“Hey, wait a minute,” Maddie said. “I haven’t had my fill of you yet, and this might be our only moment alone tonight.”

She sighed and nestled in closer to her chest, breathing in that sweet scent of vanilla Maddie used on her clothes. The scent was hers now, and nothing and no one else’s. Now when she caught a whiff of vanilla out in the world, it recalled only Maddie and warmth and love.

“And also,” Maddie said, grinning down at her, “I want my present.”

She swatted Maddie’s arm. “Hey! What about mine?”

Maddie leaned closer, her lips brushing her ear. “It’s at home. I’ll show you tonight.”

She shivered, flushing with heat. Maddie, catching this response, grinned more broadly, more wickedly, but she couldn’t find it in herself to reply offhandedly. Maddie still managed to unsettle her like this nearly every day.

She licked her lips. “Okay. I can wait. But only if we leave right after this.”

“Deal,” Maddie said, beaming. “Now give me mine.” She opened and closed her hands like a greedy child.

She pretended to delay, watching Maddie’s face fall, before laughing and swatting her arm.

“You thought I forgot, didn’t you?”

Maddie hesitated before nodding. “I guess I did. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“Well, Stuart was nice enough to remind me, so you’re half right. Anyway, we’re staying at the Hotel Colorado the first weekend in March, and we’re taking the train through the mountains to Glenwood Springs from Denver.”

“Wow!” Maddie said. “That’s amazing! What a good idea.”

Maddie kissed her then, and she finally knew what it meant to give the right gift, as Maddie’s enthusiasm on her birthday and Christmas had been nothing like this. She would always book trips as presents if it meant this kind of response.

“Okay,” Maddie said. “Thanks again. I can’t wait to go.”

“Me, too.”

“I guess we need to finally take some engagement photos,” Maddie said. “Shall we?”

Maddie was holding her hand with one of hers, the other indicating Nicole and her cameras, but she was caught for a moment at what all this meant. Moving forward, moving into the circle of their friends and starting this whole wedding process meant moving forward with her life with Maddie. Engagement photos were just the beginning. Soon they’d be booking their wedding venues and services, and, as they’d already planned, looking for a bigger place to live. Moving forward meant that all of this was finally real. Her future was finally here.

“Let’s get started,” she said.

About the Author

Charlotte was born in a tiny mountain town and spent most of her childhood and young adulthood in a small city in Northern Colorado. While she is usually what one might generously call “indoorsy,” early exposure to the Rocky Mountains led to a lifelong love of nature, hiking, and camping.