Page 49 of Someone to Have (Skylark #3)

ERIC

Two Months Later

“Are you sure you don't want to go on a more challenging hike?” Taylor asks as I pull into an open parking spot at the Nature Center early Saturday morning. “You know I'm in much better cardio shape than I used to be thanks to my fencing lessons.”

“Tinkerbell, you're crushing my ego.” I reach across the console of the truck to squeeze her thigh. “I thought you got your cardio thanks to my saber.”

She rolls her eyes but laughs. “Just couldn't resist, could you?”

“Hey, at least I didn't call it the Kraken.”

Her smile widens. “How about the one-eyed wonder weasel? The beaver basher? The danger noodle?”

“Stop, please,” I beg even though my grin matches hers. “For the record, there must be something seriously wrong with me that hearing you joke about my dick makes me hard.”

“We could skip the hike altogether,” she suggests softly.

As tempting as that is, I shake my head. “But maybe that's why I picked a short walk for this morning? So we’ll have more time for breakfast in bed after. And by breakfast, I mean you and-- ”

“Then pancakes,” she says with a wink.

“Fine, but you're going to have to earn the whipped cream.”

“I think I can manage that.”

“Now look who's all confidence.”

She shrugs. “It's probably the fencing.”

She took up the sport after the play ended as another way to challenge herself, saying she loved that it was just her and her opponent.

No audience to worry about, no lines to deliver.

For someone who used to stumble over her own words and feet in social situations, she’s found her grace with a sword in her hand.

I love this flirty version of her, and I also want to kiss the smirk right off her face. Except it's also my number one mission in life to keep it there. Always.

She opens the door to the truck and throws me another saucy smile over her shoulder. “Maybe we could jog the path to speed things up.”

I should probably be embarrassed at how head over heels I am for this woman, I think as I follow her.

A guy who was best known as a commitment-phobic player, afraid of being hurt, and never wanting to settle down.

But real happiness has a way of changing everything you thought you knew about yourself.

Love makes you want things you never knew you were missing. And Tinkerbell is my missing piece.

It's a perfect May morning in Colorado—sunny with just the hint of a chill to the mountain air.

Everything is coming alive around us. Tiny leaves unfurl at the end of aspen branches and the grass is turning from brown to green.

Turning down a new contract in Germany was the easiest decision I ever made, and starting my own custom cabinetry business instead of working for Taylor's dad felt like the right kind of independence.

Between building kitchen islands for half the town and coaching rec hockey with the local kids, I’ve found my place in Skylark.

What I'm about to do makes me feel totally alive, too, like I've finally woken up to what's important after years of sleepwalking through life.The easy flirting between Tink and me goes a long way to calm my nerves, which, despite how secure I feel in her love—and loving her in return—are still dancing through my belly like a frenzied litter of spastic kittens.

Heading back to her apartment and breakfast in bed is a nice bonus of a shorter walk, but I have another reason for picking this particular location.

The Nature Center trails get busier once the center opens , but it’s early enough that we’re the only ones here now.

She takes my hand as we head toward the path with the StoryWalk installation, and the familiar warmth of her fingers intertwined with mine steadies me even as my heart hammers against my ribs.

The small velvet box in my pocket feels impossibly heavy, and I have to resist the urge to check for the hundredth time that it's still there.

My palms are sweating despite the cool morning air, and I wonder if she can feel my nervous energy through our joined hands.

“Get a hold of yourself man,” I silently command.

“Get a hold of what?” she asks, giving me a curious look.

“Nothing.”

What the fuck is up with my penchant for muttering my internal thoughts out loud in front of her? It’s like I’m right back to where we started in our relationship—only now there’s so much more on the line. My heart. My future. Both of which are intrinsically tied to my sweet Tinkerbell.

As we approach the first of the StoryWalk posts that line the trail, I tug her closer toward it.

“We don’t need to stop and read each one,” she says. “You helped me change them out last month.”

“Let’s have another--”

“Something’s different.” She releases my hand and moves forward. “This isn’t the book we mounted.”

I wait, holding my breath, as she reads the first page, then turns back to me.

“The Story of Us,” she says slowly. “By Eric Anderson.” I can see the confusion on her face as she turns to me. “Did you write a book? ”

“More of a long poem, although it doesn’t rhyme. It's our story, Tink, like the title says. From the beginning until now, all the moments that matter, all the reasons I fell in love with you.”

She inclines her head, her expression melting into something so tender it makes my chest tight. “You wrote me a poem?”

“My sister and Rhett helped with the illustrations. I’m shit at drawing.”

“I can’t believe this. How did you…”

“I used your key to get in here and swap out the pages. I’ll put the others back, of course. This is a temporary installation. Just for you.”

“I love it,” she says, the affection in her voice warming my heart.

“I don’t know that I’m much better at writing than drawing, but…”

She throws her arms around me buries her face against my neck, breathing me in like she's trying to memorize this moment. But we haven’t even gotten to the good part. Or so I hope.

“I love it so much,” she says. “I love you so much.”

“Okay, but you need to keep reading,” I say then add silently, so I don’t lose my nerve. This time I make sure to keep my mouth shut so I don’t blurt those words as well.

She reads each page slowly, her hand finding mine and squeezing tighter with every step.

The morning sun filters through the pine trees, casting soft shadows across the path.

I watch her face as she takes in each word, the way she bites that lower lip when she's fighting back emotion. At frame three, she laughs out loud.

“You remembered the Pop-Tart night?”

“I remember everything.”

By frame eight, her eyes are sparkling with tears. “You really don’t mind that I can’t cook?”

“Burnt eggs are my favorite.”

She shakes her head. “Said no one ever.” But I can see how much fun she’s having with it, and my nerves settle the tiniest bit .

At frame nine, she uses the sleeve of her sweatshirt to swipe at her cheeks. “You really didn't shave for three weeks straight.”

“Playoff beard tradition. You said you understood.”

“I did understand. I didn't say I enjoyed kissing sandpaper.”

“Hey, the team made it to state finals. That beard was good luck.”

“And the lucky underwear?”

“We don't talk about the lucky underwear.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “I still can't believe I put up with that.” She's still smiling as we approach frame eleven but stills completely as she reads it.

“You became my home.” I don’t need to look at the frame. The words are etched on my heart. “My safe place. My everything.”

Her voice is barely a whisper now. “Eric...”

“One more.”

We walk the final few steps together, and when we reach frame twelve, I can feel my heart hammering against my ribs. Taylor reads the words aloud, her voice shaking.

“So here I am, asking you to be my forever—will you marry me, Tinkerbell?”

She turns to face me, and I'm already dropping to one knee, pulling the ring box from my pocket. The morning light catches the diamond, and her hands fly to cover her mouth.

“Taylor,” I say, my voice steadier than I expected. “You became my home the moment the first time you flipped me the bird in Tony’s.”

“That’s not romantic,” she whispers with a watery laugh.

“It’s real, sweetheart. You and I are real. Will you marry me so our story never ends?”

The tears are flowing freely now, and she's nodding before she can even speak.

“Yes,” she whispers, then louder, “Yes! One-thousand times yes. ”

I slide the ring onto her finger with shaking hands, and she pulls me up to kiss her. It's salty with tears and absolutely everything I dreamed it would be.

Then, from behind the trees, I hear the whooping and cheering as both our families come running out from their hiding spots. My sister is crying harder than Taylor, and every one of them is beaming as they rush forward to congratulate us.

“You knew!” Taylor laughs, wiping her eyes as she hugs her dad.

“Eric asked me for permission two weeks ago,” Marty says. “Smartest move he ever made other than falling for you, my girl.”

“We’ve been planning this surprise ever since,” Jen says proudly.

“And trying to keep this numb nuts here from spilling the secret.” Toby ruffles Rhett’s hair. My nephew is attempting to look teenage nonchalant, but I don’t miss the moisture beading on the end of his long lashes.

“Bruh,” Rhett fires back. “You’re the one with the big mouth.”

“That’s Coach Bruh to you,” Toby counters.

Taylor finds me in the chaos of congratulations and throws her arms around my neck. “I can't believe you did all this.”

“Believe it, Tink. This is just the beginning of our story.”

She kisses me again, and I've never been happier in my entire life. This is home. She’s my home. And now she's going to be my wife.

“So,” I whisper against her ear, “ready for that breakfast in bed?”

She laughs and pulls back to look at me, the ring sparkling on her finger. “I think I can manage that.”

“There's my confident girl.”

“It's probably the engagement ring,” she says with a grin.

And just like that, we're back to our normal banter, except now everything is perfect, exactly as it should be.

If you enjoyed Taylor and Eric’s story, I’d be so grateful if you left a quick review. Just a sentence or two makes a big difference in helping other readers discover The Skylark Series. Here’s the direct link: Someone To Have

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Next up in The Skylark Series is Someone To Hold . Keep reading for a sneak peek of Molly and Chase.