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The park was gorgeous, with beautiful views of the palace across a central lake. The May weather was cool but not cold – around 60 degrees Fahrenheit – and the sun peeked out frequently from behind the ever-present clouds.
As we walked along, I held Rachel close to me, and she snuggled up under my arm.
“I wish you could stay here forever,” she murmured.
I stopped walking, so she was forced to stop, too.
She immediately looked afraid, like she wished she hadn’t said it. “I’m sorry, that was way too early – ”
“It wasn’t too early,” I said gently.
“It was,” she said like she was beating herself up.
I put my finger under her chin and tipped her head up so we were looking into each other’s eyes. “Rachel – ”
She tried to avert her gaze. “Just forget I – ”
“I love you,” I said.
She gasped and stared at me in shock.
“You don’t have to say anything back,” I said quietly. “You don’t even have to feel the same way. But I love you, and I wanted you to know. I fell for you that first night in Afghanistan – and I fell even deeper in love with every word you wrote me over the last three months.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I… I love you, too.”
I leaned down and kissed her soft and slow.
When I finally pulled back, I said with a smile, “See? Not too early.”
She exhaled and smiled. “Okay. Not too early.”
“But are you serious? Would you want me to move here if I could?”
She smiled sadly. “Yes. I would. But you have another three years left in the military, right? And that’s if you even wanted to get out. I assumed you intended to make a career out of it.”
“That was the plan… until I met you.”
There was a hitch in her breathing, and her eyes opened wide.
“Is there any chance you could move to Sweden in the meantime?” I asked. “Maybe, I don’t know, some kind of international branch?”
“As close of allies as our countries are, I doubt Sweden would take kindly to British Intelligence setting up shop in their backyard,” she said wryly.
“Would you ever consider leaving your job?”
She winced. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”
“I won’t. I just wanted to know if it was in the realm of possibility.”
She caressed my beard. “I… probably not.”
“Good to know.”
“I would never ask you to leave your career, either.”
“I know,” I said, and brought her hand to my lips so I could kiss it.
She looked conflicted. “Lars – ”
