Page 108 of Beating Heart
“I like that. I got my pops, my Sunny, and my Winnie. Our family just got bigger, right?”
I chuckled, and Nash shook his head with a big smile on his face. “It did. How about we take the boat out today before it gets too cold to go out on the water? Why don’t you go get your suit on.”
“Yes!” Cutler hustled out of the bed and ran down the hall, with Winnie chasing after him.
We both pushed to our feet, and Nash pulled me into his arms. “You ready for this? He’s all in now.”
“I’m all in.” I pushed up on my tiptoes. “How about you?”
He took my hand and placed it over his heart, and I could feel the steady beating against my palm. “I’ve been all in since the day you moved next door.”
“You couldn’t stand me when you first met me.” I laughed as I planted a kiss on his lips.
“I thought you were hot, but you did come barreling through my door pretty early on a Saturday morning.”
“I’m glad I rang your bell,” I said, my voice teasing.
“Oh, you rang my bell, all right.” His mouth crashed into mine, and he kissed me hard.
“Pops, quit kissing my Sunny, and get your bathing suit on!” Cutler shouted from down the hall.
Nash pulled back as he barked out a laugh and turned me toward the bathroom, giving me a little smack on the ass. I’d left a suit here the last time we’d gone out on the boat.
“You heard the boy. Let’s go, beautiful.”
We both changed quickly. I ran next door and packed up some snacks, and the three of us piled onto the boat, with Winnie in tow.
And it was the best day I’d ever had, honestly.
Because it felt different. And in the words of Cutler Heart: It was our first family day out on the boat.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“They are on their way now,” Ruby said, as we all gathered near the door of Whiskey Falls, waiting for the newly engaged couple to arrive.
Today was the day that Kingston had proposed to Saylor, and I’d spent the morning with my two boys before we took Cutler over to J.T.’s house for dinner so we could get over here for the surprise engagement party.
“Well, I’ve got to give him credit,” Nash said. “He stuck to the timeline of this ridiculous itinerary. He didn’t miss a beat.”
River barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I think it helped that he had Katie taking photos and updating us the entire time about what was happening.” Katie worked at Saylor’s bookstore, and she was also a photographer.
Kingston was a romantic guy, and with Saylor owning a romance bookstore, they complemented one another so well. I was thrilled for her.
“Our girl must be over the moon,” Demi said, wrapping an arm around me and hugging me.
“Yeah. Those photos she texted looked pretty swoony.”
“Okay, they’re parking now,” Ruby said. “Get ready. When the doors open, we just start screaming and cheering.”
“I’m so ready. Let the fun begin!” Peyton shouted, and Demi started jumping up and down.
Nash moved behind me, my back to his chest. This last week, since we’d been honest about how we felt about one another, had been amazing. The man continued to surprise me. He was always up before me, so he’d been feeding Winnie and taking her out before I was even out of bed.
It was these little things that he didn’t think were a big deal that meant so much.
I’d come home from work two days ago, and my car was in the driveway, all clean and shiny. He’d gone to put air in the tires and had my car washed, then just left it in the driveway like it was nothing.
That was Nash.
