“You gonna break my heart, princess?”
“God, Easton. Do you really not know?” I close my eyes and decide there’s no going back now. “It’s you. It’s always been you, and it’s going to always be you. I have loved you . . . God, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I want to be old and gray and sitting on our porch one day a million years from now, surrounded by all our grandchildren who love to skate.”
He swallows a deep breath and smiles against my skin. “Hockey skates or figure skates?”
“Mine are better. Sharper,” I tease.
“Promise me something, baby,”
“Anything.” I pull back and look deep into those green eyes that are growing darker by the minute.
“When we’re old and gray, you’ve gotta let me die first, okay? Because I don’t think I’d ever survive without knowing you were breathing on this Earth.”
I run my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and tug. “How about I promise that when we’re really old we’ll die in bed together like that couple in the movie you used to hate. The one Kenzie and I use to watch all the time. I’ll let you go first, but I’m gonna follow you, okay?”
“You sure, Lindy?” The look on his face makes me hesitate for a second.
“Marry me, Easton.”
“What?” he chokes back.
“I’m standing here, in front of the man I’ve already loved for a lifetime, and he’s promising to love me forever. There are twenty-four hour chapels all over this town. Marry me. Make me Mrs. Madeline Hayes.” I giggle. I used to doodle that on my notebooks when I was a little girl.
“You’re fucking serious?” He takes a step back, and I’m pretty sure my heart drops out of my chest. Please, God, don’t let him laugh in my face. I don’t think my heart could survive it. “Madeline Kingston, I’m supposed to ask you to marry me. It’s supposed to be fucking romantic. Fit for a princess.” His tone is pointed, but his smile is huge, and my heart soars instead of cracking.
“Fuck romance, Easton. We’ve already done life and death. We’ve already been each other’s person for years. I don’t need hearts and flowers and pretty words. I need you. And you say fuck a lot more than you say anything else.” I bite down on my bottom lip, and he gets all growly again.
“You keep biting your lip that way, princess, and we’re gonna need to hurry up and get married so I can put something else in that pretty mouth to keep you busy.”
And there go my panties again.
“Okay. You find the chapel, and I’ll get the girls.” I step back, but Easton grabs my hand and pulls me to him.
“Not a chance, baby. Let’s get the girls, get some rings, and go find ourselves an Elvis together. Until you’re legally my wife, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Ahh . . . I love the sound of that.”
He moves in front of me and bends his knees. “Hop on, princess. Let’s go get married.”
Oh. My. God.
I’m getting married.
“Easton,” I gasp as realization dawns. “Oh my God, E. I’m so sorry.”
He gathers me in his arms and holds me close. “You still want that annulment, baby?”
A sob bubbles up in my throat. “I was awful to you.”
“You didn’t remember,” he tells me as he buries his face in my hair and runs his hand along my spine. “I knew how you felt. I just needed you to remember it.”
“But I . . . I blamed you. I forgot . . . I forgot everything.” My chest tightens, and the all too familiar heavy ball of anxiety starts to grow in my chest. “I’m so sorry. I don’t have any better words to give you.”
“Baby, I don’t care about your words. Give me you, and I’m good.” He plays with the rings I haven’t taken off since he put them on my finger. “Marry me, Madeline Kingston.”
I wipe my face and run my hand over his heart. “I just told you I remember marrying you, E.”
“Do it again. Do it the way we should have done it the first time. In front of our families. Our friends. You in a white dress. Let Dixon walk you down the aisle and give you to me.”
The anxiety shifts and changes course as I think about my family and the way they’ve vilified Easton. “I’ll marry you again whenever you want. But I don’t care if anyone else is there, E. I just need us.”
“That’s not true, princess. You need your family. You might not be happy with them at the moment, but you can’t give up on them. I’d do almost anything to have my mom back.” Then almost like an afterthought, he adds, “She would have fucking loved you.”
“Fine. I’ll try to talk to them again when I get home, but I make no promises.” I wrap myself around my husband and lay my head on his chest, almost scared to close my eyes. “E?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Till we’re old and gray.”
Guess who was spotted in Washington with her hot hockey hubby? If you guessed baby Kingston, you guessed right. She’s still sporting a big, sparkly rock on her left ring finger. And judging by the pictures this reporter saw of the two of them skating on an outdoor rink like they were in some kind of Rockwellian painting, I’d say these two are more in love than ever. I don’t know, peeps. My money is still on #babywatch. Should we poll possible due dates?
#KroydonKronicles
EASTON
“Princess,” I whisper as I run my fingers through Lindy’s soft hair, a sexy, exhausted smile stretched across her beautiful face. “I’ve got to get back to my room and grab my stuff. I’ve got a walk through to get to.”
“Hmm . . .” She reaches up and grabs my shirt, trying to pull me down with her. “It’s too early to wake up. Come back to bed. I’m not done with you yet.”
“Have I created a monster?” I tease. We reached for each other all night last night.
“Baby, you’re gonna be sore.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “I left you a bottle of water and ibuprofen on the nightstand.”
She pouts and sits up with the white sheet covering her gorgeous body. “I won’t get you back for two more nights. I’ll be fine. Are you sure you don’t have time?” Her stormy eyes sparkle bright blue for me.
“You’re bad. The bus leaves in fifteen minutes. I’ve got to go.”
She drops the sheet and goes up to her knees, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Fine. Go to work.” She smiles, and I swear my heart constricts like in one of those stupid romantic comedies Jules used to make us watch all the time. “Can I come to your game tonight?”
“You kinda own the team, princess. Pretty sure that’s up to you.” A lesser man would definitely be intimidated by the power my wife holds. But I’m no lesser man, and I want her to embrace her legacy so she can hold the reins to her own future.
“I do, don’t I?” She smiles and presses a kiss to my chin. “I guess that means I have to call Max, doesn’t it?”