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“I love you, Shannon. You’re the love of my life.”
He turns in his chair to hit a button on the keyboard, and after he does, the Lord of Winterbourne drops to one knee in front of Queen Shanaya. Jamie takes the ring from the box, and then slides me off his lap, sinking to the floor on one knee to mirror his counterpart.
“Shannon, will you marry me?”
I nod, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Yes. Of course, I’ll marry you.”
Covering my mouth with both hands, I stare down at him in awe. My eyes move from Jamie to the Lord of Winterbourne, who’s frozen in place.
“How come your character isn’t moving?” I ask Jamie, assuming he’s following the lead.
“Because the game is on a loop. I have to satisfy the requirement before I can close it.”
“Speak in English, please,” I say, laughing.
“Give me your hand…” he says with a wicked smirk, “… and I’ll show you.”
I do as he says, and he slides the ring onto my finger, the weight of the platinum and diamond now making this real.
He leans over to tap a few keys, and then his character finishes proposing to Queen Shanaya. She says yes, and instead of the game ending, the throne room disappears whisking the characters away to another place in the Dragonsbane World.
“What’s wrong with it? Is it broken?”
Jamie shakes his head. “No. Just like our love story, the game has no end. It’s on a never-ending loop.”
I shoot him a confused look. “I don’t get it. Doesn’t a game have to end? Won’t your fans get mad?”
“It has multiple endings. Depending on which experience the user chooses they can live in the Dragonsbane World forever.”
“Won’t you lose money?”
“Nope. That’s the beauty of it. The user has to pay to unlock each world. It’s a game with infinite endings and unlimited possibilities.”
“You’re going to be famous, Jamie.” I smack a kiss on his cheek and smile. “This is genius.”
“It’s all because of you, Shan. I couldn’t have coded this without my muse.” He gets up from the floor, and I sit on his lap again. “How do you feel about dressing as Queen Shanaya for the release of the game?”
I laugh so hard it shakes through him. “Are you serious? You want me to dress up as a video game character?”
He nods, his expression serious. “I’ll wear the Lord of Winterbourne costume if you will come dressed as my queen.”
I admire the giant rock on my finger for a second before my eyes meet his. “As long as I don’t have to get married in the costume, we have a deal.”
He chuckles. “I would never ask you to do that. But I might beg you every time there’s a convention. Fans get kind of attached to the characters.”
“Did you have a crush on a character when you were younger?”
Jamie smirks. “Yeah. I guess my first crush was on Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat.”
“I liked Johnny Cage,” I admit, and he laughs.
“Lara Croft…” he adds, “… was another one I had a crush on. She’s way too cliché, though, because every guy had a hard-on for her.”
“Well, now you have Queen Shanaya to sit on your boner,” I joke.
Jamie laughs against my neck, hugging me against his chest. “You’re so perfect, Shan.” He stills for a second and then continues, “Now that you’ve made me the happiest man on the planet, it’s time to make your dreams a reality.”
“Don’t buy me anything,” I warn. “The ring’s enough.” I hold it up to examine it again. “This thing probably costs more than my parents’ house.”
“Nah, not that much,” he says.
“Close enough?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about the money. What’s mine is yours.”
“I’m serious about doing this on my own, Jamie. Promise you won’t get involved.”
“I promise. But at least let me call the seller and make the arrangements with Killian.”
I plant a quick kiss on his lips. “Okay, but that’s it.” I slide off his lap, holding my hand out to him. “C’mon, let’s get in the shower.”
“Whatever you say, Queen Shanaya,” he jokes, taking my hand.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Three months later
Jamie
Shannon’s one of the most stubborn women I have ever met. But I’m so damn proud of her. Because her unwillingness to accept my help or money is the reason she’s crushing it right now. She dreamed up Shake-and-Cake back in high school, and she’s made her new business a success on her own.
Leaning out the window of the food truck, I scribble another order on the pad in front of me. Students are lined along the sidewalk, wrapping around the park benches, and into the Quad. With the help of the University and her sorority sisters, Shannon managed to get a temporary spot on campus. So far, the only challenge she’s faced is baking enough cupcakes and pastries to keep her customers satiated.
