"To us." Clay lifted his beer in the air and smiled around the table as we all sat on the patio of the restaurant we'd gathered at.
"To us." We all called out and lifted our beers to hit them against one another.
It'd been a year since we all met on Lake Havasu. A long year. A great year.
Brody wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me. I lifted up to meet him halfway, pressing myself against his side and deepening the kiss until we got the usual catcalls. I moved back and smiled at everyone.
"Why are we back here at the lake eating at a restaurant instead of having our own personal chef whip us up something good?" I glanced over at Cindy, who was sitting in Derek's lap. They'd gotten engaged a few months back, much to all of our surprise. Their plans of expanding Derek's parents’ ranch and starting a small restaurant at the front of the property had panned out over the last year, and they were great together.
Clay and Emily had moved in together and were looking at rings, but nothing had been planned just yet. Emily was extremely particular about the idea of what her wedding should look like, which shocked the shit out of all of us, seeing that she was the least likely to act like a bridezilla. They were sitting side by side, reading something on the beer bottle Clay held between them as I glanced their way.
Dedra was already off to dance with a handsome football type, and Daniel wasn't able to join us due to something related to his schooling. He had already started to pull away from the group, but the guys almost seemed to expect it.
I'd taken on the burden of the apartment myself, but I was rarely alone, seeing that the junior high football coach down the road seemed to like the idea of rocking my bed most nights of the week. I glanced up at him to find him watching me like a hawk.
"What?" I smiled and took a quick sip of my beer.
"You. You're what." He glanced around as his smile widened. "This place brings back so many fucking memories. I can't imagine my life without last summer... without you."
He was a different man. One completely committed to me, and if my mom thought my father treated her like a queen, she hadn't seen anything yet. Brody was at my beck and call, no matter what was going on in his own life. We supported each other in a way that made my other friends jealous and left me breathless when I thought about it.
We hadn't talked much about marriage and kids, though I knew our turn was coming up sooner rather than later. It was just the natural progression of things.
"What's for dinner?" Clay stood up and stretched. "You guys wanna order a big platter of ribs and chicken and go out on the patio?"
"Sounds good to me." Derek stood up and wrapped his arm back around Cindy. There was rarely any space between the two of them when they were together. They'd have kids on the way before any of the rest of us, no doubt.
The thought of kids caused my pulse to race. It was a subject that I would be bringing up soon just to figure out exactly what my handsome boyfriend thought of it.
"The baked potato casserole is stupid good, too." Brody picked up a menu and glanced down at it. "And the green beans. Let's just get a family style platter thing and eat until we're stuffed.”
"And then, we can go back to mine and Derek's cabin. I made a few desserts this afternoon before coming up here." Cindy smiled at us, looking far too cute for her own good. She'd put on a few pounds, which actually made her even more attractive.
"Come dance with me." Brody tugged at my arm and I turned, following him onto the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled up at him.
"I'm glad we get these two weeks. I need it." I pressed a kiss to his chest and snuggled against him as he moved us around the room.
"We can come out here any time you want to, baby. I've been thinking that once you get your license, we could look at building a house out here. A log cabin like we both want." He brushed his lips by the top of my head just before I moved back and looked up at him.
"I would love that. The commute would be a bitch, but I'm thinking we could work something out with my parents to stay with them when we were in the city for cases and meeting with clients."
A thought brushed by my mind.
"Wait. What about your job? You love what you do with those kids." I ran my hands over his strong back and forced myself not to squeeze his butt, though I wanted to so damn bad.
"There are schools out here, too. Did you see that one on the left just before we pulled into town? They're going to have an opening in the fall. I want to apply for it. If you're down with moving out here with me."
"Are you asking me to move in with you? To build a house with you?" Warmth flooded me as my heart skipped a beat in my chest.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm asking." He stopped moving and cupped my face. "I'm so scattered. Building a house together is a little out of order, hmm?"
He turned and winked at someone, catching my attention. I gazed to my right to find Clay walking toward the DJ booth.
"What are you guys doing?" I turned back to find Brody on one knee in the middle of the floor. Our friends crowded around us, and I realized that the trip to the lake hadn't been Clay's doing, but Brody's. The handsome man on his knee before me had pulled everyone together and set everything up for this moment.
"I never in a million years thought that I would find someone powerful enough to make me want to give up my wanton ways and settle down. The moment I laid eyes on you a year ago, I knew without a doubt that you were her. I'd never been so damn scared in my life. Well, except now."
Everyone chuckled as I tried to catch my breath.