’s heart dropped, knowing one year ago tonight on this very balcony, beers, memories, and tears were shared. Little did she know then, a stolen moment, a sweatshirt, many bottle caps, and few layers peeled back later, her life would never be the same.
And she thanked God for every minute it wasn’t.