remember?”
Shit. My brother’s here.
Ignoring my body’s demands to drag Jaxon into our bedroom—or the kitchen right off the garage for that matter—I straightened up and gave his chest a light push. “I remember. Where is he?”
“Backyard.” He snaked his arm around my waist and dropped a kiss on top of my head as we made our way inside. “He’s been helping me with something, so he isn’t your only surprise today.”
“Yeah?” I peered up at him, but his face gave nothing away. “What else?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” He held me tighter so we could fit through the door without the need for us to let go of one another. “I think you’re going to like it, though. I fucking hope you are.”
“I will.” It didn’t really matter what the surprise was. If it came from Jaxon, I always loved it. Unless of course the surprise was me waking up without him, but we didn’t really even talk about that anymore.
Our house was my favorite place in the world. It ranked above even Fiji, but only because this was ours. We’d picked out every part of it together to make it into exactly what we wanted.
Elements from the bungalow in Fiji were included, but we’d also installed large windows that let in plenty of natural light. The kitchen was a real farm-style space with a table large enough to feed a family of eight, which I knew Jaxon was hoping to fill with our children one day, but six kids was pushing it just a bit too far. Three max. The other three seats at the table could remain open for their spouses one day.
We’d filled our walls with photographs of all the adventures we’d been on together, including kayaking, snowboarding, sport shooting, and so many others. Jaxon caught me looking at them as we walked past, and kissed my temple.
“Life with you is my favorite adventure, my love,” he said, and my heart skipped a beat as a big, soppy smile spread on my face.
He laughed and held me tighter until my brother came walking in from outside. Ethan opened his arms and I ran into them. “You’re finally back! Please don’t tell me you’re leaving again soon.”
“We can talk about all that later.” He hugged me tight. “It’s good to see you, sis. This is a nice place you’ve got here.”
“Thanks. I’m assuming Jaxon’s already given you a tour?”
His eyes sparkled when he released me and nodded. “My favorite part is the backyard. It’s magical.”
Jaxon made a soft noise behind me, his palm on my lower back. “You two are just spoiling all the surprises today, aren’t you?”
“Why is the backyard a surprise? And what’s so magical about it?” I spun to face him, but he just shrugged and shot my brother a look.
“Why don’t you go have a look?” Ethan suggested before turning and striding back outside.
“What have you done?” I asked, but Jaxon just pressed gently against my back.
His soft touch spurred me into motion, my curiosity making me increase my pace. Jaxon kept up easily, a strange, nervous energy suddenly radiating from him.
I wanted to question him some more, but then we walked out onto our patio, and it all suddenly made sense. Our backyard wasn’t huge, but they’d completely transformed it.
Twinkling lights were strung in the trees, lanterns hung from some of the lower branches, and there were rose petals covering the grass, but that wasn’t nearly the biggest surprise.
In the center of the yard was a makeshift outdoor kitchen. It was bathed in the orange glow from the lights and the soft, late afternoon sunlight. Standing behind a gas-burner with a spatula in his hand, the apron that read ‘If The Cook Ain’t Fat, Don’t Eat The Food’ tied around his neck, and a gigantic smile on his face, was none other than Big Mac himself.
“What are you doing here?” I asked before launching myself at him.
He caught me in his meaty arms, lifting me up and spinning me around. “Jaxon flew me in to make you dinner. I’ve got to say, I’ve received a lot of compliments in my life, but this is the biggest one ever.”
After I finished hugging our friend and the man who’d been rooting for us from the start, I pivoted to face Jaxon. “You flew him in just to make us dinner? I love it, but that’s ridiculous.”
“Not just to make us dinner.” He shifted on his feet, and that nervous energy was back. Ethan clapped him on