His fingers swept through my hair before he dipped his chin in a nod, his eyes never leaving mine. “Alex has approved of us, but we can still take our time and savor every step.”
I lifted a hand to brush my thumb across his cheek. “Colin told me that Alex still wants you married, though.”
“Yeah, he does, but I told you. I don’t care. I’m downright obsessed with you.” I laughed, but he remained completely serious. “No, really. I am.”
My cheeks flushed. “I’m pretty obsessed with you, too.”
“I want to take my time with you,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to my neck and pressing tender kisses to my skin. “I want to treat you right and really get to know what makes you tick.”
I groaned. “Stop talking about me like I’m a motorcycle engine.”
He pulled back to look into my eyes, then made a revving sound with his mouth.
I laughed. “Oh, God. You’re ridiculous.”
“I think you pronounced that wrong.Charmingwas the word you were looking for.” He descended on me for more kisses and I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him to me, unable to comprehend how I’d gotten so lucky.
This was what I’d always wanted, someone I could be myself with completely and who loved me for exactly who I was.Someone I could laugh with until my ribs hurt and be ridiculous with without fear of judgment.
Theo was all that and so much more. I didn’t care about his money or the fancy suite. I didn’t care about the giant castle he’d grown up in. Hell, I didn’t even care about the exceptionally intimidating family he came from.
All I cared about was him. Getting to be with the guy who allowed me to be every facet of myself and loved them all. I slowed our increasingly passionate kisses to a natural end and looked straight into his eyes.
“If you asked, I would say yes. Whenever you’re ready.”
He blinked hard, his chest stalling against my own, and he stared at me like I’d just handed him the keys to a whole new kingdom. As I looked back at him though, I knew with absolute certainty that I would be the happiest woman on earth if I got to spend my life getting lost in that gaze.
A weirdly nervous smile ghosted across his lips before he sat up, let out a long, slow exhale, and reached for my hand. “Raquel, will you marry me?”
My heart nearly burst with joy, tears suddenly streaking down my cheeks. I pushed myself up on one elbow and nodded, bringing my free hand to his cheek and stroking that patch of soft skin under his eye. “Yes.”
After everything we’d both been through to get here, that was really the only answer I could give. I’d flown to Chicago without even knowing how to find him, without any idea how it would play out or if there was a way we could make it work, and I’d missed him because he’d already been on his way to me in Arizona, determined to make things right, no matter what he had to give up to do it.
Theo laughed and his mouth crashed back into mine, I held him tight and thanked every deity out there for having Martha give up outside of Quartz Pass. Given how much he’d traveled,the universe could’ve stranded this man literally anywhere, and instead, it’d sent him straight to me—and I was going to get to keep him.
Forever.
EPILOGUE
ALEX
Ten years ago, I never would have believed that I’d be spending a sunny afternoon stretched out on the deck of my yacht off the coast of Italy while my wife hunted down our toddler with a juice box. I definitely never would have believed that I’d be this happy about it.
In fact, I was reasonably certain that I would have checked myself into a mental hospital just for trying to imagine that this could be my life. But it was.
The Mediterranean stretched out around us, the azure blue water glittering in the sunshine. A warm breeze drifted across the deck, carrying the scent of salt and sunscreen on every breath I took. The entire scene was like something out of a travel brochure, and yet, the view wasn’t even the best part.
The best part was Cam and Jane, my family, both of them giggling with the kind of joy that still astounded me every single day. Honestly, I couldn’t believe people could be this happy, but I knew it was true because I felt it as I watched Cam race across the deck.
“Cameron,” I said to the tiny blur in a life jacket. “Not too far.”
He continued barreling toward the stern, shrieking with laughter as he went. Jane appeared at my side. “Go catch him before he goes over the edge. Or you could take him swimming. That’s what he really wants anyway.”
Cameron looked at us over his shoulder and immediately changed direction, the sudden alteration in course meaning that he was either already guilty of something or about to become guilty. Jane must’ve had the same thought because she narrowed her eyes and started after him.
“What did you do, Cam?”
He laughed and kept running. I sighed and pushed myself up on the deck chair I’d been lounging on. “That’s not a particularly reassuring answer.”
