Page 115 of Undeniable

Those were the moments I wanted to live inside forever. And I wanted to extend them for as long as I could.

I parked on the street in front of their house, and as I turned the truck off with one hand, I used the other to grasp the back of Ivy’s neck and pull her in for a kiss. For several seconds, we got lost in each other until we were interrupted by the incessant buzzing of her phone.

With a groan, I let her retreat and find her phone. She cringed and glanced up at the house. I looked over her shoulder to find several missed calls and texts from our friends. I was sure my phone would look the same, but I’d left it in my bag for that exact reason.

“We’re late,” she said with one last fleeting kiss and hopped from the truck.

Based on the crowded driveway, we were clearly the last ones there. I didn’t really care, but I knew Ivy did, so we both hustled up the long, stone path.

“Everyone can calm down now. We’re here!” I bellowed into the entryway.

And the first person around the corner actually wasn’t a person at all. Sadie, Luke and Hazel’s golden retriever slid on the dark wood floors as she barreled toward us. She bypassed me, though, and headed straight to Ivy, who bent down and rewarded Sadie with the attention and affection she was after.

“I just won a hundred bucks from Luke and Reed because of you two, so thanks so much.” Amanda rounded the corner next, a glass of champagne in one hand and a spatula in the other.

“What are you talking about?” Ivy asked, standing and embracing Amanda. When she turned to me, Amanda only scowled.

“We made a bet. Reed said you’d be half an hour late, while Luke said at least forty-five. But I guessed right—you are an hour later than I told you to be here.”

I shrugged and wrapped an arm around Ivy, who willingly leaned into my embrace.

“Totally worth it, though,” I murmured into her hair as I kissed the top of her head.

“Wait, why?” Amanda asked, her voice laced with curiosity. In a not-so-subtle move, she lifted Ivy’s left hand but quickly dropped it when she noticed it was empty.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that her first guess was we were engaged.

“If you didn’t propose, then I’m not sure I want to be privy to what the hell the two of you got up to in that cabin.”

Ivy scoffed and peered down at her empty left hand with narrowed eyes. “You really thought he was going to propose?”

For a moment, I worried that Ivy also expected that. But her tone sounded genuinely surprised that Amanda would even think such a thing.

Amanda tossed the hand holding the spatula in the air and motioned between the two of us with it.

“Of course! A surprise, romantic getaway to a cabin, just the two of you? That is perfect for a proposal.”

“You’re right,” I said. “But I haven’t proposed yet. I did ask her to move in with me, though.”

Both women caught my very intentional choice of words—I hadn’t proposedyet.Because truth be told, I would’ve married Ivy on her birthday had I thought we were ready for that step. And although we were both happier than ever, we also knew the timing wasn’t right just yet.

But there was no doubt she was my forever. It had always been the plan to make her my wife.

Ivy and Amanda exchanged a quick glance, both wearing conspiratorial smiles, before Ivy said, “Yes, he asked me to move in with him after telling me he quit his job.”

Amanda gaped and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. She started to say something but then shook her head. “You know what? That can wait until later. Come on.”

She quickly pivoted and headed through the living room and into the open-concept kitchen. Almost everyone was crowded in the two rooms except for Hazel, Reed, and Devon’s mom, who were out in the backyard tossing a ball back and forth with Zach, Josh’s son.

“Your kid has an arm on him,” I said to Josh by way of greeting as Ivy followed Amanda into the kitchen.

He watched Zach out the back window for a moment longer before he turned to me. “Yeah, he’s going to be a force no matter what sport he decides to play.”

“I really wish she’d come inside,” Luke mumbled, handing me a beer and scowling out the window.

I assumed he was talking about his pregnant wife, who looked like she was having a blast, especially making Zach run as far across the expansive yard as he could so she could fling the ball high.

“She looks like she’s dressed for twenty-degree weather. It’s like fifty outside,” I mused, and he turned his scary scowl on me.

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