: you know what it is...

KIMBERLY

days before Valentine's Day had its perks, especially for someone like me.

Everything around was either of my two favorite colors, candy—more importantly, chocolate—was on sale everywhere you went, and the size of teddy bears was frighteningly adorable and rivaled my husband's ability to cuddle.

In previous years, it was difficult to find the amusement in all that, considering how lonely I felt. I mean, how was one supposed to celebrate love when they thought they were incapable of it? But this year was so obviously different.

For the first time, the way things have been going so well didn't have me anticipating the worst.

In the past month, I've stayed clean and sober, I had two photoshoots to indicate the end of my early retirement, I've adjusted to my new position as COO, the Vivas Cancer Center had a major medical publication in the neuro-oncology department, Laurent and Farrell were finally convicted for multiple charges of sexual assault and being accessories to murder, and I've been going to therapy.

Therapy was an odd feeling, to say the least. Opening up to a stranger about all your fucked up problems sounded like a recipe for disaster. Ashton tried convincing me that opening up to Camelia back when they were still strangers was the best thing he ever did.

I told him he was crazy.

But I eventually realized that it was less about talking to a stranger and more about admitting things about myself that I would never say aloud to the people I loved.

I wasn't lying when I told Jace that my mind went to dark places, and I couldn't bear to have my family know just how bad it got. Jace was supportive, but I didn't want him to hear the extent of those things either.

The stubborn girl in me used to hate the idea of going to therapy.

I knew I had problems, but I didn't think an outside force would ever be able to help me work through them.

After all, my failed attempts at rehab in the past deterred me from placing faith in the idea that someone else could help me. But I realized that I needed to want help and accept help for help to even work.

I was by no means perfect, no matter how much I joked that I was.

I was fucked up and, now, I'm trying to be a little less fucked up.

There were certain parts of me that needed... polishing and certain parts that would never change, including my incessant curiosity.

Working in the same office as Jace was both a blessing and a curse. For one, I wasn't lonely and we worked well together. On the other hand, we drove each other insane—mentally and physically—and would spend days doing nothing but each other.

So, he knew how to get me distracted.

This time the object of my focus being the wrapped box staring at me next to his desk.

"Tell me," I whined, frowning at him.

I've spent the last hour trying to figure out the contents of the box. It had to be a gift for me—if it wasn't, I was going to kill my husband—but I had no clue what he could get me.

The angel earrings Jace got me still adorned my ears, and I couldn't potentially think of how he would be able to top that.

With money not being an issue for us, it's easy to choose the most expensive gifts, which is why we enforced sentimental gifts or nothing at all.

"No," Jace responded, not even bothering to look up from his papers.

"Why?" I dragged the word out, making it five syllables. "It's my birthday. Theoretically, you could give me a gift at any time of the day."

"What makes you think it's for you?" he snapped, looking up.

I smiled despite his harsh tone. Even after our many declarations of love, we fought like we couldn't stand each other, which was the best part. "I don't see why you'd want to buy our mistress gifts on my birthday."

Even he couldn't help but crack a smile at the mention of our invisible mistress. "I was planning on giving it to you tonight."

"Why?" I frowned at the prospect of having to wait longer.

"It's a night-time thing." The jackass shrugged.

"Tell me," I whined again. "Please."

I threw in the last word, knowing it would melt his resolve. When he rolled his eyes and pushed his chair back, I knew I won. "Come here," he demanded, patting his lap.

I eagerly made my way over, plopping myself onto him and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Gimme," I said with a gleeful smile.

He leaned up to kiss my nose, "You're such a fucking kid sometimes. I can't believe I love it."

"Slow your roll, bossman, before you catch a case."

The affectionately comical nickname started shortly after I began working. Since Jace was the CEO and I was the COO, he was technically my boss. Although, considering how he caved, we all knew who the real boss was.

He shook his head, but still brought the box over and put it on my lap. "Happy birthday, Venus," he whispered into my ear. "I figured I'd give you a gift we could both enjoy."

Giddily, I unwrapped the box with no precision and gasped when I saw what was inside.

This cheeky little bitch...

Inside was the most beautiful assortment of lingerie in various shades of red, white, and pink. I traced my hand over the white, lacy one on top, shocked to see that it was the right size.

They were all in the right size.

"Someone's desperate," I teased, pecking his lips. "But how'd you know my size?"

"Don't insult me," he scoffed. "I'm a failure if I don't know the body of the woman I worship every night."

"True," I added, nodding my head. "So... who chose these?"

He smirked. "Who else? You're crazy if you think I'm letting anyone else decide what I get to rip off your body."

I snatched the box away from his vicinity, betrayal written across my face. "You're not ripping any of these."

"Wrong," he deadpanned. "If I want to, I'll rip every single one of these off of you. Then, I'll buy you more and do it again."

"I thought you didn't waste money," I chastised, mocking the way he berated me about my spending habits not too long ago.

"As if this is a waste," he muttered.

Our little staring contest was disrupted by the text alert from my phone. I already had a feeling about who it was, given the time.

There was only one person who was supposed to text me at three on the dot.

I'm downstairs. Hurry.

Calm the fuck down, dude. I'll be down in a minute. Also, is this any way to treat the birthday girl?

What did I ever see in you?

You're lucky I ever dated you, bitch.

"Is everything okay?" he asked when I was silent for a few minutes, texting Darius back.

"Yep," I replied, slipping my phone inside. "I gotta go."

"Where?"

Please forgive me for this... I swear you'll love it.

"Chantelle wanted to meet up for my birthday and discuss some modeling shit," I lied. "It's not important, but I want you to go home, shower, and dress nicely at five o'clock. I'll send you an address to meet me at."

"What constitutes dressing nicely?"

Thank God, he didn't question anything else.

"Jace, you've been married to me for how long now?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Nicely means dress like you want me to rip your clothes off. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a cheeky smile.

That's hot.

"Good," I got up. "I'll be taking this"—I lifted the box—"with me."

With a final kiss, I bolted out the door, feeling nothing but happiness.

♕♕♕

"What's that?" I pointed to the box that Darius was holding.

He gave me a pointed look, before plopping it down on the floor. "Kim... Let's be real. How sure are you that that's edible?"

He nudged his head towards the food I had set on the table. The food that I cooked. Sure, the color was a little off and it smelt a tad bit burnt, but it wasn't that bad.

I took my white red-bottoms off and launched them at his idiotic head. "You're lucky he's going to be here in a few minutes and I don't have the time to clean up your dead body."

"If you let him eat that, you're gonna be cleaning up his dead body."

Not too long ago, a joke like that would cause bile to rise up my throat, but this time it didn't.

This therapy shit's magical.

Given Dar's expression, he realized what he said and opened his mouth to apologize, but his phone buzzed. "Ash said Jace's here."

I nodded, applying my red lipstick as quickly as possible, putting my shoes back on, and making sure everything looked set. "Thank you, Dar."

He nodded once and turned around, before stopping and turning back. "I'm proud of you... I thought you should know."

I smiled, pulling him into a hug. "I'm proud of you too. Aza's lucky to have you." I pulled away before shoving him. "Now, get the fuck out and take Ash with you."

He rolled his eyes but obliged, walking out through the back door as the front door opened.

Jace walked in—dressed to perfection—holding a bouquet of various red flowers, accented with white baby breath. The smile on his face turned into awe as he stood there, processing everything.

I couldn't blame his shock. I knew I did well. The planetarium we went to on our second 'date' was now empty, save for a single picnic blanket in the middle, adorned with lights and food and pillows, the latter two as an homage to his days of stargazing with Rina.

Although, the food might not be up to par with his mom's cooking.

Regardless, I stood in the middle of it all with a long, silk white dress, the shoes I threw at Dar, red lips, and my hair wrapped in a loose bun—the waves he loved sticking out with no sense of pattern or organization.

"Surprise," I ringed out when he stood there, a dazed look in his eyes.

Jace shook out of his reverie and walked over to me. "It's your birthday, and you're the one surprising me. You are..."

"Something else," I finished for him, taking his hand and slipping my shoes off. I waited for him to follow suit before lowering us both down onto the blanket. "You're always doing shit for me, I wanted to do something for you too."

"I like spoiling you," he responded, resting the flowers down. "It turns me on. Come to think of it, everything turns me on when it comes to you."

"Aww," I fake cooed. "You're saying such sweet, sweet things for my birthday."

"Don't get used to it," he snapped. "But what do you have planned?"

Ignoring his retort, I responded, "I'm glad you asked. You have two of the most beautiful views in the world"—I gestured to the stars above and me, earning a snort from him—"a hopefully edible dinner made by your wife, and... Well, that's it."

"You need to up your planning game," he teased, getting himself a whack from me. "I'm just kidding. This is all amazing, Kimberly... except for your description of the food. What's 'hopefully edible' supposed to mean?"

I opened the cover on the shrimp scampi with pasta I made for him based on Rina's recipe. It was something he made for me a while ago, and I loved it. But that would all go down the drain soon.

There's something wrong with this mother-son duo because all they talk about is how easy recipes are, but they turned to shit the second I attempted to make it.

"Darius made fun of it," I muttered, embarrassed. "Ash wouldn't even let me in his kitchen, so he proceeded to also make fun of me from Darius's kitchen."

"So, that's where you went this afternoon?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry for lying, but I really wanted this to be a surprise and their apartment building is right by here and—."

"Don't apologize," he cut me off. "I'm not mad. I think it's pretty sweet. Now, feed me."

"Lazy little bitch," I teased, picking up a forkful and bringing it up to his open mouth. He chewed slowly with wide eyes. "How is it?"

Jace nodded, not saying anything for a few seconds. "It's great."

I could see that he was lying in his eyes. I took a forkful for myself and watched as he winced when I put it in my mouth.

Holy shit, that's bad.

"Liar," I gagged, doing my best to swallow it down to relieve myself of having to chew through that.

"I love you, baby. I really do. But please, for the love of God, don't cook," he cringed, stroking my hair as if it would make me feel better.

It did, but he doesn't have to know that.

I sighed deeply, uncovering Dar's backup meal. "Thankfully, Darius brought backup."

The smell of insanely good beef pho filled the air, and I had to hold myself back from singeing my nose hairs with it.

If Dar had gotten another shrimp scampi, that would've been a major slap in the face.

"Did you make dessert?" Jace asked, pouring the broth into the container with the noodles.

I shot him a 'are you fucking serious?' look. "Jace... do you think I made dessert?"

"Touché."

♕♕♕

With dinner being saved, Jace and I were finally able to lay back as he pointed out certain constellations on the dome.

I didn't want to tell him that I was distracted by the passion in his voice and the veins running through his arm that disappeared into his rolled-up black sleeves, so I sat there and listened.

There was not a single part of me that wasn't grateful or confused by how lucky I was.

"Marry me," I blurted in the middle of his explanation.

Jace turned to face me, a smile brighter than the stars in the room. He lifted my left hand while showing his, our rings glinting together when the faintest light hit them. "This may be shocking, but we're already married."

Rolling my eyes, I got up, straddling his lap as I removed the ring from his finger. It was still the same white-gold band from the wedding, but this time, it meant so much more.

"Jace Fiore D'Angelo Kingston," I said his full name for extra measure. "Above us is a projection of the night sky from the day we got married, but given the circumstances, I want a redo. A redo to prove how much everything has changed. A redo so I could fully express how much you mean to me. So, Jace, will you re-marry me?"

Jace looked seconds away from squeezing the life out of me... lovingly, of course.

"No contract?" he asked with a hopeful glint in his eye.

"No contract." I affirmed. "Is that a yes?"

He nodded, watching as I slipped the ring onto him. He wiggled the ring off my finger, holding it up to me. "Kimberly Nyla Astor-Kingston, will you re-marry me?"

Deciding to mess with him, I hesitated, "I don't know if this marriage thing is really my spe—"

He cut me off with a kiss, slipping the ring on. "Shut up. I remember making a promise of tracking you down and marrying you on the spot if you ever decided to run away. I still abide by that."

"Sheesh, someone's possessive," I teased.

"I know. I'm insane for wanting to keep you around, my little leech," he joked back, still stroking my ring finger. "So, is today our new anniversary?"

I shook my head. "Keep up, Jace." I pointed to the dome. "We're getting re-married under the August thirtieth night sky, but I am not opposed to getting extra gifts on my birthday," I replied, snaking my arms around his neck.

"Greedy woman." He nipped at my lips lightly, earning a sigh out of me. "You want to consummate this marriage?"

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "And you call me the greedy one. But how sacrilegious of you to want sex before we even give our vows?"

"Vows?"

"Yes... vows. We didn't get to give real ones at our wedding so here's our chance," I explained. "You first."

"It's very like you to not give me time," he chastised before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "When Alex asked if I was open to getting married, I said yes, thinking it would be easy. I was a fucking idiot because nothing is easy when it comes to you, Kimberly. But I don't want it to be. You're worth it to me. Sure, living with you drives me insane, but living without you is unimaginable. I didn't know how much I needed you until I got you, and now, I can't imagine not loving you. And I promise to never stop. Also, I promise to always cook edible meals for us."

"You jackass," I replied, smacking his shoulder and smiling through my tear-lined eyes. "If that's what you say with no time, I don't wanna hear what you say when you do have time."

"What can I say?" He wiped at my tears with his thumb. "You make it easy. Now, hurry the fuck up."

I laughed, my heart feeling lighter than it's ever been. "My heart's been through a lot of shit. For so long, all I thought I would ever be capable of feeling is pain and loss. And then, you crashed into my life bringing your thick thighs and stupidly considerate heart. I don't deserve you, but I promise I'll spend the rest of my life becoming a better version of myself who does. I know I said 'no feelings', but you're my favorite feeling. I love you, Jace. So much so, my heart knew it was yours before I even realized it."

"That was pretty good." He shrugged nonchalantly, betraying his indifference with the beaming smile on his face and glazed-over eyes.

"You think?" I asked rhetorically, bringing him closer to me for another kiss. He nodded, keeping his lips on mine and tracing the seam with his tongue.

I opened my mouth to give him more access and he happily slipped in, tastefully molding himself into my. His tongue teased mine, lightheartedly but still passionately.

A true depiction of our relationship.

In one swift motion, Jace turned us both around, lowering me down onto the blanket with him on top. "Anything you want tonight, it's yours... wife."

"I like the sound of that, husband," I drawled the word out seductively, savoring the way as his eyes darkened. "First, I have a gift for you." I gestured towards my body with a lax flick from my hand. "Unwrap me."

Jace groaned, dropping his head back before running his hands down my body. "Fucking hell, Venus."

Still, Jace followed direction and slowly eased the silk dress down by the straps. When the white lace of the lingerie he bought came into view, he paused, taking a second to collect himself before grabbing me by the throat and pulling me up to him for a desperate kiss.

He lowered me back a few inches, taking me in before pulling the dress off even faster. The sharp sound of the dress tearing ripped through the air, causing me to pull back and drop my jaw at the sight of the rip.

"Jace," I gasped, whining. "This warrants a divorce, you know."

"Shut up," he groaned, pulling my hair back, releasing it from the bun and tilting my head back to expose more of my neck for his open-mouthed kisses. His breath was hot against me as his hand continued tugging at my hair. "You're such a fucking vixen."

"I know." I shrugged teasingly.

With the dress—that I will mourn for later—out of the way, Jace traced the outline of the lace bustier with light fingers.

He slipped his index finger behind the lace, brushing over my hardened nipple and flicking it. "I imagined how you'd look in everything when I was buying it," he whispered, struggling to get the words out. "Reality is so much better."