“You forgot to get me mustard at the store.”
“Oh, damn! I’m sorry, baby. Did you need it?” Leo says.
“No. It was only for the potato salad, so now it’s ruined and it’s all your fault.”
He turns around and brings his fingers to my waist, trying to tickle me. The guys behind him laugh, but he’s knows I’m right.
“Well I guess the cookout is canceled. Let’s tell everyone to go home,” Leo teases, picking me up off the ground.
I lean into him, kissing his neck, and it’s all it takes to get him to pull me to him. We’ve been together long enough now that I know just how to wind him up and just how to cool him down. I’m lucky that I got to marry the best man I’ve ever known, and I’m thankful for him every day. Even when he forgets the mustard.
“Tell me you love me,” Leo says, rubbing his nose against mine.
I think after denying him the words for so long, he never gets tired of hearing it. Even after all these years, he makes me say them over and over.
“I love you, cowboy.”
“Damn right you do,” he says, winking at me.
“Dinner’s ready. Why don’t you let them handle the grill and come help me set the table?”
Leo looks over his shoulder, watching Charles and Don pull the chicken off the grill, and carries me inside the house. I wrap my legs around his waist and bury my face in his neck.
“Oh, gross. Not again,” I hear Austin say as he leaves the kitchen.
“Really, guys. There are people present,” Lori says on her way out.
“We really know how to clear a room,” I say, laughing.
“Thank God, it’s finally working. Remember when we couldn’t get them to leave us alone?” Leo says, kissing my neck as he sits me on the counter.
“I do miss having babies, though.”
Leo pulls back and gives me a soft look. We tried a couple of times after the twins to get pregnant again, and it never happened. But we were lucky that we got one of each, so I know that we are blessed.
“If you need something to love on, I would like to volunteer as tribute,” he says, making me laugh.
“Are you so deprived of attention?” I run my hands down his chest, petting him.
“When it comes to you, I’ll never get enough.”
I lean into his body, and his lips take mine in a passionate kiss. I have a dark past that I’ve spent my life trying to run and hide from. But all I needed was the light inside Leo to make it all go away. He fills me up with love and warmth, pushing away all the darkness that was inside me. He’s given me two beautiful babies and more happiness than I could ever dream of.
Thankfully, I’ve got a lifetime to keep loving him and showing him just how happy I am that he came along and claimed me.
THE END