LOL: Laugh Out Loud (After Oscar, #2)(93)

“Lolo, what the fuck?” Roman barked as Lolo stepped into the clearing with a man who was definitely not Officer SexyBeard.

“Where’s Trevor?” I snapped. “Who the fuck is this?”

Lolo looked down his nose at me like I was an inconvenient rodent. “If you must know, this is Pascal Charbonneau—the hottest star in boudoir photography right now.”

“Lolo, are you back here somewhere? You forgot your aubergine peignoir,” a shrill voice called through the trees. “Holy shit, did I just step in horse poop?”

Marigold stepped into the clearing, limping so as not to further poopify her shoe. “There’s not enough Grey Goose in the world to make up for this sh—” She looked up and caught us all gawping at her. “What?”

Roman’s jaw clenched. “Why are you all here?”

“In your fuck hole?” Marigold asked.

“Love hole,” Lolo muttered. “Don’t be crass.”

“Ew,” I said with a shudder. “Neither. Please.”

Roman stepped closer and pulled me against his side. The faint scent of his sweat and deodorant battling for dominance made my head spin and my cock fill again despite the mixed company.

It deflated the second I saw Polly and Howard stroll hand in hand into the fray. Howard had little Charlotte in a baby carrier on his chest like the proud papa he was.

“There you are,” Polly said with a sigh of relief. “Your moms are looking for you two, and Diana said she can’t hold them back much longer.”

Before we had a chance to ask why, Collins stumbled out of the trees and almost tripped over a tree root. “You left me behind,” he whined at Marigold. “I told you I wanted to see sexy stork dude get naked for whatshisface.”

He seemed to realize the rest of us could see and hear him because he suddenly stopped speaking with a squeak.

Lolo spoke dismissively. “You do know I have close connections to law enforcement, yes?”

“Sorry,” Collins muttered. “Um… Scotty, your mom says to come back because she’s throwing you a surprise engagement party tonight and you two need to be there. Obviously.”

I stared at him.

Everyone else stared at him as well.

“Seriously?” Marigold asked. “Did you even listen to the words coming out of your mouth?”

His eyes went wide. “What?” he asked, clearly confused at why he was suddenly the target of so much ire.

“The secret part, dear,” Lolo stage whispered, loud enough for us all to hear. “Pretty sure someone here didn’t know about a certain something.”

He scrunched up his face, still not understanding. “But I already knew about the party.”

Marigold rolled her eyes. “Dear lord. I swear, sometimes…” she muttered.

Before they could continue the argument, Roman threw up his hands. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he grumbled before turning to the group of crazies we, for some ridiculous reason, called friends. This time he shouted at full volume. “Everyone, get the fuck out of my fuck hole right the hell now!”

There was silence for a beat, and then everyone began scrambling around in circles like a damned comedy sketch. I could hear Marigold continuing to scold Collins as they retreated back toward the main house, while Lolo suggested some creative posing he could do using the wooden fencing surrounding one of the paddocks. Polly just blew me a kiss and winked, linking her arm through Howard’s as they wandered away.

Finally, fucking finally, we had the area to ourselves again.

I turned around to find Roman spreading out another towel on the grass. I clasped my hands in front of me and then rubbed my palms against the towel, suddenly nervous. Because there was another key detail Collins had seemed to miss about announcing the secret engagement party that evening: Roman and I weren’t engaged.

And that’s what had me pressing my fingers to my lips to keep from blurting out questions. I was too terrified to believe what Collins had implied.

“Do we have money in the budget to electrify our property fence line?” Roman grumbled, moving over to grab my hand and pull me down next to him.

“I warned you,” I said defensively. “I told you my mom was trouble. ‘Give her a job,’ you said. ‘She can do admin for the riding school,’ you said. Well, now you know, she’s nothing but tr—”

Roman snorted, building quickly into unstoppable laughter. I watched him let go and enjoyed the ride. When he finally calmed down enough to catch his breath, he cupped my chin and forced me to meet his eyes.

“We have the best life ever, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he said with a sweet smile. “You’re crazy and chaotic and our friends are even worse. And you… this… makes me laugh every single day. Scotty… I don’t ever want to be lonely and bored and isolated again. I want this… all of this… with you. Forever.”

My chest tightened painfully with hope, and I tried not to hold my breath as my heart threatened to burst from my chest.

Roman moved to his knees and grasped both of my hands in his. His eyes shone with love and adoration as he looked up at me, his lips curving into a smile. “Scotty Pinker,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my partner for life, my husband?”