Pierce
A small mountain of cream cheese looms in front of me, taunting. I didn’t think it was possible, but making cheesecake may actually be harder than running a bar. But maybe that’s because the stakes are higher with this particular dessert. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill cheesecake. It’s a symbol of my future with Sydney. Not only because it’s our two-year anniversary, but the night I’ll finally ask her to marry me.
Eggshell shards litter the bakery’s work station surrounding me. I swear, for every egg that makes it into the bowl, one ends up shattered on the floor underneath. I almost melted the cream cheese instead of softening it, and Rachel hasn’t stopped hovering for the past twenty minutes.
I can tell she wants to step in and fix everything. But I want to show Sydney I did something special for her.
Hailey leans over from the mixer station, curiosity in her gaze. “Do you have the ring with you?”
I glance at her, nodding. “Yes.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Can I see it?”
I wipe off my hands and extract it from my pocket, then hand it over carefully. She takes it in both hands, studying the band and diamond, awe in her expression. “She’s going to love it,” she whispers.
Before I can respond, Beth’s voice comes from the front, unusually loud since she’s normally so quiet. “What are you doing here, Sydney?”
Rachel, Hailey, and I all freeze.
Sydney’s voice drifts back, confused but sarcastic. “Um… I work here? And I was craving a triple-chocolate muffin.”
Sweat blooms over me. What are the chances she comes in the back?
Rachel nudges me toward the office, whispering, “Go, now.” I close the door just as I hear the squeak of the other doors that lead to the front opening.
Rachel’s voice drifts through the closed office door. “What are you doing here? It’s your day off.”
“Geez, am I not allowed to be here or something? I just wanted a freaking muffin,” Sydney shoots back. Her tone is sharp but teasing, as usual hitting that perfect balance of aggravating and endearing.
I pat my pockets, suddenly realizing I don’t have the ring. Shit. Hailey still has it.
There’s silence out there, and I strain my ears, wanting to hear what’s going on.
“What are you making?” Sydney says, sounding closer than before.
“Cheesecake,” Hailey replies. She must have stepped over to my work station.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well…” Sydney pauses, and I can tell exactly from the way she said well that she’s trying to come up with a nice way to deliver whatever she’s about to say. “It’s not up to your usual standard.”
Ouch. I grimace. Guess I hadn’t got the cheesecake under control as much as I’d hoped.
Hailey huffs an annoyed laugh. “No criticizing my work when you’re not even working today. Get out of here.”
“Fine, fine. Y’all are being weird, anyway. I’ll go hang out with Pierce at the bar.”
My eyes squeeze shut tightly. Shit, shit, shit. That’s where I told her I’d be. And I couldn’t bake this at home since it’s Sydney’s day off. She moved in to my house a while ago, so there’d be no hiding a surprise like this.
“Isn’t it your anniversary?” Rachel asks. “Let the poor man get some work done while he can. I’m sure you’ll see more than your fair share of him tonight.”
Sydney grumbles, “Ugh, fine. I’ll go back home and get a jump on dinner. Let me just grab some basil from the walk-in. I’ll need it for the lemon-basil pasta I’m making.”
“Save me some,” Hailey calls out.
“Yeah, right.” Sydney laughs and I wait with bated breath, hoping she doesn’t have any reason to come into the office, either.
My heart jumps in my throat when the office door opens a minute later, but it’s only Rachel. “That was a close one,” I say.
She nods in agreement. “Are you sure you don’t need help with the cheesecake? I could—”
“I’ve got it,” I assure her. No, it won’t look as good compared to what she could do. But that’s not the point.
Hailey hands me back the ring. “She didn’t see that, right?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Hid it in my apron pocket.”
I study the ring, a single round brilliant diamond set low in a slender, white-gold band. My family would probably be embarrassed that it’s not big enough by their standards, but Sydney’s a hell of a lot more practical than they are, and I know she wouldn’t want something huge and flashy. She spends her days elbows deep in flour and dough, and there’s already a strong chance she won’t even wear it to work. I’m prepared to ask her if she wants a simpler band for everyday wear.
Even so, the diamond catches the overhead light with effortless sparkle, understated yet impossible to ignore.
“She’ll say yes, right?” The words slip out, nerves suddenly stealing over me.
Hailey rolls her eyes. “She’s been head over heels for you since the beginning. There’s about a zero percent chance she’d say no.”
I smile despite myself, heart swelling, and glance at the clock. Six hours until everything changes.
Sydney
Dinner smells incredible when I pull the pan off the stove. Lemon-basil pasta with perfectly seared chicken, fragrant with just enough garlic and olive oil to make the kitchen smell like heaven. I plate the pasta with a little extra garnish for presentation, fussing over it until I decide it’s perfect.
At our table, Pierce smiles and thanks me as I hand him his plate, but there’s something a little reserved about him. Last year we’d done a big, fancy dinner for our anniversary, driving over to Kaysville to one of the steakhouses there. I’d wanted to do something more low-key this year with a quiet meal at home, and he’d seemed on board, but maybe it turns out he isn’t.
“Everything okay?” I ask, sliding into the seat across from him.
He nods quickly, but I catch the way he glances down. Huh.
We eat, but it feels more like I’m talking at him than with him as the meal goes on, especially since he moves the food around his plate more than eats it. The dinner turned out fantastic, so it can’t be the food at fault. Which means it’s something else. He almost seems like he’s… nervous. But why?
My stomach twists and I push my plate away. That’s a shame. The food really was good.
“Are you ready for dessert?” he asks.
I blink, confused. He barely touched his plate. “You said you didn’t want dessert.”
Which was weird as hell. Pierce loves my desserts. At least I thought he did.
“Well… I kind of made you something. A surprise.”
My brows rise. He heads to the fridge, and when he turns around, my eyes land on it. It’s a cheesecake, slightly imperfect in shape and cracked along the edge, the cream swirled unevenly across the top. And yet, none of that matters compared to the fact that he made it for me. Pierce hasn’t attempted baking in years.
“Cheesecake?” I ask, delighted.
He nods, a shy grin tugging at his mouth. “Cheesecake kind of brought us together, didn’t it?”
“Yeah… yeah, it did.” I laugh softly. “Thank you. This is amazing.” I get up and give him a soft kiss. “Do you want me to feed it to you again?”
His gaze glints with heat. “I’d never say no to that.”
He grabs plates and utensils, and as I cut us both a slice, I ask when he made this.
“I have a confession,” he says. “I wasn’t at the bar earlier. I was at the bakery.”
“What?” The realization smacks into me. “Hailey’s sad cheesecake.” I laugh. “It’s this one.”
He nods, mirth on his face. “Your sisters supervised me, but I didn’t let them help. Though Rachel was dying to.”
Yeah, that sounds like her. “Well, it’s less sad now that I know it’s yours.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment, though it was strongly bordering on insult.”
I grin. “I would never.” I hold out a bite of cheesecake for him, loving the sultry look in his eye as his lips curve around the fork.
He does the same for me, and it’s the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. Not because of the taste, but because of the love he baked into it.
He leans closer, heat simmering in his gaze, and I feel the familiar pull between us. The one that’s only grown stronger over the last two years. God, I’m so lucky to have him.
He kisses me, slow and deep, and I melt into him, feeling the years of laughter and teasing and shared moments settle into this one perfect moment. My fingers thread through his hair, his hands on my back, pulling me impossibly close. The energy between us shifts, an electric current that has my stomach pleasantly bottoming out, knowing it’s a precursor of what’s to come.
Then Pierce surprises me, standing and reaching into his pocket before dropping to one knee.
Holy shit. What’s happening right now?
“Sydney,” he begins, voice steady but full of emotion. “You’ve changed my life in ways I didn’t know I needed. Challenged me, supported me, made me laugh when I felt like I couldn’t, and loved me in a way that makes me want to be more than I ever thought I could be. Makes me want to be more for you. Every day with you is better than the last, and I can’t imagine a future without you. Your spark. Your fire. Your protectiveness and tenacity. I want every part of you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”
He holds up a beautiful diamond ring, and it catches the light just right, reflecting all the warmth and devotion in his gaze.
My heart goes into overtime, overwhelmed in the best way possible, and I make some kind of croaking sound, trying to say yes, but it won’t come out quite right as my mind races, processing everything that’s happening.
“I can’t tell what that was,” he whispers, looking nervous now.
“Yes,” I manage to get out, voice cracking with emotion.
His answering smile is everything I’ve ever wanted, and he slips the ring onto my finger, the fit perfect. I marvel at it, surprised at how right it already feels being there.
“I can get you another one for work,” he says. “A silicone one to wear when you’re baking. This one… is for when you’re with me.”
I’ll wear anything he gives me. “So you know I’m yours?” I ask. He loves when I tell him that.
“Yeah. You’re mine. I’ve already been yours for a long time.”
He stands and pulls me up to meet him, kissing me again, slow and passionate. “I love you so much.”
My heart flutters with love for this man. “I love you, too.” More than I ever thought I was capable of. These past two years have been a dream come true.
The world outside disappears as we continue to kiss, our touches lingering as we explore each other with a new awareness. This man is going to be my husband.
And I’ll be his wife. Holy shit.
“What is it?” he murmurs against my lips, his hands cupping my ass now. His cock is already hardening against my front.
“I’m going to be your wife.”
He groans. “Say that again.”
I do, murmuring it huskily near his ear, and he picks me up, eliciting a laugh from me as he brings me to the bedroom.
He tosses me on the bed, desire on his face. “I can’t think of anything better than getting to undress you every night for the rest of our lives. My future wife.”
A shiver of anticipation runs over me. “Strip me, future husband.”
He groans again, fulfilling my request, his mouth closing over my nipple as soon as it’s free of my bra, tongue circling before giving a gentle suck that shoots heat straight down my spine. My fingers curl into the sheets underneath me, trying to anchor myself, but I’m soon lost again as his hand snakes between us, fingers finding my pussy.
“Are you wet for me?” he asks, laving kisses on my other breast now.
“Uh huh,” I breathe. Oh God, I love it when he uses his teeth the tiniest bit to nip at me.
“Does the thought of being my wife turn you on that much?”
His fingers enter me, finding me wet just like I said, and begin a steady rhythm.
“Yes,” I admit. “And getting to marry the sexiest man ever.”
He hums a sound of approval into my skin, and a sharp pull of want rears its head as my hips rock forward into his touch. The dual sensations of his tongue teasing my breast and fingers working me below have my head falling back into the pillow, eyes fluttering shut.
A part of me still isn’t sure if any of this is real, that there’s no way Pierce actually asked me to marry him, but as I glance down at the lust and love on his face, I let myself believe it’s real. Let myself believe that this man actually loves me enough to want to be mine forever. And for me to be his, in turn.
The thought kicks off my orgasm, and I moan, long and low as it sneaks over me, arousal pulsing hot.
“Inside me,” I say, before he’s even pulled his fingers from me. “I want you inside me.” I need to feel the connection that comes when the two of us move together as one.
He nods, not questioning me, and pulls a condom from the bedside drawer. His movements are quick and jerky as he undresses and slips the condom on, like he’s feeling that need, too.
I climb on his lap, sinking down onto his length, loving the stretch as he fills me. His arms circle around my back, holding me close, and I revel in the warmth of being held by this man who’s now my forever. Skin against skin, I swear our hearts beat in sync as I move up and down on him, hands and lips finding each other over and over between whispered declarations of love. That love fuels every movement, every gasp, every pulse of need racing through me. My heart feels like it’s filled to the brim with love for him, and with each passing minute, I only find it further expanded, like it’s an endless well.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he says against my neck as he sweeps a line of kisses along the sensitive skin. “Every day for the rest of our lives.”
“Every day,” I echo, the idea filling me with excitement. I’ll never get enough of him. “I want forever with you so badly.”
“You have me,” he assures me, sweeping my hair back from my face. “Your husband.”
A burst of desire rushes through me at that, and I move faster on him, sensing a second orgasm quickly building. “I’m close, baby. You with me?”
“I’m with you. I was just waiting for you to get there.”
I kiss him, and he groans into my mouth, his movements going jerky as he clutches me tightly to him. I love unraveling him like this, and it sets me off, tingles sweeping over me as I melt into him.
The night stretches on in a haze of touches, kisses, and murmured promises, tangled in the sheets together. Pierce traces the shape of the engagement ring on my finger, a reminder of everything we’ve built and everything yet to come.
“I can’t believe this is real,” I whisper, pressing my face to his chest.
“It’s real,” he says, arms wrapped tight around me. “All of it. You. Me. Us. Forever.”
I smile, the warmth spreading through me like sunshine in the dark of the room. “Forever,” I whisper back. I like the sound of that.
Allie Winters 