Page 106 of Finding Fate

She closed her mouth. He’d answered her question without her having the chance to ask it. Her eyes had begun to fill with tears at his sweet words. Didn’t he realize he was going to make her cry?

“I know how you feel about marriage right now, and I don’t want to push you, but I do want you and everyone else to know exactly what I see for us, and for our little family.”

She swallowed, unable to look away, her throat tight with emotion for the man she loved. He pulled at the ribbon to free the ring, and moved to one knee in front of her.

“Isabel Faye Dearly, I love you with all of my heart, with all that I am. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our baby. Will you marry me? When the time is right?”

Isabel stared at him in awe. Could this really be happening? Was Tucker really proposing? Shouldn’t she be upset that he was doing this? They had talked about it before. That marriage just simply wasn’t the best or even the right thing for them to do any time soon, not with the situation they were in. But he wasn’t really proposing that, was he?

“Leave it to him to find a loophole.”A loophole she hadn’t even realized she wanted until right now.

She saw the falter in Tucker’s eyes and realized that he would think she was hesitating. She set the precious baby book aside, and her hands moved to either side of his face, her eyes never losing his. She loved him so much it was ridiculous.

“Yes, Tucker. I will marry you…when the time is right.”

His face lit up, surprised, and thrilled by her agreement, and they both laughed as he fumbled to get the ring onto her hand.

“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered, holding out her hand to admire the swirl of tiny diamonds trailing along the band in their delicate pattern to wrap around the larger diamond at the center. She couldn’t imagine loving another ring more.

“You’re gorgeous,” Tucker corrected, reaching out to tuck some strands that had escaped her braid behind her ear.

Beaming at his words, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the ring, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her smile radiated throughout her, and Tucker couldn’t help thinking about how this beautiful girl would be his forever.

Feeling like he might burst, he leaned in to steal her lips in a kiss as Izzy wrapped her arms around his neck, his passion only growing as he embraced her. He knew he should try to hold himself back some, but he couldn’t help it. There was no one around on the private beach to see them anyway.

Isabel reveled in the power of their kiss. Her head spun, and her body longed for Tucker so deeply she could barely stand it. Anxious and excited at the prospect of where they were, she forced her lips away from his before she could change her mind.

His attentions moved straight to her neck, and she gasped at the sensations it sent through her with that place behind her ear he loved to find. She fought to maintain control enough to tell him what they both so wanted to hear and with her lips pressed against his ear, and she whispered with purpose, “Take me.”

Not even a whole second had passed before he was spreading the blanket out across the beach. Her hands grasped his shoulders when he laid her back, the fleece protecting them from the coldness of the sand as their legs intertwined.

Tucker wrapped his length around Isabel’s back, craving the closeness several other positions could no longer allow with the bump that held their daughter. He adjusted what he needed to between them, not daring to remove her dress with the cold, and their moans mixed as he slid in from behind. He leaned over her, kissing her, unable to get enough as they sealed their promise together.

Isabel relished in his touch, every caress, as his body moved in harmony with hers, her hand boldly grabbing his to place it where she needed. It was perfect, and she’d swear her heart had never felt so full as she broke with the cresting waves of the ocean in his arms.

* * *

Annie lay in Jet’s arms beneath the reversible gray and black comforter of his bed while he stroked the soft, bare skin of her back. They had been done for a while, but they enjoyed lying in each other’s arms. It was good, better than it had been, but it still wasn’t great. Not like last summer.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Annie said as she twirled a finger through his chest hair. “Maybe I’ve just been in my head for too long.”

“Maybe,” Jet agreed. “Are you sure it’s working right? That’s what made you so nervous about the pill.”

“No, I’m not really worried about that with the IUD. The doctor assured me that it was even good enough to be used as a morning after protection.”

Jet nodded. That news made even him feel a lot better. “We’ll figure it out,” he told her in reassurance. “We’ll find chances over Christmas break, and tonight’s Homecoming. I have something special planned.”

Annie scowled and sat up. “I swear, if you tell me I have to keep a dress on at the dance tonight. Wearing one for the game is bad enough.” Why in the hell their classmates decided she should be a part of the Homecoming court, she had no clue. It was bad enough to be a nominee, but now she was going to have to subject herself to Izzy for a few hours of dress up. She shuddered.

“No,” Jet chuckled, placing his hand at her back. “No dressing up. Dressing down, maybe.”

“What?”

He flashed her a cheeky grin. “I had Tucker book us a hotel room. We don’t have to set foot at the dance tonight if you don’t want to.”

“You’re kidding?!” she exclaimed, her mood immediately lifted. “Jet, that’s amazing,” she leaned over him for a kiss, talking again as soon as she came up for air. “Curfew or cover?”

“Up to you.”

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