Page 116 of Before Broken Vows
Theo crawls into bed, holds me close, and kisses the top of my head.
"I have something to show you and Xander in the morning," he says.
I pop my head up. "What is it?"
"You'll see, Stassi. Just get some rest."
I land back on his chest, and before I know it, I'm asleep.
32
STASSI
The house is still quiet when I wake up, the kind of peaceful silence that only happens in the early morning hours. My body is sore in the best way, and for a moment I just lie there, curled into Theo's chest, breathing him in.
I lift my head and glance at the monitor on the nightstand. Xander is still asleep, curled into a little ball with his T-rex stuffed under one arm. My heart swells just looking at him.
I roll off of Theo and stretch. My fingers brush the sheets, still faintly scented with rose petals and sex.
I lift my hand slightly, and there it is, my engagement ring. It sparkles in the faintest light coming from the hallway.
I stare at the beautiful diamond. It's crazy how complete things feel, and we're still not out of the woods with everything.
As I slip out of bed, Theo grabs my arm.
"Where do you think you're going?" he says, smiling, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
I lean over and kiss him. "Thought I'd peek in on Xander and then make some coffee."
Theo gets up. "You check on him. I'll make us coffee."
We walk out of the room together, and he turns into the kitchen while I walk down the hall. Even though I saw him on the monitor, I just want to see him.
There are two guards at the door, and they straighten when I approach.
"Just want to take a look."
"Of course, ma'am," one of them says and slowly opens the door for me. I stick my head in and see what the monitor showed.
After I'm satisfied, I thank them and walk back into the kitchen, the monitor firmly in my hand.
When I turn the corner, I see Theo standing by the espresso machine. His back muscles flexing as he works the machine.
He hands me a cup of coffee before I can even ask. "Already know how you take it. Extra shot since it's your first."
I smile, taking it from him. "Trying to distract me with caffeine so you can have your wicked way with me again?"
He steps closer, eyes flicking to my lips. "I won't ever deny that."
We sit in silence at the kitchen counter, watching the sun rise. I look down at my ring again, and for a second, I forget every bad thing that's ever happened. Every ounce of trauma and fear and our crazy life and what it took for us to be sitting here engaged.
"You keep looking at it," he says, nodding to my hand.
"Because I still can't believe it's real."
He reaches over and squeezes my knee. "It's real. And it's only the beginning."
Before I can answer, tiny footsteps echo down the hall. Xander appears, rubbing his eyes, hair sticking up in every direction.
