Page 105 of Her Wild Coast Promise

“Oh Seth,” she gasps. “I love you too.”

The warmth of her body moving with mine and the connection we share holds me together even as I come apart. She rocks her hips to mine as I drive home, pulsing hard inside her.

With a groan, I wrap my arms around her, keeping her close to me as we breathe.

She’s my world, my partner, the love of my life, and I won’t ever let her go. Nothing will keep us apart.

I breathe it all in, my emotions swirling inside me and my limbs blissfully heavy. Then I gently roll us apart. I kiss her on the forehead and she caresses up and down my chest. After I clean us up, I pluck the box from the nightstand and set it on the sheets between us.

Her flushed cheeks brighten to a rosy pink. “What did you do?”

“Open it and find out,” I say, settling on my side to watch.

She eyes me with a look of disdain but behind it is excitement. It’s why I love surprising her.

She slides the forest-green silk ribbon slides off the package. “Am I saving this for later?”

I laugh and kiss her on the forehead. “You have an idea how we could put it to use?”

“A few.” She smirks, and I run my index finger down her arm, savoring the way she trembles.

She slides the box open. Inside is a black velvet pouch.

Cora’s eyes tense with emotion. “Seth,” she warns.

I reassure her with a kiss.

She tugs open the pouch and tips the contents into her palm. The delicate gold chain and the stone pendants flash in the low light.

Cora draws a sharp breath. “Is this…?”

“From the jewelry shop in San Francisco? Yep.” Before she was too far along with Robbie last summer, we snuck away for a romantic weekend. We rode the cable cars, visited Alcatraz, walked Ocean Beach, and made love like crazy. On one of our strolls, Cora noticed this birthstone pendant necklace. It was only a glance, but I saw the way her eyes lit up and her fingers curled on the window ledge. Later that night, when she was in the shower, I snuck out to buy it. Thankfully Robbie came on time or I would have been calling the jeweler in a panic as each pendant is hand crafted by a local artisan and one of a kind.

Cora lifts the necklace so the gems catch the light. Besides Robbie’s sapphire teardrop, there are two garnets for the twins.

“Seth, it’s absolutely beautiful,” she says, her eyes glistening. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“From the minute I saw it, I knew it belonged to you.”

She sighs, and a tear trickles down. Our eyes lock and she smiles. “I love it. Thank you.”

“Let’s see how it looks.” I take the necklace from her and open the clasp. She turns away and sits on the edge of the bed so I can come up behind her and lower the necklace into place.

She reaches up to stroke the teardrops gathered in the center of her chest.

“I made sure the clasp is extra strong in case Robbie gets curious,” I say, caressing down her shoulders.

She turns to kiss me. Her eyes close and her lips press tenderly to mine. My heart hums with joy and a deep ache that I used to be afraid of because I thought it meant that I had limits, and I wouldn’t be able to love her enough. But now I know they’re just growing pains. So I embrace it with my whole being, and draw her into my arms and back beneath the covers.

“I love you, Seth,” she says, a tear dropping from the edge of her jaw to my collarbone.

I smile through the emotions cracking me in two. “Merry Christmas, sunshine.”

She smiles. “Merry Christmas.”

From Robbie’s baby monitor comes a gurgly cackle, followed by the buzzing noise he makes to entertain himself.

I kiss Cora one last time. “I’ll get him. You want to feed him in bed, or by the fire while I make breakfast?”

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