AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know, Valentina. If I can’t, then I’ll find something else I can do. None of that matters so long as you’re healthy and by my side. We can work out everything else.”
“You really mean it, don’t you?”
“I do.” He pulls out the box again. “Now, please. Will youpleasemarry me, you stubborn woman?”
I grab the box and cradle it in my hand. It’s open, and a simple round diamond glistens in the center, set in a minimalist gold band. My eyes mist over because I never imagined this outcome. I’d pictured every other outcome for my life, or my death, but not one where I livedandgot to keep Rory.
“It was my mother’s,” Rory explains. “She gave it to me as soon as I told her what I was about to do.”
“Oh, Rory. It’s beautiful.” I bring my hand to my mouth to hold my gasp.
The tears in my eyes blur my vision, so I have to bring the box closer to my face so I can keep looking at it.
“You haven’t given me an answer,” Rory says, his voice deepening with his frustration.
I want to scream, ‘yes!’ But I can’t. There’s too much at stake. Too much to consider. “Can I think about it?”
His face falls for a second, but he recovers quickly. “I guess I shouldn’t have done this in a locker room, huh?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just—we’d have to figure some things out before—“
His head snaps up as his mouth curves upward into a smile.
“I didn’t say ‘yes,’” I clarify. “Let’s talk, and then we can decide if we are ready for this step. Okay?”
He answers by pulling me toward him and kissing me.
I missed kissing Rory. The sweetness with which he always starts and how it turns hungry so quickly without fail. Every single time.
Rory pushes me back against a locker and lifts me by my ass. I wrap both legs around his middle to stay up. I feel him hardening through his jeans, and my body awakens. It feels alive for the first time since before I started treatment. This part of me has been dormant for almost a year now, and only Rory has the key to free it.
His hand drops to the hem of my shirt, and I panic. Not only am I already self-conscious about being sweaty and smelly from my workout, but now I also have to worry about him seeing my scars. No one has seen those except my doctors.
Then there’s the fact that anyone could walk in at any moment, plus the more important fact that I have no lube with me. I wince just thinking about Rory’s size.
“Um—Rory. Please stop.”
He listens and pants, his forehead pressed to mine. “Sorry.” He says. “Got carried away.”
I smile. “I know. Me too.” I drop my legs to find the ground and give him one last quick kiss. “Want to see my place?”
Rory chuckles. “I’d love to see your place.”
