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“Maybe there’s one more thing.” She sighed and rested her head against my chest. “I lived a long time in my hobbit hole, reading my books, eating my second breakfasts and being comfortable. But you called me to adventure, and I’m so glad I went.”
“Really?” So, she didn’t regret the trip? Didn’t regret letting me fall in love with her? My every sense came to life. I buzzed so much my skin even tingled. “My pre-teen Halloween costume and I are very glad to hear that.”
She craned her neck to look up at me. “Please enlighten me about that. No more hiding, you closet Tolkien fan.”
“Fine. I’ve watched the movies. A lot. And read all the books a million times.”
“Why pretend you disdain them?”
Might as well lay it on the table. “I turned fourteen. Parley and I got sent to a different school district. We decided to shed our geek pasts and masquerade as hockey worshippers to be popular. We never looked back. That is, until we both met gorgeous, irresistible fangirls of our first fandom, and now we both know what’s actually cool. But we still like hockey.”
For a moment she closed her eyes, almost as if in triumph. “I think I love you.”
For a second I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly. “Did you say—?”
“Mmm.” She smiled and placed a soft kiss on my mouth. The elevator began to rise. Or maybe that was my hopes for the future.
“You want to see something?” I didn’t wait for an answer but pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’ve been traveling since I quit SolutionX.”
“What?” She pulled away and dropped her jaw. “You quit SolutionX, too?”
“I mean, I couldn’t exactly head-hunt you to their top competitor and stay working there. Conflict of interest. Don’t worry. I’ll find something else soon. The good news is it gave me a chance to find this.” I opened my phone’s photos and held up the screen.
“A kitten?” Seeing Amanda’s pupils widen like lakes of shimmering love nearly undid me. She was so beautiful when she was happy. And I’d definitely made this woman happy. It feels amazing. Like something I could put on repeat and be happy myself—for a long time.
“You’re in front of the Reedsville Rhinos stadium.”
“And I’m holding …” I waited. She’d fill in the blanks.
“I’d say I’d recognize little Lego anywhere—except in Reedsville. Did you find his kitten clone or …” Again, she trailed off, but I was grinning to fill in her silence, and at last she interpreted my smile and threw her arms around me, showering me with strawberry-laced kisses. Between onslaughts she breathed. “By traveled, you meant you went to get Lego!”
Between kisses I nodded and grinned some more, but then I didn’t let the kissing remain at staccato levels. I slowed them down to legato. Sometime soon I’d lead her to the crescendo I’d been waiting for. Very soon.
“Amanda?” I pulled back but didn’t release her. “Bessie the elevator isn’t going to take forever, even though I wouldn’t mind for once, so before she arrives at the seventh floor, I have a hobbit quote for you.”
“For me?” Her cheek was flushed and she pressed her palm to it.
After speed-rereading everything from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion, I was sharpened up on all the quotes. My mouth might’ve been dry and my hands shaking, but I was going to do this thing. It was worth the leap.
“Amanda.” I swallowed and dropped to one knee. This was the real thing. I couldn’t miss a detail. “I’m so in love with you, Amanda Starkey. I never could commit to anyone before. I dated women for two weeks because I was looking for something. I only found it when I found you. Now, I can commit—to love you. For real. For always.”
“Really?”
“Yes, because I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.” I’d done it! I’d crashed my way through the caves and darkness of the past and broken free. All because of this exceptional woman.
“A Tolkien quote? For me?” Her eyes were a mixture of mist, disbelief, and—did I dare think it?—love. “I think this moment deserves another kiss.”
She kissed me, and it was like mists from the waterfalls at Rivendell and the lava of Mordor at once. I was smitten with this woman all over again.
Bessie groaned and clunked to signal her near-arrival.
“Let’s go sign my contract and get out of here. I can’t wait to hold Lego!” She sparkled. “Can I wear the Viking hat to hold him, too? So we can have matching pictures?”
“Hey, is this all about the cat? What about the man who rescued him?”
Her eyes smoldered. “He’s my real Legolas.” The arrows of desire and love shooting from her eyes hit their target’s center: my heart.
Yeah, I’d be her Legolas. I rocked that costume back in the day, and I’d totally pick up another one to please her. Archery dates and horseback rides in costume were definitely in our future. “We’ll send the pictures to Parley.” After all, Parley had technically won the bet, whether he knew it or not—but in doing so, he’d helped me win the one girl I wanted forever. Like the one ring, only a whole lot warmer.
I kissed her once more, and I realized—this was just the beginning of our adventure together.
“Are you going to have to wear the hat, then?” she asked as the doors opened.
We emerged onto the seventh floor. “Who needs season tickets?” Instead of being rink-side, I planned on spending those Reedsville Rhinos games with my elf queen in our cozy hobbit hole—where history would become legend, and legend would become myth, for our future generations to come.
