Read Let Love Shine for Free Online Page B

all a one-year-old needs.”
He kisses my temple and carries the cake out to Braden who’s strapped into his
high chair out on the back deck.
    Reid and I stand next to Braden who looks more than
shell-shocked when everyone starts singing. But at the end of the song, when
everyone starts clapping, Braden brings his chubby little hands together and
claps along with them. He just stares at his cake for a minute, like he doesn’t
know what to do. Leave it to Reid to show him, though.
    “Like this, B,” he says as he swipes his finger through the
icing and right onto my cheek. I watch Reid lick the icing from his finger,
more than a little shocked he just cake-faced me. Going in for the kill, I grab
a handful of cake and toss it at him. Agile as ever, he ducks and it lands in
Melanie’s hair.
    She grabs a cupcake from the table next to her and launches
it me. When it hits me square in the chest, Momma calls out, “Stop…” But before
she can get any more words out, Evan squishes a cupcake on the top of her head.
She turns quickly on her heels and shoots Evan a death stare quickly followed
by a fit of laughter. “Oh, that’s it, Ev!” she calls out as she smashes a
cupcake into his cheek. Reid’s busy watching the food-fight he just started.
Catching him off-guard, I manage to smear a handful of cake into his face. He
quickly repays the favor while managing to leave a streak of icing across my
chest.
    Through it all, Braden catches on, and by the time we look
over at him, he’s covered in icing from ear-to-ear. Everyone “ohhs” and “ahhs”
at how cute he’s being when he licks his fingers and says, “Mmmm.”
    Calling a truce, Reid and I stand next to Braden and each
kiss a cheek—another perfect snapshot to add to our growing list of happy
memories.
    When most of the chaos of our little food-fight calms, Momma
takes Braden inside to wash him up. Reid hands me a napkin and leans into my
ear. With a seductive lilt to his voice, he whispers, “Can I lick you clean?”
    “Maybe. Under one condition, though?” His eyes widen a
little and I know he must be recalling what we did only hours ago.
    “Anything, you name it,” he mumbles his words against my ear
and chills race across my skin.
    “No more dutch ovens.” Reid taps his frosting-covered lower
lip as if he’s actually weighing his options, before he plants a slow, sweet
kiss to my lips.
    “I think that can be arranged.”
    He grins at me goofily, but when I pull his ear down to my
lips and whisper, “Good, then you can lick me all you want.” His smile is
replaced by a look of surprise.
    Leaving him standing there, slack-jawed and shocked, I sit
with Braden, who is now somewhat clean, so that he can open his presents. Of
course, he finds the wrapping paper more entertaining than the toys themselves.
    After everyone leaves and all of the gifts and leftovers are
packed in the Jeep, we say our goodbyes and head home. Braden falls asleep on
the ride home and Reid and I get lost in sharing some of our happiest, and
funniest, memories of the past year.
    Once everything is unloaded and Braden is in his crib, I
turn on the shower and call out to Reid who is sitting on the couch in the
living room.
    “Wanna join me?” I make a “come hither” motion with my
finger as I crack the door opened just enough for him to catch a glimpse of me
naked. If he was less coordinated, he might have tripped over his own two feet
as he launched himself from the couch to race toward me.
    It’s a perfect way to bookend a perfect day.

 

     
    “You think you could actually hit the ball out of the
infield this time?” I toss Bryan a bat as he shoots me the “shut the fuck up”
face.
    “Would you leave him alone?” Dylan, the team captain and
always the diplomat, claps Bryan on the shoulder. “Reid once broke his nose
because the ball he’d just bunted bounced off the plate and popped him right in
the face.” Of course, Dylan and Bryan share a laugh at my expense,