My woman wanted to go to Derek’s for our six-month anniversary.
Six months from the day we met, not the day we mated. And that was why it had to be Derek’s, because that was where we’d met. This was her logic, but I wasn’t about to argue with her if it made her happy.
She also made it sound like a six-month anniversary was an important milestone in our relationship.
I loved every day, every moment that I got to spend with her, and I was happy to celebrate anything that had to do with us being together. Hell, I was happy to do just about anything that made her happy.
My preference would have been another location for tonight, but only because I had a ring in my pocket that needed to be on her finger before the night was over and Derek’s wasn’t the most romantic setting.
I considered waiting for a better time and place but weighed all of the contributing factors and decided that Taylor was getting a proposal tonight, even if it was in the parking lot of a dive bar.
She loved me.
It would be fine.
Shit, maybe it wouldn’t be fine.
I was nervous as hell.
I touched the ring in my pocket for probably the tenth time in the last half hour.
I’d wait, but…
This last week, she’d asked Archer if dragons believed in marriage. Archer, not me.
And then the next day, she’d quizzed Dex on dragon weddings. Did the bride wear a big puffy white dress? Was there a cake? That sort of thing. Dex, not me.
And she’d made it very clear that this six-month anniversary milestone was important to her. All week long she’d made it clear.
So I dug out the ring I’d bought two months ago, got a haircut, and bought a new dress shirt in her favorite blue.
I was ready.
I’d been ready.
Mating was a much bigger commitment in my mind than marriage. But marriage was a human tradition that seemed to be very important to Taylor, so here I was, ready to propose—and more nervous than I’d been since my last dragon-on-dragon battle a century ago.
And then we’d run into her ex’s fling, Susie.
What were the chances?
I left Taylor to talk with her, but kept a close eye. Susie wasn’t just Taylor’s ex’s fling. She was also some kind of witch. That was the witch’s secret to keep, not mine to share, but I wasn’t about to give the two any privacy for their chat.
Which was…odd. They seemed to hit it off quite well for two women who’d been screwing the same guy at the same time.
And now I wanted to decapitate her ex, preferably after slow-roasting the innards that spilled from the gut wound I gave him first.
Maybe tonight wasn’t the night.
I could wait until our twelve-month anniversary. If six months was good, then twelve would be better.
Except there was still all that talk of weddings and marriage.
I wasn’t sure.
I despised uncertainty.
Once Susie had returned to her gaggle of female friends, none of whom seemed to be witches or possess magic of any kind, I returned to my woman’s side.
“You just made a drinks date with the woman your ex was sleeping with while you were engaged.”
“Isn’t it fabulous?” she said, right before leaning up against me on her tiptoes and pulling my head down.
She kissed me like we weren’t in public, hands roaming, hot and hungry.
Then she pulled away and grinned.
She held up her hand, holding the ring that had been in my pocket.
Her lips formed an “O” of surprise that was patently false. “Oh my gosh, what could this possibly be?”
I closed my eyes.
She knew I’d bought the ring.
Probably right after I picked it out and brought it home.
I was a complete idiot.
I opened my eyes when I felt her fingers rubbing back and forth over my chest.
“Did I ruin your surprise?” She didn’t look repentant.
I shook my head and asked, “Did I ruin your proposal?”
I’d certainly intended something more romantic.
Lisa had sunflowers behind the bar, Taylor’s favorite flower. And Dex should have finished decking out my truck with fairy lights by now.
I started to get down on one knee. Maybe I could salvage—
“Don’t you dare.”
I stopped. “You don’t want me to propose?”
Those nerves I’d been feeling before were nothing compared to what I was feeling now.
She smacked my chest. “Not like that. Also, the answer is yes.” She slipped the ring on her finger, and for the first time looked at it properly.
Her eyes turned dewy with the onset of tears. “Oh, Bain. It’s so beautiful.”
So she knew I’d bought a ring, but not what it looked like.
My mate could be a complicated woman.
She looked around furtively and then whispered, “It’s almost exactly the color of your scales.”
That had been my intent. I nodded.
Finding an ethically sourced, blue-green sapphire of exactly the right shade and high enough quality for my woman had taken me about a month. A local jeweler had helped, and I was rather pleased with the ring he’d created.
“I love it.” She sniffled. “I love you.” Then she launched herself into my arms.
“It’s not exactly the romantic setting I’d initially intended, but I do have flowers, fairy lights, and champagne.”
She kissed my cheek, then said, “Did you talk to my dad?”
Panic hit yet again.
I hadn’t. It hadn’t even occurred to me. Michael Adams wasn’t the sort of man who would speak for his opinionated daughter. The man had some sense.
She covered her mouth but didn’t quite catch the gasp of laughter that escaped. “Oh. My. Gawd. The look on your face. Priceless. I’m definitely telling my dad about this. It’ll make his day.”
“He won’t be mad that I didn’t ask for your hand first? You’re not upset?”
“Lord, no. He’d have just told you to ask the person that mattered.” She nudged me. “That would be me, in case you weren’t sure.”
“You knew I bought the ring.”
She nodded. “And then you didn’t ask, so I thought you might need a nudge.”
“I wasn’t sure you were ready.” At least, I hadn’t been until she’d started talking marriage and weddings with my two best friends.
I knew marriage was important to her, but I also knew how she felt about her previous engagement. Again, my mate could be a complicated woman.
“Bain, I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you, but I’ll keep saying it over and over again, until you get it into that big sexy brain of yours. I love you. You’re the love of my life. You’re my forever.”
Then she squealed. “And now I get to plan a wedding!”
How she could make me warm all over and horny and want to laugh all at the same time, I didn’t know.
Actually, yes, I did.
She was my mate. My love. My forever.