“Come on, doll,” Mac said, giving Melina’s smiling lips one more kiss as he tangled their fingers together. “I have one last surprise for you today.”
Melina gave him that look. The one that said she was excited but didn’t quite know how much more she could take. His wife wasn’t overly romantic. Mac knew it could sometimes be hard for her to appreciate that trait in him when it wasn’t the type of thing she was accustomed to.
But Mac, on the other hand, lived for Melina’s happiness and her smiles. It was even better if they were caused by him.
So, maybe, he didn’t care if she was overwhelmed with his gifts, attention, and love. Melina would get used to it, one way or the other.
“What else could you possibly have for me?” Melina asked. “Wasn’t this enough?”
Mac shook his head, saying nothing as he guided them toward the trunk of the car. He’d already hit the trunk latch when he parked, though Melina hadn’t seemed to notice. He lifted the trunk to showcase the items waiting inside.
A small shovel, four wooden stakes, a roll of neon orange ribbon, and a bottle of champagne.
Melina’s brow furrowed at the pile of stuff. “What is all this for?”
“You’ll see,” Mac answered vaguely, giving her one of his usual smirks.
His favorite part of giving gifts to his wife was the surprises he mixed into them all. They always had Melina’s eyes lighting up in a way that made him know she thought he was her king. And damn, he wanted to be that for her.
So much.
Mac grabbed the ribbon and stakes in one hand, and the shovel in his other. Then he nodded at the bottle of champagne and said, “You can handle that, right?”
Melina laughed as she grabbed the bottle and then closed the trunk. She was indulging his little game, he knew, but Mac had a feeling that she was enjoying it, too.
“What now, Mac?”
“Now,” Mac said, leading the way to the end of the cul-de-sac before he stepped into the overgrown field, “we mark it off.”
Melina still seemed like she didn’t understand what Mac was trying to do. “Mark what off?”
“Where we want our house to be, doll.”
“Right now?”
Mac turned to face his wife, throwing his arms wide in the air. “How about right here?”
“But shouldn’t we look at land maps or something?”
“You have ten beautiful, raw acres to do with what you wish, Melina. You can look over the surveys at any time and say whether you want this here or that over there. You want a pond? Let’s do that. A pool? Okay. But right now, at this very moment, we’re going to mark off the spot where they’ll dig for the foundation of our house. And when we’re done …”
Melina couldn’t stop the smile from spreading. “What then, Mac?”
“Then,” he told her, waving the shovel he held, “we’re going to stick this shovel in the dirt. We’ll be the first to break ground on our home. Together.”
“And the champagne?”
“Celebration, of course.”
Melina nodded. “Of course. Only you.”
“It’s only proper,” Mac joked. “Are you going to help me, or leave me to do this alone?”
Melina didn’t keep him waiting for long, thankfully. “If we start here, we’ll have no damn driveway. The road will end right at our doorstop, basically.”
Mac jogged a good fifty feet further into the field. Turning back to Melina, he yelled, “Here?”
“Could we have a gate, too?”
“Anything you want, doll.”
She didn’t even have to ask, really.
“There is …” Melina’s words trailed off, her expression softening.
Mac was pretty sure he understood why his usually vocal wife was all of the sudden so quiet. It was probably for the same reason he had been the first time he’d come out to check the plot of land to decide whether or not the price was worth it.
It had been worth every single damn penny he paid.
Mac had seen his home here—the one he would share with his wife; a home they would build to raise their family in—before his very eyes.
And yet, it didn’t even exist.
The place was that great.
“What is it?” Mac asked.
Melina stepped off the end of the cul-de-sac and finally joined him in the field. “It’s perfect.”
Mac let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in, the relief was sweet. “I had hoped you would say that, doll.”
“Did you honestly expect something different? You know me too well, Mac.”
Once Melina was in front of Mac, he dropped the items he was still holding so he could grab his wife and bring her closer. “Sometimes you keep me on my toes and make me wonder, Melina. That’s all.”
Melina winked and then kissed him quickly. “Here is perfect, Mac.”
“Yeah?”
“I want our home to dominate the place. It needs to be the first thing someone sees coming up the road.”
“Then it will be,” Mac promised.
He’d make damn sure of it.
Whatever Melina wanted, she would get.
“Let’s break some ground, Mac.”
He was already picking up the shovel before she had even finished her sentence.