Page 115 of The Proposal Pact
“You sure did, Mom.” Clover is barely restraining himself from laughing, and I catch Grace doing the same out of the corner of my eyes.
“Okay, now you can have your Sophie back to yourself. I’m gonna go finish dinner.”
“Would you like some help?” I ask her.
Lily smiles. “No, no, I got those four to help me.” She throws her hand at the Fantastic Four who are already filing into the kitchen, and she joins them, happily humming to herself, leaving me here with this coral vase in my arms.
“Told you we should’ve left when we could,” Clover whispers into my ear, still finding this hilarious.
“Did you put her up to this?” I turn to him, and he lifts his arms up in mock surrender.
“I did no such thing.”
“I don’t believe you.” I narrow my gaze at him as he attempts to not laugh again. “Shrek! Iswear—”
“I haven’t! I really haven’t.” He laughs. “But you must admit. That was hilarious.”
“Not even a little,” I whisper-hiss.
“Come on, I’ll take care of this for you. I promise to make it look like an accident.” He goes for the vase in my hands, but I clutch it harder.
“Don’t you dare.”
“But it’s coral. You abhor coral.”
I lift my nose up, hugging the base closer to my chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s my new favorite.” I bite the inside of my cheek, eyeing that horrendous color. God, it had to be coral, but she made it for me. “Okay, I might still need some more convincing later tonight.”
Clover chuckles. “Well, that, I can arrange.”
Love Hive:
Ninasunshine: He loves her.
Toughtolove: I know, we were there.
Infullbloom: See! I told you it was real love.
Toughtolove: Hold your unicorns, Lily, because I don’t think he knows that he loves her.
Infullbloom: What do you mean?
CookieJ: It means we did our job, albeit in a very runaround way with an impending cliff at the end.
Toughtolove: Fantastic Four, assemble. We need a new route!
33
Sophie
“It is love’s mysterious touch that turns the mundane into magic.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“Little menace,” I hear Clover call out as soon as he walks inside the apartment.
“Hey, husband.” I smile, walking out of the bedroom to greet him just as he locks his gun inside the safe in the coat closet he installed, and his eyes immediately run over me with so much heat, I feel it burning me from the inside out.
God, no one has ever looked at me like that. No one has ever ate me alive with just their gaze.
In two long steps, he closes the remaining distance between us, because apparently, I wasn’t moving fast enough for him and crushes his lips to mine, kissing me like he hasn’t seen me for weeks.
