I continue to gaze longingly at him, not even trying to hide my desire. “How could I not? You’re like my own personal brand of temptation.”
He bites down on his bottom lip, releasing it only to clench his clean-shaven jaw. “McKenna,” he warns, damn near growling my name. My stomach flutters, and I feel heat pooling between my legs.
Griff catches me squirming in my seat from the corner of his eye and adjusts himself in his seat.
“That’s right, Sunshine. Get nice and worked up for me. I have plans for you once our Little Ray goes to bed. Hopefully, you weren’t planning to get any sleep tonight.”
Oh, fuck. It’s only half past ten. If he plans to edge me all day, I might literally pass out when I finally come later.
Griffin
Cadence is still napping, so Kenna and I are sitting on the back porch next to the fire I lit. We’re snuggled up on the daybed that overlooks the lake, where the sun is beginning to lower in the sky.
I’ve never felt so at peace as I do at this very moment.
“We’re back at the water, Sunshine. Just like you made me promise you we always would. I haven’t missed a year—but I regret not having been back together in the past two years. I want that to change, I want us to come together every year for the rest of our lives. Move in with me for real, Kenna. Please?”
Kenna’s breath hitches, and I can’t get a good read at the look on her face. Instead of her being able to answer me, though, the monitor alerts us that Cadence has woken up from her nap.
“I’ve got her,” I say and head down the hall to get my Little Ray. Hopefully, I can soak up some of her radiance to help settle my nerves. I’m going to need it.
After dinner, I buckle my girls into my Jeep and start our fifteen-minute trek north to the destination of my surprise.
When we pull up to West Pier Beach, Kenna asks, “Isn’t it a bit dark and cold for a beach outing, Hotshot?”
“We’re not here for the beach, Sunshine. Come on, I’ll show you what I’ve got up my sleeve,” I request as I open the back, grab out the two blankets I packed, and hide the other items in my pocket.
Thankfully, it’s an unseasonably warm night for late April in Minnesota, so Kenna and I are fine in our long sleeves. But that doesn’t stop me from bundling Cadence in her fleece winter bodysuit, hat, mittens, and boots to prevent her from getting cold.
Once we’ve bundled her up, I carry her in one arm and hold Kenna’s hand with the other as we walk toward the beach.
People are starting to crowd the beach for the festival, so I steer us toward the large booth with tables of paper lanterns for people to purchase.
“We’ll take one, please,” I tell the attendant before handing her my cash. “Thank you.”
I turn to find Kenna’s puzzled expression staring back at me.
“What is this?” she questions.
“It’s a lantern lighting festival. I thought we could light one in honor of Katie,” I explain as I take a marker from my pocket. “Do you want to write something on the lantern before we light it?”
“I’d love to. Griff, this is amazing.” She starts scribbling something on the lantern, but I don’t see what it is because Cadence distracts me with her excitement.
We move down the beach a little ways away from the booth to try to give us more space. Some people have already started lighting their lanterns, and the night sky begins to glow shades of orange and amber.
“How do we do this?”
I take a lighter from my pocket and hand it to Kenna. “If you grab one side, I’ll grab the other while you light the candle.” She lights it, and once she does, the message she inscribed on the side becomes illuminated. Kenna wrote a part of the chorus from Taylor Swift’s “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” followed byRest easy, sweet Katie Cat.
Tears fill my eyes as I lift my arm and release the lantern as it floats into the sky.
“She was a Swiftie through and through—I thought she would appreciate it,” Kenna says sheepishly.
“She would, Sunshine. I’m sure of it.”
I put my arm around Kenna’s shoulders and pull her in, snuggling Cadence against my chest on the other side.
“Look up there, Cadeygirl. Aren’t the lanterns so pretty?”
