Page 72 of The Proximity Factor

He came around the desk, sat on the edge, and pulled me out of my chair, right into his arms. He took a moment to gaze into my eyes. “I hope this gift will be a good second best.”

“Second best to making love to my husband? It must be fantastic.”

“I hope so.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key with a red ribbon tied through it, and held it between us.

I stared at it, confused. “You got me a key. Oh, thanks, honey. It’s what I always wanted,” I teased him.

He smirked. “The key goes to something.”

“What does it go to?”

Parker paused before he said, “The cottage.”

My heart and stomach fluttered. Could this be true? I loved that place so much. I mean, I loved living with Parker at the loft, but I so often thought of our place, the place where it all began. “How? When? Why?” I rambled, happily.

He leaned his forehead against mine. “Because I know how much it means to you. To us. So I found out through the university who owned the place, and I got them to sell it to me. Merry Christmas.”

I pressed my lips to his. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me. “Parker, thank you,” I whispered between kisses. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

“You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“We are going to need to buy more throw pillows.”

He groaned and laughed.

“You know.” I ran my fingers up and through Parker’s hair, feeling all the things for him. “I don’t think Daphne would mind if we were a little late to the airport.”

Parker pulled me flush against him. “Favorite gift it is.”

Well, if there was one thing we were good at, it was proximity.

THE END

---