He smiles, his cheeks a little pink. “Sounds perfect to me, beautiful.”
Part 1
Beck and Roman-2 years later
Chapter 1
Roman
“Hang on a second, beautiful.”
I turn to see Beck holding fluffy black earmuffs in his hands. “What’s that for?”
He grins, his eyes sparkling. “You.” Um, no. I’m not wearing those. Not happening. “It’s cold. Please wear them.”
Ugh. And now he’s pouting at me. “Fine,” I say with a sigh.
His grin grows as he closes the distance between us, distracting me with a kiss while he puts the fluffy black muffs over my ears. Theyarewarm. I’ll give him that. I smile against his lips as he drops his hands and grabsmy waist.
When he breaks our kiss, his smile has grown from barely there to fucking radiant, and my heart tumbles over itself. “Well, don’t you look adorable.”
My cheeks heat and his eyes light up. Lord have mercy. “Thank you, baby,” I whisper, kissing him again. “I’ll see you after work? We’re still going to Hold and Julian’s for dinner, right?”
Beck nods. “Yes, sir.”
I can’t resist stealing another quick kiss. Three years after getting Beck back, and I’m just as insatiable as I always was. He tries to tangle his fingers in my hair, but laughs against my lips when he realizes he can’t—courtesy of the stupid fucking earmuffs he’s making me wear.
“I better get going,” I say.
Beck looks down at his phone and sighs. “Yeah, me too.”
I glance over at Kassie where she’s curled up on the couch. Spoiled-ass dog. She really was the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.
He grabs my hand, and we walk out the front door together, pausing only long enough for Beck to lock up behind us.
With my free hand, I tug my thick wool coat tighter around my body. I won’t admit it to him, but the earmuffs weren’t a bad idea at all. Although, I do find it a little suspicious thatI’mwearing some andheisn’t. Ohwell.
After saying our goodbyes and climbing into our cars, we take off in opposite directions to work. When I pull into the parking lot of the non-profit I started, I smile. I always do. Especially when I see the sign reading,The Hart Foundation. Who knew my future husband’s last name—soon to be mine as well—would make for such a great play on words?
When I get out of the car, the wind immediately cuts through me. Even the coat I’m wearing doesn’t do much to block the chill. It’s already started snowing, but it doesn’t seem too bad so far, and I’m hoping it doesn’t get worse. By the time I make the short walk to the front door, my teeth are chattering and my fingers are numb.
I step inside and turn on all the lights, not that I’m expecting anyone to come in today. My calendar is clear, and it’s cold, so I don’t imagine we’ll have many walk-ins, but I guess anything is possible.
With Beck’s and my wedding coming up soon, I’ve given most of the staff time off since they’ll be handling everything for the month after. We aren’t going on a honeymoon per se, but we’re taking off the week before and a full month after, so we can just enjoy our time together as newlyweds.
Glancing at the framed photo of Beck and me on my desk, I smile. The photo is one of my favorites. It’s one ofthe first that we took when I came back to town. Beck’s lying on my chest, his head tilted back to look up at me. I’m cheesing at the camera, but his eyes are locked on me. There’s so much love in his gaze that even now, it damn near takes the breath right out of my lungs.
I can’t wait to marry him.
By early afternoon, it’s clear I was right. It’s a slow, boring day. I’ve spent half the morning cleaning and the other half responding to emails that I didn’t even need to respond to. I haven’t started any new projects with how close the wedding is, so there’s not really anything for me to do.
I get ready to leave, since there’s no point in hanging out here all day with nothing going on. Plus, the snow hasn’t let up, and there are easily three inches that have accumulated since this morning.
After shutting all the lights off, I pull my coat back on and begrudgingly slip the earmuffs over my ears. The second the cold air hits my face, it forces a gasp from my lungs. Holy fuck. I duck my head and make it three steps before I catch sight of something huddled against the building, half-covered in snow. What the fuck?
I take a step closer, and my stomach drops out when I realize it’s a person.
I dart forward, not even thinking, and sink to my knees in the snow, shaking them almost violently in my fear that they may be dead. The human lump lets out a little whimper and jerks away from me, raising their hands to cover their head.
