“Yeah?” He sounded pleasantly surprised by my confession.
“Yes.” I sat up.
He hauled me over onto his lap so that I was straddling him, his hands resting on my legs. I rested my hands on his shoulders and kissed him slowly. He groaned and tugged me closer.
“I’m excited about someday traveling the world with you, but I’m just as excited about living here with you and having quiet nights at home,” I whispered and scooted back far enough so I could kiss his neck.
“I love you so much,” he said, his voice raspy.
“I love you, too,” I said, bringing my mouth back to his. “I was thinking… and this is probably going to sound really stupid, but…” I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to have sex again until our wedding night.”
Trent laughed, his eyes twinkling. “We kind of blew that already, didn’t we?”
“I know we’ve been having sex for months now, but I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I think if we don’t for a while, it will be more special on our wedding night. You know, the anticipation of it.”
He probably thought I was an idiot, and I wasn’t sure he was wrong. I mean, it was silly to suddenly stop having sex for a month—and it was probably going to be impossible, too. God knew we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves.
“This will probably kill me, but okay,” he said with a nod. “If that’s what you want, then I’m on board.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“But”—he spun me around so I was flat on the couch and then lowered himself down on top of me—”we start tomorrow.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “It is your birthday after all.”
Laughing, I snaked my arms around his neck. “Are you trying to tell me that you are my birthday present?”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
“No.” I licked my lips. “In fact, it’s the best gift ever.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
Double Crossed
IT WAS THE EVE OF MY wedding, and all the final touches were being made. Whitney insisted everything be taken care of today so that tomorrow all I had to worry about was looking beautiful.
Little did she know I hadn’t even finished writing my vows. It hadn’t been for a lack of trying, though. That’s all I’d been doing—writing something, throwing it away because it sucked, writing something else, throwing that away because it sucked even worse. I just couldn’t find the words to tell Trent how much I loved him.
My vows might be a total bust, but at least the decorations would be pretty.
Large white canopies had been set up—one for the ceremony on the top of the mountain, and two more for the reception in the backyard, much closer to the house. Tables and chairs were arranged in a very particular way that Whitney had coordinated.
Tiny white fairy lights were intertwined with strands of flowers that hung from the top of the canopies. She’d even included a small stand near the alter that held a framed photograph of my mom along with her urn, so it was like she’d be here with me, too.
Whitney had everything under control, and there really wasn’t much for me to do other than watch everyone else bustle around.
I leaned against the massive weeping willow tree and smiled. I couldn’t believe I was actually getting married tomorrow. For so long, this day felt like it would never arrive, and now, in a little over twenty-four hours, I would become Mrs. Trenton Halstead. And I couldn’t stop smiling.
My dad, Larissa, and Little Frank had arrived earlier today, and they were now chatting with Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean. My father had grumbled about me getting married on a Wednesday night, and he was right—it was highly unusual—but wasn’t everything about this wedding unusual? I didn’t care, though. I wanted to get married on Mom’s birthday, and that’s what we were doing.
“Trent!” Little Frank screeched, snapping me from my thoughts.
He wrestled himself from Larissa’s arms and ran as fast as his tiny legs would carry him, straight toward Trent. Apparently, I’d been replaced as Little Frank’s favorite person.
Trent scooped Little Frank into his arms, tossed a wink in my direction, and walked away, completely enthralled with whatever Little Frank was jabbering about.
I shifted my attention from the wedding arrangements to Trent, who was now sitting cross-legged on the ground while Little Frank climbed on him like he was a jungle gym. Little Frank jumped on Trent’s back and wrapped his chubby arms around Trent’s neck. He pretended to choke and fell over, which caused Little Frank to giggle. Then Trent fake tackled Little Frank and tickled him until his face was beet red.
“No, no,” Little Frank said, pointing at Trent with all the fury a two-year-old could muster.
Trent held his hands up in surrender, his lips twitching with a barely contained smile. His hair was messy, and his eyes were such a vibrant blue, shining with joy and humor.
My breath caught at the sight of him like that. God, he was handsome, and so incredibly perfect. How on earth had I gotten so lucky to find him, to have him love me like he did?
I had no idea how long I stood there watching them, but I was completely swept up in the way they played together. Trent was so calm and patient, and he looked like he was genuinely having fun.
“That has got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Whitney said, nodding at Trent and Little Frank.
“Whitney!” I laughed and sliced her a disbelieving look.
“What?” She shrugged innocently. “I’m just saying… I can totally see why you sold your soul so you could have his baby,” she said.
“I didn’t sell my soul,” I said with exasperation and turned my attention back to Trent.
He and Little Frank were now huddled over something in the tall grass. Trent reached for something, then straightened and opened his hand.
A small frog sat in his palm. Little
