Did I mention he was shirtless?

And that immediately after Alix left, Kane had thrown me to the floor and made me cry out his name beneath the tree?

Yeah.

Life couldn’t get much better.

“Hey. Come here a second, would you? I need some help.”

He was standing on a twelve-foot ladder, arms stretched out to the top of the tree while he finished stringing the lights.

I kicked my feet off the coffee table where I was enjoying the view of his muscled back, his perfect ass, and a glass of red wine. “But the view was so pretty from where I was sitting.”

He popped his muscles and made his pecs do a little dance.

“You’re a dork.”

“I’m your dork.”

He climbed down from the ladder and pushed it off to the side.

“What do you need help with?”

He took my hand in his and led me toward the tree. His hands went to my shoulders, and he angled me just so.

My brows puckered in as he turned away from me and dug through a plastic bin we’d purchased and then proceeded to fill with a gazillion and two ornaments. “What are you doing?”

“Just hold on. I need to find something. The cord to turn the lights on and something else. Ah.” He stood, a long cord twisted and curled in his grip. “Stay there one more second.”

How I was helping him by standing still was anyone’s guess, but he hurried around me. He crouched down, took the string of lights and pushed it into the extension cord, ran it to the corner of the living room, and shoved it into the socket.

The tree lit up in shining white lights, millions of them. Totally overboard, but there was a blank area in the middle of the tree.

“What the…”

Marry me… for real?

Was stretched in dancing, glistening lights, two rows at odd angles, but the fact they weren’t perfect didn’t stop me from gasping and rocking back to my heels.

“Kane…”

“Marry me. Again.” He fell to his knee in front of me, box open.

“I already have a ring.” And a wedding and a marriage certificate.

“I know. This one’s better because I bought it after I fell in love with you, after I knew what you’d love. Marry me, again, Emmersyn Houghton, and this time, take my name. Make a family with me, and most importantly, dance with me at our wedding.”

“You’re insane.” I laughed, and tears ran down my cheeks. “Of course I’ll marry you again.”

He stood to his feet, and kissed me before I could fully see the glimmering diamond. My original wedding band was removed, and in its place sat a rock the size of the Bellagio on my ring finger. “Holy shit, it’s huge.”

“I know. Just like my love for you.”

“Dork.” I laughed against his mouth and threw my arms around him.

He bent and grabbed the backs of my thighs. He took two steps when the alarm system blared, followed quickly by, “Intruder! Intruder! Intruder alert!”