Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Once they were gone, Marcus and I returned to the couch. I straddled his lap and kissed him before saying, “Well, clearly tonight was a total success. Thanks for going to all that effort.”
“It was fun, and it meant a lot to me that everyone enjoyed it.”
As I brushed his hair back from his eyes, I said, “That’s really something about Dante’s people tracking down Gileki all the way in England.”
“It’s a relief, now that Gileki’s been found. I thought I’d let those concerns go when I first found out the Dombrusos would be backing me up. But I guess part of me was still holding my breath and waiting for the final pieces of that puzzle to fall into place. Now that they have, it feels like a weight’s been lifted.”
“Good. I’m glad you can finally let all of that go.”
I ran my fingers into his hair and kissed him again. When we both started getting turned on, he asked, “Want to move this to the bedroom?”
“Uh, yeah!” He chuckled as I jumped off his lap and darted for the stairs.
In the middle of the night, after thoroughly wearing each other out, we curled up together under the covers. “I was thinking,” I said, as Marcus rubbed my back. “When we’re in Vegas next month, want to pay a visit to the drive-through Elvis chapel?”
His face lit up with the most gorgeous smile. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“I did.”
“The answer’s yes, obviously.”
“Woohoo!”
He laughed and kissed me, and we cuddled closer and started making plans. Instead of a formal reception, we decided to throw a big party after the ceremony with all our friends and family. Then we talked about all the romantic places we could go on our honeymoon.
After a while, Marcus grew serious and whispered, “It’s hard to believe this is really my life.”
“Why do you say that?”
“All those years when I was in prison, I lost hope. I stopped thinking about my future, and about the things I used to want so desperately, like finding love, being part of a family, or even just being happy. The simplest things, stuff most people would take for granted, felt so unrealistic that I let them go. I had to. Otherwise, the longing would have broken me.
“And now here I am, making plans with the man I love, who loves me in return. I feel like I’m living someone else’s life, because mine can’t be this wonderful.”
I caressed his cheek and told him, “But this really is your life, and it’s the one you deserved all along.”
“Maybe I’ll learn to believe that one day.” He rested his forehead against mine and whispered, “But you’ll never stop feeling like an absolute miracle.”
The End