Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers 2) (18 page)

“Do you like it?” he murmurs.

“I love it!” I squeal, pulling away
to admire my ring. “Oh my gosh, we’re engaged!”

Blake nods and I do a little happy
dance in front of the tree which makes him burst out laughing.

“Have you had this planned the
whole time?” I demand, “Is that why you were so quiet?”

“Well, I haven’t had it planned the
whole time,” he explains, “I knew that I wanted to propose, but I didn’t settle
on anything until we got word that your grandma was doing okay yesterday.”

My eyes fill with tears again. “You
are so thoughtful.”

He shrugs. “It just seemed right.
And then when you suggested coming here today, I thought this would be the
perfect time.”

“It is perfect,” I sigh, as he puts
his arm around my shoulder and starts to lead me through more trees. I look
down at my finger, and tilt my hand back and forth to admire the ring again. “I
couldn’t have picked a better ring out for myself. You did an amazing job.”

“I’m glad you like it. And I’m glad
it fits,” he adds.

“I guess I should call people,” I
giggle, still staring at my ring. “Does anyone know?”

“Well, I did tell my parents last
night that I was going to propose. And I asked your dad for your hand before we
went on tour.”

“What? Before we went on tour?” I
exclaim.

“Well, I wasn’t sure when I was
going to see him again and I wanted to get it out of the way. I knew I wasn’t
going to do it immediately, and I told him that I would probably wait until we
got closer to the holidays.”

“You are so sneaky!” I scold him, feeling
immeasurably light. “You know what? Let’s enjoy the rest of our time here and
then I’ll call people in the car. I don’t need to call Daddy because we’re
going to see him soon.”

“Perfect.”

I lace my hands with Blake, and we
start to make our way back through the crowds, as I continue to look down at my
ring.

He chuckles. “You can’t stop
looking at it, can you?”

“No! I’m so freaking excited! And
surprised!”

“You really didn’t see it coming?”

“No! I honestly didn’t. I mean, I
know we were talking about it, and I told you that I was ready, but I was
thinking you might wait until after the tour.”

He shakes his head, smiling.

“What were you thinking when we
were looking at houses yesterday?”

I laugh. “Well, the house I loved
isn’t going to be free until the spring. So like I said, I figured you’d wait
until the winter or something. We could still buy the house without moving in
right away. You know, fix it up and stuff before we move in.”

“C’mon, let’s take a carriage
ride,” I say, pulling Blake towards the carriages. It’s only a few minute's
wait, and soon we’re snuggled into a carriage and offered a blanket for our
ride. I like that it’s overcast because you can see the Christmas lights
better. And it’s actually a chillier day for Nashville, so I’m glad that we
have the blanket and I have the opportunity to snuggle with Blake.

My fiancé.

Holy crow.

Fiancé.

Is this real?

I laugh again, feeling like a
somewhat crazy person.

“What?” Blake demands.

“I’m just so happy! Seriously,
Blake, this is the best day ever. I
love
being able to say that you’re
my fiancé.”

He pulls me closer to him. “I love
being able to say that too.” His eyes get a familiar look to them that makes my
heart flip flop and I feel a pull deep and low in my stomach. “And I can’t wait
to make love to my fiancé,” he says in a throaty voice.

“I like the sound of that.”

Once our carriage ride comes to an
end, we make our way out of the farm, we only have a half hour until we’re
supposed to be at Jami’s house. A couple fans recognize us on the way out, and
a few people even stop and ask to take pictures with us.

No one is perceptive enough to
notice the new sparkling ring on my finger.

Once in the car, I excitedly call
my mother.

“Hey sweetheart,” she answers.

“We’re engaged!” I screech into the
phone.

“What? Oh my gosh!” she cries,
“Honey, that’s the best news! I’m so happy for you!”

I go on to tell her how Blake
popped the question and she listens attentively, cutting in to say how sweet or
how romantic it sounds.

Once I’m finished gushing about my
own happiness, I ask how Grandma is doing.

“She’s doing really well. Even more
awake than this morning. The doctors are going to tell us more tomorrow. She
still hasn’t tried to talk yet. I was there this morning and she was out of it,
but Jackson and I just stopped by for about an hour, and she was awake and
alert.”

“I’m so glad to hear it. I can’t
wait to see her tomorrow. And you too, of course. Will Jackson be there
tomorrow?”

“No, he’s actually heading back
down to Nashville late tonight. His son is flying in tomorrow to visit him for
the weekend.”

“Aww, well alright. I was hoping to
see you two in action.”

My mom laughs nervously. “Don’t
worry. I’m sure you’ll be grilling me just the same.”

I grin. “You’re right. I will. I
want to hear all about it.” I hear Jackson in the background, and I realize
that they’re probably getting ready to eat their Thanksgiving meal together.
“I’ll let you go, Momma, so you and Jackson can enjoy your dinner. I’ll text
you when we get on the road, but our plan is to leave between seven and eight
in the morning.”

“Alright, sweetie. Can’t wait to
see you. And congratulations, I’m so happy for you.”

We hang up and I turn to Blake.
“Want to call your parents? They’re probably expecting a phone call from you.”

He flashes me his killer smile, and
I melt all over again. I’m digging how Blake is dressed today. While I love his
usual country rocker look of jeans and a t-shirt, I also go nuts when he
dresses up a bit and looks slightly preppy. He’s wearing a pair of well-cut black
pants, and a fitted gray sweater, which shows off his great body. He’s shaved
his stubble and he’s put some gel in his hair and slicked it back a bit.

“I don’t think I’ve mentioned how
sexy you look today,” I tell him just as we’re about to dial his family.

His eyes smolder and I have to take
a deep breath to control myself.

“Let’s focus and call my parents,”
he says in a voice that he usually saves for the bedroom. We call his parents
on speakerphone and Mrs. Evan’s shriek of excitement is so shrill that I’m glad
I didn’t have the phone pressed to my ear.

“Oh my gosh! We’re so excited!” she
cries and I can hear the whole family cheering in the background.

We talk for a few minutes, and I
promise her a dozen times that I’ll involve her in the wedding planning.

“Gosh, I forgot I have to plan a
wedding now,” I say, just as we’re about to pull into Jami’s driveway.

“Well, you could always hire
someone to do it.”

“No way! I
want
to do it! I
guess I’ll have plenty of time to look through bridal magazines as we drive
from city to city.”

“Now, there’s a good way of looking
at things.”

We park the car, and start walking
up Jami’s steps. I’ve never been to Jami’s house before, and she has a cute
little cottage nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac.

“So are you just going to burst out
and tell everyone?” Blake asks, his eyes twinkling as he takes my hand.

“Probably,” I admit gleefully.
Since Blake has proposed, I feel like I’ve been floating.

He grins and knocks on the door.

Jami throws the door open, looking
fashionable as ever, in an electric eggplant cable mini-dress and black
leggings with leather boots.

“Hi!” she says, hugging us and
leading us inside.

My father and Daisy are standing in
the kitchen, chatting and drinking Perrier.

I can’t keep my mouth shut any
longer.

“We’re engaged!” I squeal, waving
my hand for them to see.

It only takes my dad a second to
register what I’ve said, and then his face breaks out into a huge grin. Jami
screams with excitement and Daisy is the last to catch on, finally focusing on
me waving my hand back and forth.

Jami is next to me instantly,
pulling at my hand and gushing over the ring. Daisy comes over too, and she’s
hugging me and saying how much it sparkles. I look over to smile at Blake and
see my dad shaking his hand and grinning happily. Once Jami and Daisy step
away, Daddy comes over and pulls me into a hug.

“Congratulations, sweetie,” he
whispers, “I know how happy Blake makes you.”

“Thank you, Daddy! I can’t believe
you kept this from me!”

My dad laughs. “Well it was easy
when I wasn’t seeing you every day. And I knew the moment was going to come
soon. I’m just so happy for both y’all. You’re going to make one hell of a
couple.”

I feel Blake slip his arm around my
waist and everything feels right with the world.

When the excitement dies down, Jami
takes us around to meet her family and I see Daisy and Daddy happily talking on
the couch. I catch snippets of conversation like “wedding” and “exciting” and
“beautiful bride.” I can tell that Daisy is happy to see my father so happy.

We spend the remainder of our
Thanksgiving, enjoying the company and stuffing ourselves so full of good food
that we nearly burst. Daddy comes over near the end of the night and sits down
next to me.

“You don’t know how good it feels
to see you this happy.”

“Aww thanks, Daddy.”

“I mean it.” He says.

“Well, I’m glad that you’ll have
Daisy to keep you company once I move out.”

My dad smiles. “Daisy or no Daisy,
I’ll miss you.” He clears his throat. “So, you’re heading up to see your mother
and grandma in the morning?”

“Yeah. Blake is picking me up
early, so I probably won’t see you in the morning.”

“I was actually thinking of staying
at Daisy’s tonight. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind! You don’t
have to check with me, Daddy! We’ll probably be back sometime on Sunday
morning.”

“Okay, sweetie. Be careful. Tell
your mother hello and give your grandma a kiss for me. I’m glad she’s doing
well.”

“I will.”

I head over to Blake to tell him
about the change in my father’s plans.

“So, I was thinking,” I say slowly,
twirling a piece of my hair. “If the house is empty tonight, maybe you could
spend the night?”

Blake’s eyes smolder. “I would love
to. I’ll need to swing by my parents to pack a bag for the weekend, but that
will give you a chance to show your ring off. Why don’t we head out now? It’s
getting late anyway.”

I nod and we make our rounds to say
goodbye. When we arrive at Blake’s parents’ house, I’m pulled into the living
room by his excited mother who “oohs” and “ahhs” over the ring.

“It just looks so dang pretty on
your finger! Even prettier than it looked in that little box! Goodness, Paige!
You are going to make such a lovely bride!”

I’m overwhelmed by the sheer love
of everyone today, and by the time Blake and I get in the car, I actually feel
energized instead of exhausted.

“This has been the best day ever,”
I declare.

Blake laughs. “Maybe we can make it
the best night ever, too.”

I love when his voice takes on that
sexy quality, and I find myself yearning to reach over and touch him as we
drive back to my house. By the time he pulls in the driveway, I’m jumping at
the chance to get my hands on him.

I let us in the house, and then
Blake beats me to the punch, pushing me up against the shut door.

“Oh!” I gasp in surprise, letting
Blake’s hands run over my body as I press my lips hard against his. He groans
deep in his throat, and I kiss him harder, untucking his shirt, and sliding my
hands up his back, dragging my nails lightly across his skin.

“Paige,” he groans, reaching behind
me and squeezing my ass so hard that it’s almost painful.

Almost.

Once the pain subsides it feels
amazing.

“My room. Now.” I pant.

Blake grabs my hand, and all but
drags me through the house. The second we step into my guest suite, I tug my
dress over my head, and start pulling off my leggings and boots.

“Damn baby,” Blake murmurs,
watching me with hooded eyes. “What’s the rush?”

“You,” I breathe, standing before
him in my bra and panties.

“Good enough for me.” He hoists me
up, wrapping my legs around his waist and then falls on top of me onto the bed.
We turn into a mass of limbs, and I can’t get enough of Blake. My mouth is
everywhere on him, and his mouth is everywhere on me. I can hear my own moans,
loud and needy, and I dig my nails hard into his back, desperate for every inch
of him.

Blake kicks off his shoes and pulls
his shirt over his head, and I fumble with the buttons on his pants and push
them down off his legs. He kicks them off, and I grasp at his cock through his boxers,
desperate to feel him. Blake moans as I push his boxers down and take him in my
hands.