Sunshine Kisses

Alex saluted him as he left the room, somehow looking polished to perfection despite spending the better part of an hour in an undignified sprawl. The bed had not fared as well, and Erik quickly straightened his sheets and pillows. He patted his pockets again, his heart slowing as fingers brushed the small, velvet box and accompanying piece of card. Satisfied, he returned to his vigil at the window.

There.

The distinct green of Andrew’s Jaguar. The distance between their houses hardly necessitated driving, but heels wouldn’t have made the walk fun. He strained his ears and caught a strain of Susan’s laughter downstairs. Which meant he had about five seconds until—

Erik felt rather than heard her appear. The atmosphere of the room changed as she crossed the threshold, simultaneously heating and calming him when she closed the door with a soft click.

‘Hey, handsome.’

He finally turned when she stretched to place a gentle kiss on his jaw, and he might have been a ball of stress about almost everything else in his life, but every ounce of anxiety over what he was about to do vanished when he locked eyes with her.

Erik bent to kiss her with a quiet, ‘Hello, Sunshine,’ right before their lips made contact. She melted into him, one hand sliding from his chest up to his neck.

He’d seen her just over twelve hours before, when he slipped out of her bed in the grey pre-dawn light, and he’d been craving her closeness since. Susan had requested that he and Alex drive through early that morning to help with setup for her anniversary party. Abby had to stay in London a few hours longer for a meeting with her thesis advisor, and had booked a ticket on an afternoon train. To ensure he didn’t cave and blow his surprise too early, Erik had suggested that she meet her parents for lunch and get ready at their house before coming across to the party with them—all under the guise of supporting her ever-improving relationship with them.

‘You look so beautiful,’ Erik whispered when they finally pulled apart. She had worn the green dress, with a pair of tall, strappy black heels. Her blonde curls were smooth and shiny, and her wide eyes were lined with sparkly green shadow, just like they had been that night.

When he realised she wasn’t wearing lipstick, he smiled. Apparently he was slightly too enthusiastic with his greetings. It had become a habit for her to leave her lips bare as late as possible before an event, then slip off to a bathroom to apply lipstick.

‘Do you know how difficult it is to get red lipstick this perfect?’ Abby had said when he asked about it. ‘You’re not messing it up for me every damn day.’

She couldn’t have known Alex would send her up to his room like this, but some part of her had clearly assumed they would have a private moment before they joined the party. The thought made him reach for her waist again.

‘Alex said you want to talk,’ Abby said, halting him with two dainty hands on his chest. ‘And I haven’t said hello to your mother yet, so I reckon you have about thirty seconds before she realises I’m here and haven’t greeted her.’

‘Alex is running interference. She’s not getting up here.’

Abby’s mouth quirked up on one side. ‘While I appreciate your brother’s commitment to playing wingman, I’m not sure sex right before your parents’ anniversary party, with half your family waiting downstairs, is the best idea.’

Morphing his face into a scandalised expression, Erik said, ‘I would never—’

‘Your dad’s birthday. Just last month.’

In his defence, when he’d walked into her bedroom, Abby had been wearing a new set of steely grey lingerie shot through with threads of silver. He’d put his arms around her from behind, admiring her in the mirror, and she’d told him she bought it because it reminded her of his eyes. He was only human, after all.

Despite his parents travelling into London for the night and selecting a restaurant only a five minute walk from Abby’s flat, they’d been late for dinner.

He conceded with a grumble.

‘That’s really not why I brought you up here though. What day is it?’

Confusion twisted her face. ‘Friday?’

‘No, Sunshine. What’s the date?’

‘Twenty-third of June?’

‘Do you know what else happened on the twenty-third of June?’

Abby shook her head, and he tapped the card in his pocket for the umpteenth time, before drawing it out and handing it to her.

With her outfit and his suit, they looked almost identical to the photo he kept tucked in his wallet, taken that day, seven years before. It was his favourite from the night. Abby was laughing at something he’d said, unrestrained joy exploding from her face. Erik had one arm around her shoulders and one hand in his pocket. He remembered gripping the fabric so he wouldn’t reach for her chin and tilt her lips up to meet his. Even so, his torso curved in towards her, and his face was alight with love as he stared at her.

While Abby examined the satiny cardstock that invited them to their leaver’s ball, Erik dropped to one knee, pulling that velvet box from his pocket. The white card fluttered to the ground in his peripheral vision, and he looked up to see her staring down at him, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

When Erik spoke, his voice was rough. ‘The last three months have been the happiest of my life. You loving me the way I love you felt impossible for the longest time, and I still wake up every morning expecting it to be a dream. But until that day comes, I’m going to ride this thing as much as I can.’

A breathy laugh escaped Abby.