Page 66 of Steve's Barmaid
Something inside me snapped. I sprinted to him, throwing myself into his open arms and wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I buried my face in his shoulder.
“Steve,” I whispered, “I’ve been so focused on the future I forgot to consider right now. I don’t want a life without you in it, whatever future may come.” My voice was choked with emotion as tears started to fill my eyes.
Steve attempted to run his fingers through my hair, instead getting them tangled in my wild curls. I leaned back, tears sliding down my cheeks, to be able to look Steve in the eye.
I expected concern or frustration, but he was still smiling. “Billie,” he said, his deep voice gentle, “I know the idea of forever scares you, but we have the rest of our lives to figure it out. You are all that I want.”
I nodded, still crying, and pulled myself in for a sloppy, wet kiss. We clung to each other for a moment. I kissed from his lips down his neck, savoring his scent. I was home.
STEVE
I loosened my grip on Billie, allowing her to slide down me and plant her feet on the ground. “Are you sure?” I was sure, but I wanted to check in one more time.
Billie nodded vigorously, shaking her beautiful wild curls as she did. “Very, very sure.”
I took her hand and pulled her toward the double doors of her bar—or maybe now it was our bar? “Do you want to see inside?” I asked, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.
“You finished the inside, too?” she squeaked as I pulled her along.
“Of course, I finished the inside, too! What would be the point of working on this for all hours of the night if the inside wasn’t ready?” I yanked the doors open and ushered Billie inside.
The inside of the bar was pristine. The brand-new windows let in an abundance of sunshine, and all of the wooden surfaces gleamed in the early morning light. Piper had handled all of the soft furnishings, ensuring that each window had curtains and a padded bench in front of it. I’d arranged all the glassware and alcohol behind the bar. Joey and Osif had written the menu above it—one in English and one in Orkin—since our mysterious ability to understand each other didn’t seem to extend to the written word. After taking it all in, I wanted Billie’s response. This would be our last time alone here for a while.
She stood there, still clinging to my hand, smiling, with tears streaming down her face. “Steve, how did you finish it all?” she asked in wonder, still gazing around the bar.
“Hard work. And help from the tribe. We owe a huge thanks to Osif, Joey, Piper, and Reykr. And Berit and Tyr, actually. ButI think they were mostly trying to make up for kidnapping you.” I grinned ruefully. “But it was worth it. Worth it for my mate. Worth it for you.”
Billie’s already watering eyes got even wider. “Mate, my mate,” she whispered.
“Upstairs is all done too, if you want to—” I cleared my voice meaningfully—“seeit before everyone arrives?”
Billie wordlessly raced to the stairs, pulling her tunic off as she went. I didn’t hesitate to follow, quickly removing my own tunic. I marveled at the curve of her ass as I chased her up the stairs. This was our life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BILLIE
It was only after Steve roughly took me up against the wall that I got to take a look around our new home. I cleaned up in our washroom and noticed a new colorful mat in front of the sink. When I exited, I actually looked around the living space. It was only one room, but it was spacious. A giant four-poster bed was in one corner, piled with soft blankets and pillows. It was so large I was a bit stunned, but then I remembered—orc mate. Very large orc mate.
The kitchen area had a round table with four chairs and a new sofa and coffee table in front of the fireplace. Everything I could think of was here. And what stunned me even more was that it was all to my taste. This must have been Piper and Joey. I was still taking it all in when Steve arrived at the top of the stairs. I had been wondering where he went while I was cleaning up.
He handed me my tunic, smiling. “I figured you would want to put this on before the rest of the team showed up.”
“Thank you.” I pulled it over my head, careful of the giant bun I’d tied my hair up in.
“Are you ready?” Steve asked, noticing all the emotions I was feeling: nervousness, excitement, overwhelm, and giddy.
“I guess we’re about to find out.” I grabbed his hands and kissed each of his knuckles. “Thank you. Thank you for all of this. For the bar. For waiting. For understanding why I needed time.” Tears started again. “Thank you so much.”
“Anything for you. And everything.” Steve pulled me into a hug. “This is just the beginning of surprises.”
“What else could you possibly have planned?” I gasped.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He smirked at me with his brows raised.
“Gah, how am I supposed to focus on our big day when I know you have more surprises in store?” I scrunched up my face in a mock pout.
“I am sure you’ll manage,” was all he said as he headed downstairs.
